I had the pleasure of having a special little eight- year- old girl spend a week with me this summer. The special girl was my youngest granddaughter Ashley. She came to visit me from Atlanta. We had big fun doing all the wonderful thing that little girls enjoy doing. We visited the library, had our nails done and just enjoyed each other’s company. Ashley expressed her unhappiness with having to eat fruit for breakfast. Nana, “I don’t like that, what’s that? Woo, that looks yucky”… on and on.
On this one particular morning, we were going to have fruit for breakfast consisting of honeydew melon, cantaloupe, watermelon, blueberries, raspberries, and strawberries.
Well turns out Ashley didn’t like the texture of the honeydew melon or the cantaloupe. Strategy number one was to turn the fruit into a fruit smoothie. We took the fruit placed it in the blender and wa-la a fruit smoothie. It was time for the smoothie taste test. Ashley took a taste and said, “Nana it’s too mushy.” What’s a Nana to do? It was apparent she didn’t like the texture of the melons.
Well back to the drawing board I had to come up with a plan B. I said to Ashley, “okay, you’ll have the berries and cereal for breakfast. After breakfast, we’ll make a trip to Bed Bath and Beyond Store to purchase Popsicle molds.”
I explained to Ashley that we would make popsicles from the smoothie mixture. The fruit mixture would be placed in the molds, allowed to freeze overnight and the next day we would have fruit popsicles. Brilliant idea if I must say so myself. 
Ashley was so excited and happy to make popsicles she could barely contain herself. She finished breakfast with no complaints.
Fruity Popsicles
- 3 cups honeydew and cantaloupe
- 5 to 7 medium strawberries
- ½ cup blueberries
- ½ cup raspberries
- ¼ cup water
- ¼ cup simple syrup made from equal parts boiled sugar and water (simple syrup is optional)
- 8 count Popsicle Mold (sizes may vary)
- In a small saucepan combine equal parts sugar and water. Stirring frequently cook over low heat to dissolve the sugar. Allow the simple syrup (sugar mixture) to cool. The hot simple syrup will cook the fruit if not allowed to cool.
- Place the melons, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and simple syrup in a blender and mix until smooth.
- Fill each Popsicle mold with the fruit mixture.
- Freeze the molds overnight.
- Remove the Popsicle mold from the freezer and allow it to stand for 2-3 minutes before taking the Popsicles out of the molds for eating.
Need I say more? Ashley took a few licks from her popsicle it was official, she now likes melons. Changing the form of the food made her like the melon. Most importantly, the popsicles are filled with healthy vitamins and minerals. This was a wonderful opportunity to introduce Ashley to simple cooking techniques. It’s been a game changer for Ashley it’s changed her perspective about foods she thought she didn’t like. We’ve been able to spend time in the kitchen together creating wonderful memories, which is a priceless experience. The rest is history! Shall I say Ashley’s a happy customer?