Consumer Corner: The Healthiest Grocery Store Popsicles & Some Home-made Ideas

The sizzling days of summer are here.  What better way to cool off from the heat than with an ice-cold popsicle?  An array of options await you at the grocery store.  It is pretty tough to find popsicles made from just 100% juice or whole fruit.  Sugar, fructose, high fructose corn syrup, or a combination of these sweeteners are used in traditional varieties.  No sugar added assortments tend to contain artificial sweeteners like sucralose (Splenda) and aspartame (NutraSweet or Equal), so I recommend avoiding these products.  It is okay for kids to have an occasional classic pop like those made by Popsicle, but I think it is smarter to purchase brands that provide more whole fruit and less added sweeteners (natural and artificial).

This post features my top 5 picks for the healthiest popsicles you can buy in the grocery store, focusing on basic fruit flavored pops. Calorie, fat, sugar and nutrient content, and artificial additives and ingredients were all considered when making my top selections.  I’ve tried to stick to brands that are available nationwide so that the majority of you can actually find these popsicles at a store close by.

5. Breyers Pure Fruit Berry Swirls

These blended pops feature two different fruit flavors per bar.  They contain a negligible 40 calories, 9 grams sugar, and no fat, while providing 10% Daily Value for vitamin C.

4.  Edy’s Fruit Bars:  Grape

The grape fruit bars contains 80 calories, 20 grams of sugar, and no fat.  An excellent source of vitamin C, this bar contains 25% the Daily Value.

3. Dole Fruit Bars:  Variety Pack

Like pick 4, this pop also contains 25% Daily Value for vitamin C and has only 50 calories, 12 grams sugar, and no fat.

2. Whole Fruit Fruit Bars: Strawberry

Strawberries are the second ingredient listed in this pick that contains 70 calories, 12 grams sugar, and no fat, yet, it has an added bonus of 1 gram of fiber!  Again, this pick covers 25% Daily Value for vitamin C.

1. Power of Fruit Bars

This brand contains no added sweeteners.  The original all fruit flavor has a negligible 27 kcals and 4 grams sugar, while providing 1 gram fiber, and 26% Daily Value for Vitamin C.  One bar equals half of a daily fruit serving!

The tastiest popsicles can be the ones you make yourself. Why make your own popsicles?  It is fun, cheap, and you can control the ingredients. Use your imagination and come up with your own mouthwatering combinations.  No fancy materials or molds necessary. Keep it simple by using Dixie cups or an ice cube tray instead of molds.  Just fill your container with your mixture, cover with a piece of foil, and insert a popsicle stick or toothpick through the foil into the mixture (the foil will keep the stick or toothpick vertical until frozen). Freeze for several hours and enjoy!

Below are a couple of recipes you may want to try:

Grape Pops (Taken from Pops! Icy Treats for Everyone) 

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups seedless red grapes, cut in half
4 1/2 cups white grape juice

Preparation:

1. Divide the grape halves among the pop molds. Pour in the grape juice and insert the sticks.
2. Freeze for at least 6 hours.
3. Remove from the freezer; let stand at room temperature for 5 minutes before removing the pops from the molds.

Per serving:  66 calories, 0.2 g fat, 15.7 g carbohydrates, 0.8 g protein, 0 g fiber, 2 mg sodium

Watermelon Blueberry Ice Pops (Adapted from Epicurious)

Ingredients:

3 3/4 cups chopped seedless watermelon

2 tablespoons lime juice

1-2 tablespoons sugar

1 cup fresh blueberries

Preparation:

1. Puree watermelon, lime juice and sugar to taste in a food processor or blender until smooth.  Divide blueberries among freezer-pop molds.
2. Top with the watermelon mixture. Insert the sticks and freeze until completely firm, about 6 hours.
3. Dip the molds briefly in hot water before unmolding.

Per serving: 29 calories, 0 g fat, 8 g carbohydrates, 1 g added sugars, 0 g protein, 1 g fiber, 1 mg sodium

What are your favorite popsicles?

Disclaimer: Just The Right Byte provided an objective and independent review of these products; no affiliations or support was obtained from any grocer or food marketer.

Contributing Author:  Katherine Fowler, MS, RD, LDN