It was a lot easier before she connected our freezer with her beloved pops. That plus her learning sign language has led to more ice pop meals than I care to admit. I am thrilled she can communicate, but every power has its price. After she went through a tray of nine pops in two days, I knew something must be done.
I made pops with spinach with hopes that it would slow down her love. She kept demanding them, but wouldn't finish them. To be honest, I felt kind of bad about the whole thing. I always swore I wouldn't hide greens in food and here I was deceiving on her on an already pretty wholesome snack. I mean, my pops are generally filled with fruit and ground flax seeds, is that really the worst thing I could feed her?
My goal with this pop was a little more nutrient oomph plus the same fruity goodness. We had some ridiculously ripe mango from the CSA that I needed to use so I combined that with silken tofu and frozen blueberries. Fresh fruit, vitamin C from the blueberries, and creamy protein from the tofu.
For those of you not familiar with silken tofu, it's a less dense version of tofu that does not need to be refrigerated and has the power to create non-dairy creamy dishes and desserts. Vegan cooks know what's up. I have seen it used in everything from macaroni and cheese to chocolate mousse.
Creamy Fruity Protein Pops
1 cup fresh mango, diced
[1/2] cup frozen or fresh blueberries
6 ounces silken tofu (half the package)
1. Combine all ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth. Pour into ice pop molds. This makes 9 small kid pops and 2 adult ones.
Allergy notes: If you are dealing with a soy allergy, try subbing in Greek yogurt. You'll still get a nice dose of protein. Dairy allergy, try a [1/4] cup of almond milk. You may not get the protein, but you will get some added calcium provided that your almond milk is fortified.
Question for the moms: what snacks have helped your LO through teething?
