Strawberry Banana Popsicles (Shhh... no sugar added!)

Seems the rest of the country is turning to thoughts of back to school and fall, but here in San Diego summer is just getting going.  Our weather has been a bit strange this year bringing rain (a rare occurrence for us), heavy marine layers that hide the sun for days at a time, and cooler temps.  Until this week.

This morning I woke to a brilliant sun peeking over the horizon and temps already warmer than some of the highs from the past few weeks.  And with no air conditioning in our house, popsicles seemed a "cool" plan.

Serving double duty, these popsicles also served as temporary ice packs filled with fruit for my girl who underwent oral surgery yesterday.  Her somewhat confused teeth set a permanent tooth shooting horizontally low in her jaw and left  unchecked would have sheared off the roots of her front teeth.  Hence, the tooth needed to come out, and along with a bit of bone, she's now free of the rouge bicuspid and nursing a sore jaw.

As we know from my prior post (surgery has been all in the family this last week) the after effects of anesthesia and pain meds can be not so pleasant, hence the all fruit popsicle to reset my girl's tummy.

A simple recipe of bananas, strawberries, chia and a few splashes of oj, brought all of Liv's favorite ingredients together and packed the nutrition I was looking for.  Banana?  Filled with fiber bananas can help ease the uncomfortable after effects of narcotic pain meds, and acting as a prebiotic the fruits assist the growth of friendly gut bacteria which are wiped out by antibiotics.  Add in the fact that the high levels of vitamin B-6 can help reduce swelling and we have a real winner.

Next we have strawberries, rich in antioxidants, the Vitamin C in the berries gives the immune system a boost along with more fiber and their fabulous sweetness.

"Strawberries are the angels of the earth, innocent and sweet with leafy green wings reaching heavenward."

Jasmine Heiler

And next orange juice... also packed with that immune boosting Vitamin C, orange juice is said to help reduce inflammation and heck, it's also good for your heart.  A few splashes perk up any smoothie or popsicle and work as the perfect liquefying agent for our blend.

So here's to summer, fat lips and simply hanging by the pool.  Wishing you a happy and healthy day filled with balance and a little bit of chill.

Strawberry Banana Popsicles
Strawberry and banana - always the perfect complement to each other, and frozen together bring a lovely sweet (with no sugar added!) popsicle that will have you reaching for a second.  And since they are all fruit... why not?   #Chill
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1 ripe banana, peeled
1 cup organic strawberries (cut in half)
1/2 cup orange juice (adjust as needed... add more if mixture is too thick)
1 tsp chia seed, optional

Place fruit and juice into a blender and blend until smooth.  Add chia seed if desired and give another whirl to combine.

Pour mixture into popsicle molds and freeze.

Sun in San Diego!