Zipzicles offer healthier, less expensive alternative to popsicles

Whether you’re a kid or an adult, popsicles are an important part of summer.

Making your own mixture and creating homemade popsicles are a great way to cut costs and let the kids help out in the kitchen. But traditional hard molds with sticks can get messy, both while making them and trying to eat them later.

Enter Zipzicles. Think of the old Otter Pops that Grandma had stacked in her freezer, but these can be filled with anything you choose. At least more than colored sugar water.

My wife, Erin, ordered some and we whipped up a quick batch with the kids. We threw blueberries, banana, Greek yogurt and some healthy stuff like spinach and chia seeds and a little maple syrup into a blender and blended until smooth.

The next step, getting the mixture into the clear plastic tubes, can be a little messy but we found that using a funnel (and some patience) worked best. It’s recommended to freeze each individual ice-pop pouch vertically, but we laid them down and everything worked out fine.

Zipzicle packs can be purchased on the company’s website, www.zipzicles.com, with 12 packs going for $2.99 and 36 packs for $5.99. There are also recipes on the website, including a few adult-only like the Beer Zipzicle.

Blueberry Banana Ice Pops

1 cup blueberries

1 large banana

1/2 cup plain whole fat yogurt

1/2 cup fresh spinach

1 tablespoon real maple syrup (optional)

1 tablespoon Chia seeds

1/2-3/4 cup water

Throw all the ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth. Use a funnel or baster to fill. Makes 5-6 ice-pop pouches.