When the weather is warm, we make a lots of smoothies and ice creams (see HERE, HERE, HERE, and HERE for a few of the many recipes I’ve posted). When we make these things, I always make a rather big batch. We generally finish most of, if not all, of what I make at that same time. My boys, in general, eat a lot, though their appetites vary from day to day.

But what do I do when we don’t finish a smoothie or another treat of this nature? I take what we have left and I pour it into ice pop molds. This is a simple way to reduce food waste (see HERE), and it guarantees that all summer long, we have an assortment of ice pops on hand for quick, healthy treats.

It also makes it so I don’t have to put a lot of time and effort into thinking about ice pops. While I sometimes make batches of things specifically to fill our ice pop molds; using our leftover smoothies and ice creams (the bulk of which are fruit sweetened and contain lots of healthy ingredients) takes care of it for me.

This makes it so that throughout the summer, we always have enough ready-made ice pops on hand that I can pass them out to my boys and their friends whenever someone asks for one.

If you don’t do this already, I highly suggest that you give it a try. It doesn’t take a lot of effort to throw a few extra smoothie ingredients into your blender if you’re already making one, and it makes it so you have another healthy treat ready for another day with no additional clean up.

What do you do with your leftover smoothies? Do you have a favorite simple way to keep healthy treats on hand?