This Vitamin C popsicle recipe is fast and easy!
Summer colds are no fun — I don’t know if it’s the school’s-out letdown, or all of the new germs (public pools and beach toilets!) but right after the last day of school one of my kids is sure to wake up congested and complaining of a sore throat thanks to sinus drainage (yum.)
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When my kids are coming down with a summer cold, the first thing I do is shut down sugar. I remember my mom giving me 7 Up and Saltines and Campbell’s Chicken Noodle Soup when I got sick as a kid, but when we know better, we do better:
Sugar and processed food hurt — they don’t heal!
These Vitamin C popsicles offer over 100 mg of natural Vitamin C — that’s Vitamin C from whole fruit and a natural Vitamin C supplement, not from ascorbic acid.
Vitamin C popsicles are cold and soothing on a sore throat and the Kiwi-Strawberry Lemonade flavor is sweet and tart — a refreshing treat for kids who aren’t feeling their best.
I keep these Kiwi-Strawberry Lemonade popsicles on hand all summer to provide an immunity boost thanks to the high Vitamin C content from food-based sources. This recipe also makes a great smoothie! Check out the printable recipe card below for instructions on using this recipe to make a Kiwi-Strawberry Lemonade smoothie!
Each Kiwi-Strawberry Lemonade popsicle provides 103 mg of Vitamin C for just 25 cents!
If you don’t have Vitamin C powder on hand, no worries: check out the table below — these popsicles still have over 30 mg of Vitamin C each if you make them with just strawberries, kiwis, and lemon juice!
We’re used to taking megadose Vitamin C supplements of 500 mg or 1000 mg, but those are always made with ascorbic acid. Natural doses of Vitamin C are going to look more reasonable — take an orange, for instance: 1 small orange provides just 51 mg of Vitamin C, but we recognize it as a solid source of this necessary nutrient!
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Shopping List for Kiwi-Strawberry Lemonade Popsicles:
- An awesome popsicle mold like the one I use!
- Wood popsicle sticks — yes, you need 1,000!
- Natural Vitamin C powder. I use this Non-GMO L-Ascorbic acid Vitamin C that is NOT made in China.
- If the L-Ascorbic acid powder seems expensive, I understand! It was hard for me to take that leap too! A great, cheaper option for Vitamin C powder is budget-friendly NOW Acerola. It offers 4:1 Acerola cherry to ascorbic acid and is a great option if you’re trying to avoid GMO ascorbic acid.
- One cup of strawberries. I try to buy organic strawberries when I can — Costco often has frozen organic strawberries for $2.50/lb, and I scored the strawberries priced here for just $1.88/lb from Sprouts. One pint of strawberries makes 3 batches of this recipe.
- 3 kiwis. Is kiwis the plural of kiwi? I get them at Walmart for $0.33 each (Note that buying kiwis individually is a bit cheaper than the big container at Walmart or Costco.)
- 1 oz of lemon juice. That’s the juice of 1 small lemon. I hate paying $0.50 each for lemons, so I buy the Italian Volcano Organic Lemon Juice at Costco — $7.99 for two 1 Liter bottles — 2 Liters have the juice of 80 lemons, so that’s like getting organic lemons for 10 cents each!
Here’s the printable recipe card for Kiwi-Strawberry Lemonade Vitamin C Popsicles!
- 1 cup strawberries (5 oz)
- 3 kiwis (peeled)
- 1 oz lemon juice
- 1 1/2 tsp Vitamin C powder (or equivalent amount to equal 600 mg of Vitamin C)
- 2 cups water
- Blend all ingredients and pour into ten 2.5 oz popsicle molds.
- Freeze for one hour, then insert popsicle sticks.
- Freeze for 4 hours, or until solid.
How do you help your kids stay well during summer vacation?
Pin this to your Clean Eating and Summer boards so you can make this fast and easy recipe whenever your kids need a Vitamin C boost this summer!
