Frozen Treats Can Be Fun And Nutritious!

Popsicles are a fun, refreshing treat and can be packed with nutrition if you make your own with frozen smoothies.Homemade popsicles can be made with fuit  and vegetable juices or purees like smoothies or pudding. Smoothie and pudding-pops are a great way for people who need thickened liquids to have frozen treats since they can't have ice cream (because it melts to a thin liquid).To people who are hypersensitive to temperature popsicles can be painfully cold. I've worked with kids (and you might know adults) who are extremely sensitive to cold foods and won't eat anything straight from the fridge, let alone the freezer! Other people won't eat anything hot and will wait to eat (while everyone else in the family or the lunch table eats) until their food has cooled to room temperature (and the meal is nearly over).  This kind of hypersensitivity can limit the number and quantity of foods they eat. Getting used to touching hot or cold foods can be a long process of changing how a person's brain and body react to temperature.Painting with frozen treats is a fun way to start getting used to them and explore them as they melt. I especially like the push-pop-style silicon molds in the picture above because you can wrap a towel around them to adjust how cold they feel and the cone shape doesn't drip on fingers. This way kids can feel confident that they're touching the cold outside or icy, popsicle inside when they want to and won't get surprised and scared by drips.Paint dots, draw squiggles, mush the popsicle into a tray. Once your child has gotten used to the texture by paining with a popsicle, they may be more comfortable touching it with their fingers and finger painting in the warmer, melted popsicle left on the tray. Maybe now they'll lick a drip from their finger. Maybe not, but each step that they're having fun is one step closer to becoming comfortable enough with a new food to taste it!Add A Song:Sing about what you are doing with the food to the tune of “This Is The Way We Go To School.” Ex: “This is the way we paint with popsicles, paint with popsicles, paint with popsicles. This is the way we paint with popsicles so early in the morning.”Sing into your popsicle like a microphone, then maybe try a taste :)Enjoy and happy food play!