Watermelon Lemonade Popsicles: the Official Treat of Hot Summer Days

Is there anything better than coming in from swimming or playing outside in the summer and cooling off with a popsicle? Well, that certainly has been our jam in the last few weeks, and I have been loving it--swimming and popsicles may be the only things keeping me sane in the heat, to be honest.  Of course, we are not going to buy those store-bought freezy pops full of corn syrup and food coloring (the ones I loved as a kid), but instead, I made a healthy version at home to satisfy our popsicle cravings.

The idea for the Watermelon Lemonade version of these homemade popsicles was a collaboration between the kiddo and myself (she was very proud!), and turned out not only to be delicious, but a super-hydrating recipe that is full of electrolytes in addition to delicious flavor. The watermelon provides potassium and the sea salt offers a bit of sodium, both helping to replenish us after sweating in the hot sun. If you use coconut water in lieu of water here, it adds even more electrolytes, including some magnesium as well.

I bought these DIY Flav-R-Ice/Otter Pop/ice pop bags online ( I got the Zipzicle brand), which are essentially long, skinny zip-top bags that you fill and freeze. I thought they were so cool, I just had to try them. These were so easy to use and made me reminisce about eating the neon-colored ones in my childhood, earning them bonus points. You should certainly try this recipe, but you can also fill these homemade popsicle molds with so many other combinations, such as pureed fruit and yogurt, other fruit/citrus combos like I made here, or even straight up coconut water, which turned out amazing! I may have to try some adult popsicles, too, with some iced coffee or cocktail versions...stay tuned for that!

This was so nice to have something homemade and healthy as a summertime treat, but was also great as a project to make with the kiddo. She even wanted to make a recipe card of our collaboration, which is about as sweet as can be! If your family is looking for a little project, I highly recommend giving this recipe a try--they will love to fill the little bags and see them change as they freeze over a few hours! Stay cool and hydrated, have fun, keep boredom at bay...what's not to love?

If you don't want to buy these ice pop-type of baggies, you can still totally make this recipe, just use any popsicle mold that you like. They also make silicone reusable versions of these ice pop molds if you prefer, although we washed and reused these zip-top versions a few times with no issues. Most popsicle molds hold much more volume, however, so you may want to double the recipe to make an entire batch if using a different type. Heck, you may want to double the recipe anyway, since these are likely to be eaten up quickly!

Healthy Watermelon-Lemonade Popsicles
Makes 6 Flav-R-Ice/Otter Pop-style popsicles

Ingredients:
Juice of 1 lemon
2 Tbs raw honey
1/2 cup water or coconut water
3 cups diced watermelon
1 big pinch of sea salt
Optional: a few sprigs of fresh mint or basil

Directions:
Place all ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth.

Pour into popsicle bags or molds up to the fill line. Be careful not to overfill, as the liquid expands as it freezes and can make the bag burst if overfilled (free science lesson involved!!). I used a small funnel to fill my bags, which made it a much easier, neater process, but is probably not a deal-breaker if you don't own one that fits in the bags.

Put into the freezer, letting them sit upright as they freeze, for about 3 hours or until they are completely frozen. Then, enjoy and be thankful it's summer!