Homemade Bomb Pops

Eric's current popsicle obsession is Bomb Pops. His taste in popsicles has self-admittedly matured over the years, moving from a "quantity over quality" stance (think mountains of skinny and oh-so-cheap freezer pops) to an appreciation for the finer things in life (aka Edy's Strawberry Whole Fruit Popsicles).

As a gift one day I decided to surprise my man with delicious and healthy home-made Bomb Pops.

But first, dear Readers, a question:

Why the name Bomb Pop? And why is it red, white and blue? The flavors are cherry, lime and blue raspberry, so the obvious color combo there is red, green and blue. Which came first? The shape, the name or the colors? And why should the makers assume that the three go together? America = bombs?

A quick google search revealed not much information about the origins of the bomb pop except that they were first produced in the fifties by Blue Bunny. That's during the Cold War, folks, when everybody had bombs on the brain. Clearly it made sense to reinforce the nation's dominance and paranoia in the minds of children with patriotic popsicles.

On to the subject at hand!

To make these bomb pops, I simply pureed strawberries with a little simple syrup (half sugar, half water, heated in a saucepan until the sugar is dissolved), and poured it in the bottom of my popsicle molds. If you don't have popsicle molds, you could always use small paper cups.

Next I added a bit of vanilla yogurt, but you could try lemon or limeade as well.

Finally, I pureed some blueberries with simple syrup and used them to top off the molds.

Add the popsicle stick/plastic knife/mold caps and freeze away!

In a few hours, you can enjoy your Bomb Pop with the knowledge that you are eating real fruit. And for your information, National Bomb Pop day is celebrated the last Thursday in June. Missed it this year, but I'll be ready next year. We'll have a party, ok?

To unmold, just run hot water around the outside of the mold or cup for a few seconds, and slide the popsicle out.

Obviously, the popsicle is a very adaptable frozen treat. Try different fruits or flavors of yogurt- even frozen pudding!