As the summer heats up the ice cream queues get longer and all our kids are dreaming of a daily cool treat; why not try adding some variety by making some of them at home using the flavors and foods that nature has gifted us with - and a little less of the nasty stuff.
It may surprise you to realize that herbs make a great companion to fruit in a refreshing ice pop! Not only do they taste great, look so pretty and are a little bit different but you are also adding to the diversity and variety of plant chemicals and nutrients that you consume in your daily diet.
Historically, herbs have been used medicinally and in cooking for thousands of years where evidence dates back to the Paleolithic age. Today most of us are less inclined to use all the herbs available to us and even less to have an appreciation of the value they bring over and above what they taste like. But herbs are a wonderful and simple way to get back into gardening, to experiment with cooking and to teach kids about growing their food because they give so much reward in their smell and how fast some of them grow
These recipes are intentionally simple and require minimum equipment in order to fit into the busy lives of families. It’s always possible to add complexity to anything, but in so doing we reduce the chance of us doing it and most importantly repeating it.
Keeping it simple encourages kids to make their own ice cream easily and be creative with their friends.
My base method for making our popsicles at home is to take a herb, blend it with either water or a milk, add a fruit and a little something sweet if its needed. Then pour the mixture into moulds.
For the popsicles moulds I use stainless steel to avoid the use of plastic. I also use a simple gelato maker that makes an instant soft scoop ice-cream and just requires you to make a smoothie type mixture which you pour in. Ice cream is done in 15 mins.
The Herbs used in the recipes below and their benefits
Cinnamon
Cinnamon is well known and well researched for its effects on blood sugar “Research has shown that adding cinnamon to diet can help to lower the glucose level" and can improve our sensitivity to the hormone insulin. It is also a sweet spice along with other spices such as nutmeg, allspice and fennel, so by adding it to a recipe it has the effect of allowing you to detect the natural sweetness already in the food.
On top of this, as with most plants, it is a rich source of antioxidants and has anti inflammatory properties.
Sweet Basil
The aroma that we get from herbs come from their unique essential oils. Even though they contain a variety of nutrients, we eat only small portions of herbs per meal compared to fruit and vegetables, so it is largely the essential oil and other unique plant chemicals that we use herbs for.
Basil contains a significant amount of vitamin K and by the nature of how we eat basil (in pesto and in salads) we can eat quite a large quantity.
Other research suggests that sweet basil may help improve fasting blood sugar levels and reduce blood pressure as well as reduce stress related depression - among many others.
Hibiscus
Another beauty from nature that offers us the promise and a long and well life. The stunning hibiscus has been well researched and studies have found that it may help with reducing blood pressure, lowering cholesterol as well as helping protect the liver.
Hibiscus has also been shown to switch on autophagy, which is a natural process the body triggers to clear out our old or dysfunctional cells. Autophagy is the process trigged during fasting.
Mint
Using peppermint tea to aid digestion, by helping to relax the GI tract, is probably its most popular and well accepted medicinal use. But peppermint may have other benefits because of its ability to relieve muscle tension, from helping to relieve tension headaches to helping us relax before bed, to relieving menstrual cramps.
Lavender and berries
Lavender and berries have both been studied for their ability to lift moods and reduce anxiety. In berries in particular it is the group of pigments called anthocyanins, that give them their purple color and that are of particular benefit.
Lavender tea may also be of benefit in digestive issues by influencing the gut microbiome.
Recipes
Sweet Basil and Cinnamon soft serve ice cream
dairy free & refined sugar free
Ingredients
1 Can of organic full fat coconut ice cream
10 fresh basil leaves
3/4 tsp cinnamon
2.5 tbsp maple syrup (or your choice of sweetener. Use less if you prefer)
1 tsp vanilla essence
Method
1. Put all the ingredients into a blender and blend until completely combined.
Option 1 - Switch on your gelato machine and use as per instruction.
Option 2 - If you don’t have a fast gelato maker. Simply pour the mix into popsicle moulds and freeze.
Hibiscus and Mint popsicles - Dairy free and refined sugar free
Ingredients - makes about 4 popsicles
1 Hibiscus organic tea bags
2 cups of water
3/4 of a fresh lime
6 mint leaves
1 tbsp Raw honey (or coconut sugar, maple syrup, 100% stevia as fresh leaf or drops)
Method
Make the hibiscus tea as you would any herbal tea. Place the bag in a cup and pour over 2 cups of boiled water. Cover and leave to infuse for 5-10 mins depending on your preference of strength of flavor. Take out the tea bag.
Add the honey and allow the tea to cool
Place tea in a blender along with lime juice, mint leaves and raw honey.
Once blended you can either pour as it is into the popsicle moulds of you can sieve and then pour. Optional is to add a mint leaf into the bottom of the mould before you pour in the mixture.
Freeze for minimum 6 hours.
NB Stainless steel popsicle moulds are an excellent long lasting solution in preference to plastic moulds.
Lavender and blueberry creamy popsicles -
Dairy free and refined sugar free
Ingredients - makes about 4 popsicles
1 tsp lavender flowers (either from your garden or you can buy bags of organic edible lavender flowers for use in cooking)
1 cup of water
1 cup of organic full fat coconut milk
1/2 lime
1/4 cup of frozen organic blueberries (reserve a few berries to put at the bottom of the popsicle mould.
2 fresh Stevia leaves (or use stevia drops as per instructions on the bottle)
Method
Make tea as you would any herbal tea. Place the loose lavender flowers in a cup and pour over the boiling water. Cover and leave to infuse for 5-10 mins depending on taste. Taste after 5 min and see if it as strong as you desire.
Strain out the flowers and allow it to cool.
Meanwhile place the other ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth.
Place 3-4 berries at the bottom of our mould and pour over the mix.
Freeze for minimum 6 hours.