Beautiful simplicity (two ingredients—maybe three if you wanna get fancy) and a gentle exercise in planning and patience (gotta think ahead and wait for them to freeze) followed by an exercise in focus (gotta eat it before it melts). Homeschooling looks like this sometimes…activities that serve me just as much as my kids and are best completed outside in the sunshine. So, here it is—a flexible Strawberry Orange Popsicle recipe (adjust proportions to your liking):

1 cup strawberries (chopped)

2 cups orange juice

ideas for a third ingredient—mint, basil, or even microgreens (we’ve got purple kohlrabi this week!) if you’re feeling adventurous or are looking for ways to get your kids to eat more greens.

Instructions:

1. Blend all ingredients.

2. Pour into your popsicle mold. Here’s an article with ideas of how to make popsicles without a mold.

3. Wait a few hours.

4. Go outside, sit in the sun and enjoy.

Ingredients

2 Tbs. roasted sesame oil
3 cups cut into 1 inch slices Japanese eggplant
1 medium red onion, thinly sliced
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 cups cherry tomatoes tomatoes, cut in halves
3 Tbs. low-sodium soy sauce
Juice from one orange
Juice from one lime
1 tbs miso
1 box pea shoots
1/2 cup chopped fresh mint (optional)

Instructions

Heat oil in wok or large pan over high heat. Add eggplant, onion and garlic and stir-fry 6 minutes. Stir in tomatoes and stir-fry for two more minutes. Add soy sauce, orange and lime juice, and pea shoots and cook 2 minutes more. Garnish with mint. Serve over rice.

You can add tofu to the stir-fry to make it a complete dinner. Add your favorite pepper to spice it up. I’m learning to do this on my own plate, to keep it palatable for my kids. It’s tough not making everything spicy right from the start!