Strawberry Orange Popsicles

Happy Friday! While it may be the end of August, technically it's still summer. I still want to make popsicles! Food bloggers be breaking out the pumpkin and spice recipes, while I'm still enjoying popsicles, salads, and grilling. I'm not ready for fall yet, I'm still growing summer veggies! I stopped fertilizing my tomatoes last week, trying to kick-start the ripening of my fruit. It's definitely working, all my tomatoes are starting to change color. Yesterday I harvested a pink beefsteak tomato that was the size of my hand. It was huge! No plans for the giant tomato, I'm still pondering that one. But as I was saying, I don't want summer to end. 

Summer is hands-down my favorite season. I love the sun, the warm balmy air, the uncontrolled jungle-lushness the forest around our house gets, growing vegetables, mowing the lawn, and sipping beers out on the patio. I love wearing shorts and tanks, and feeling the sun warm my skin. I love the optimistic mood summer always brings. I'm always sad when summer winds downs. Thankfully, it's still full-on summer here. And full-on summer means popsicles!

I'm still smack-dab in the middle of my summer strawberry affair, so I always have strawberries lying around the house. And strawberries pair so very well with orange. There's only 3 ingredients in these healthy pops- oranges, strawberries, and honey. They are so light and refreshing, and 100 times better than store-bought. Popsicles are so easy to make, most of the work is hands-off freezing time in the freezer. The results are so worth it. One tip- fresh orange juice is one of those juices where the enzymes degrade fairly quickly, leaving your juice with a bitter flavor. Once you've made the orange pulp, get it into those popsicles molds as soon as you can and into the freezer. This helps stop the degradation of the orange juice and thus, helps preserves the flavor. 

In case you were wondering, my freezer is full of homemade popsicles during the summer :)

My very first 7-mile race is tomorrow! I'm feeling a little nervous, which is normal. I am feeling very prepared though. Extremely prepared. I'm crossing my fingers the humidity is low, however it appears at this time it's going to be really high. It'll be a struggle for me, but definitely a struggle I can overcome. It's crazy how much the humidity affects me, but it's very detrimental to my performance. However, I was thinking back to last year at this time when the hubby and I first decided to get into running. I couldn't even run a mile! My first 5K was Path to the Cure in late September 2013. My finishing time was 37:34, which I obtained with a combination of running and walking. On Wednesday, our workout was to run a 5K. I ran it in 27:41! I was so freakin' proud. I've come a long way in a year, and I couldn't be more proud of myself. Running has given me a sense of accomplishment and peace that had been sorely lacking in my life. And tomorrow? Tomorrow, I go after a new goal. I'd like to finish the race in 1 hour and 20 minutes. I think I'm ready.

Just excited. And anxious. But mostly excited :)

Have a great weekend everyone!

Ingredients (makes 8 popsicles):

4-5 medium size oranges, peeled and sectioned

2 tsp honey

5 strawberries, thinly sliced

Directions:

1. Combine oranges and honey in a food processor. Pulse until smooth.

2. Distribute orange mixture among popsicles molds. Place 2-3 strawberry slices in each popsicle. Insert wooden sticks into each mold. 

3. Freeze until solid, 6-8 hours. Run molds under warm water to free from molds. Store in freezer. 

Printable Recipe

Looking for other popsicle recipes? Try these!

Nectarine Yogurt Pops

Minted Cantaloupe Popsicles

Watermelon Kiwi Ice Pops

Linked to: Weekend Potluck, Foodie Friday, Treasure Box Tuesdays