October 4, 2020

by drplasticpicker

The world is in chaos these days. I was obsessively checking CNN and Politico since Thursday night, since every time I checked someone else who I would think of as evil doers was getting COVID-19 due to not wearing mask. But as a pediatrician and generally one that does not wish anyone harm (I just wish they would not get reelected), I realize that it is a sad situation for the country. I think the moral of the story is not to doctor shop. When you have a good physician who does not bow to your every whim, then probably you have someone who cares about you and will take care of you rather than worrying about “satisfaction” scores. Again, it’s just sad all around. I do not wish harm to befall on anyone. I do wish the next administration will help stop climate change.

So what should we do on this blog this Sunday? Lets rediscover home-made popsicles! This made me think of a time I was not very financially savy. There is a “gourmet popsicle” vendor in our area and I once ordered them for my daughter’s birthday party at school. It costs $3 a popsicle and everything is organic and local. Let’s just say my life circumstances made that decision the ultimate in stupidity. I had worked just that morning in clinic, but back them we were still working a lot of mandatory overtime in pediatrics. I was probably sleep deprived and a young mother, trying to make sure my young kids had the same school experiences as other kids with stay-at-home moms. I also inhabited this upper-middle class world of classroom moms that was in this idioitc one-upmanship of providing fancy classroom birthday celebrations. Again, I was young and sleep deprived and honestly not making good decisions.

I got home after morning clinic and was planning a quick nap before needing to be at school about 2pm, and by the time I woke up I had hardly any time to spare picking up the popsicles and making it in time to the 15 minutes window we were given at our fancy private school to do birthday celebrations. It ended up working out fine, but I was flustered for the rest of the day and likely risked my life speeding to school with the $3 a piece popsicles in a cooler. I just kept on thinking, did I really have $3 popsicles melting in the back of my car? Is this the financial stupidity of a two MD household? It cost me over $100 and I did not enjoy the process. The kids enjoyed the popsicles and I made it in time before they melted. But I’m not sure if they enjoyed it more than just the normal store brought ones that cost $10 for 24 count box. Actually both came wrapped in plastic.

Subsequent years I figured out just to buy the Organic Dole Outshine Popsicles and got better reviews from the kids. But now that we have wildfires ranging through California still and record heat waves, it is time to go single-use plastic free and reduce food waste by making our own home-made popsicles! Oh regarding the title. That store was called Viva Pops and my daughter’s nickname is Vivi. She is going to experience with her own popsicles soon! I’m rather eat pops from Vivi Pops than Viva Pops, although I do support local small businesses. It just wasn’t the right small business for me.

If you remember I had the failed apple scrap vinegar project #1, and essentially got half a moldy concoction that was thrown out and half a probably slightly alcoholic juice. I sterilized the apple-scrap juice concoction and then froze them. Anyway, I’ve since eaten 4 apple-scrap juice pops and they were really good. And then yesterday, I was hot again and found 2 old yogurt containers that no one has eaten since it taste gross with artificial sweeteners. I made yogurt pops by adding in some sugar and pieces of cooked banana. It was actually really good and now those yogurt containers are gone, and we don’t buy small yogurt containers anymore because of the plastic waste. These two efforts were haphazard and my own personal food waste projects, but it got me to thinking about incorporating popsicles into our normal repertoire. We had these durable plastic popsicle molds from years ago. Let’s get creative!

1. CREAMY COCONUT POPSICLES!!! Mr. Plastic Picker and I went on a budget honeymoon. We were married after our third year of medical school, so not yet MDs. I think my father was a bit confused as to why we were getting married that year and I had not yet earned by degree, but the way medical training is ordered – that’s the only summer you have off for a few years before diving into residency training. We were applying to residency, finishing up third year of medical school, and got married. We have always been simple people, and Hawaii was an easy honeymoon and back then inexpensive honeymoon destination from Southern California. We got a budget package and stayed for some of it at Coconut Plantation in Kaui. Everything was flavored with coconuts. This recipe reminds me of the fun times at the Coconut Plantation!

Ingredients

•  1 (13.5 oz can) full fat coconut milk
•  1 cup sweetened shredded coconut flakes
•  1 (14 oz can) sweetened condensed milk
•  1 cup heavy cream

Instructions

1. Combine the coconut milk, shredded coconut, condensed milk, and heavy cream in a blender and blend until all the ingredients are mixed. Pour the mixture evenly into each popsicle mold. Freeze for at least an additional 4 hours (overnight is best). Probably takes 6 hours.
2. To remove from mold, run the base of the mold under warm water.

Here is the original website from where the recipe comes from! Please click to give them some credit and see better instructions! I’m excited about this recipe because when we make curry with coconut milk, we usually have some leftover coconut milk and I have a can of sweetened condensed milk. I’m sure I can play around with the recipes and add pineapple and all kinds of fruits that are ripe and delicious, but that the kids don’t want to eat right away. https://littlespicejar.com/coconut-popsicles-paletas-de-coco/

2. Carrot, Orange & Ginger Popsicles. OMG this is totally meant to be! My parents in law just bought a 25 pounds bag of organic carrots from the business costco. I also want to buy Ginger to make my own curry paste. We always have oranges, lemons or some kind of citrus that is nearing the end of it’s shelf life! This will be so cool and lots of vitamin C!

ingredients

• 1 ½ Cups fresh orange juice
• 1 Cup fresh carrot juice
• 1 inch piece of ginger (optional)

For this recipe you just juice everything in the blender and put in the popsicle mold! Here is the original website https://www.feastingathome.com/grown-up-ice-pops/

3. Matcha Green Tea Popsicles! My father loves loves Matcha. My mom is trying to eat more vegetables and fruits and this would be an easy way to incorporate more. I modified a recipe I found on-line removing the fancy and hard to find stuff.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup hot water
• 4 tsp organic matcha powder
• 1/4 cup granulated sweetener of your choice
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 3/4 tsp almond extract
• 2.5 cups coconut milk or cream

Instructions

1. Heat your water until almost boiling.
2. Place your matcha powder in a small glass bowl or jar and add the water.
3. Whisk to combine and then set aside to brew.
4. In a blender, combine ingredients.
5. Blend until combined.
6. Add your matcha tea mixture and blend again until well combined.
7. Pour into your popsicle molds and freeze until solid, at least 6 hours or overnight.

Click here for the original recipe. https://www.deliciousobsessions.com/2018/08/creamy-matcha-green-tea-popsicles/

I was going to make beer bread this weekend. I still might. But I’m super excited about rediscovering these durable popsicle molds we bought 8 years ago! I’m most excited about incorporating popsicles into our attempts to reduce food waste, and also satisfy those times we crave “ice cream.” Usually those trips to the yogurt shop results in single-use containers and lots of trash. This way we can also be more creative and control the sugar content.

Do you have popsicle molds at home? What creative recipes have you tried at home as a family? So fun! When I counsel families about incorporating more fruits and veggies into their diet, I will make sure to add popsicles. I’m going to go back and edit thsoe blogposts and link to this blog! Yeah!