Summer Fun #whatsthestory

Last week, the temperatures soared (well, went above 20°C in the shade, which is positively baking in England!) and it felt like summer was well and truly here. Jumpers and coats were discarded to be replaced by hats and sunglasses, getting out of the house on the school run was decidedly quicker as I slipped my feet into my Havianas instead of wrestling with socks and laces and not having to decide on which coat for our ever-changing weather.

Ice-lolly sales must have gone through the roof at our local store as choice was a little thin on the ground, but then I remembered I had a lolly-making machine at home, kindly donated by Granny.

When I was a girl, I remember making homemade ice lollies with a kit that my mum had bought. In fact, she still has it and last year she dug it out for a lolly-making day with the kids. I remember making them with cheap and cheerful squash, but, wanting to supply her grandchildren with a good source of fruit, Mum bought an array of fresh fruits to puree and pour into the moulds. It was a little fiddly as we tried to work out which plastic part needed inserting into what (the instructions were long since gone!) and how to prop them up in the freezer without making a mess and losing the lot. We made them first thing in the morning but they weren't ready to eat until much later in the afternoon, but they did taste fantastic! However, the whole process took a lot of time so we only did it the once.
But, on a visit to Dunelm when the kids had gone back to school last September, we stumbled upon a Zoku quick pop maker in the sale. Mum snapped it up ready for the following year but a couple of weeks ago handed it to me saying that she would rather we made use of it.

Well, it couldn't have been better timed! Reading through the instructions, it seemed incredibly easy. The one thing that you needed to be organised with is putting the device in the freezer as it needs 24 hours to be cold enough. The easiest way of making your lolly is buying in some fresh juice (Tesco has some lovely flavours, three bottles for £4 - we had apple & raspberry, apple & mango and pineapple), but make sure there is no artificial sweeteners added. Our machine makes two lollies at a time but you can make three lots (so 6 lollies) without having to refreeze the device and it only takes 7-9 minutes for each batch.


Coming home from school hot and bothered, my youngest two were keen to have a go. To make a double flavour they simply poured the first flavour halfway, waited until it froze (about 4 minutes) and then pour the second flavour to the fill-line. A few minutes later, they attached the Super Tool to loosen the lolly, attached a drip guard, posed for a quick photo, and tucked in!
DS2 was a bit more adventurous and made his with a yogurt core and is keen to try a strawberry milkshake one, and there are lots of other ideas.
It was much quicker and easier than the older kit and the device has a permanent home in our freezer now so it's always ready to use.

Bring on the sunshine!

Disclaimer: This is not a sponsored post, I was just really impressed by this product and wanted to share our experience.

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