Berry Popsicles for brekkie? Why not? It’s summer. These popsicles offer fruit, dairy and whole grains, and they’re seasonally on point.

Addressing the “Summer Slide”

In an earlier post, I mentioned a concept called the “summer slide.” The summer slide refers to a decline in nutritious foods choices and physical activity that happens over the summer months. Children gain weight 2-3 times faster during their summer vacation than during the entire school year. While WE might remember playing outside all day and having watermelon seed spitting contests, many children today are spending their summers watching TV, playing video games and mindlessly eating unhealthy foods. Summer weight gain can occur in any child, children most at risk for this weight gain are those kids who are already overweight or obese. So, what’s a health conscious parent to do? I’m simply trying to offer healthy options as often as I can…

June is National Dairy Month

Since June is National Dairy Month, we thought we’d whip up a dairy-rich brekkie popsicle using low-fat milk and yogurt from our local Midwest Dairy friends, Prairie Farms. The body of science shows that eating nutritious dairy foods — such as milk, cheese and yogurt — improves bone health, especially in children and adolescents. The package of nutrients you obtain in one-serving of milk or yogurt are hard to replicate in other foods. One serving includes high-quality protein, calcium, vitamin D and more.
While adding a glass of milk at mealtime is a simple way to enjoy dairy; some kiddos don’t love plain milk. I’ll often add a scoop of Ovaltine to mealtime milk or offer yogurt with breakfast or as an evening snack. These Brekkie Popsicles are equal to one serving of dairy, plus a serving of fruit and whole-grains.

The Kitchen as a Classroom

Kid’s who don’t participate in enrichment and learning activities during the summer break can lose roughly 22 percent of the knowledge and skills they gained during the previous school year, according to the National Summer Learning Association. This loss in knowledge may mean a kid could spend the first two months of the new school year playing catch-up.
The kitchen can be an amazing classroom. Math skills can be honed by measuring out ingredients, language can be improved by reading recipes, and science can occur when they figure out how long it takes to for popsicles to melt after taking them out of the freezer!
These brekkie berry popsicles really are an all-around win. We hope you enjoy them as much as we do.
Need popsicle molds? We love these because they’re easy to clean and easy on the wallet.
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Watch my favorite sous chef and I make these popsicles on KSDK, Show Me St. Louis!