Truth: my son is OBSESSED with ice cream! I mean who can blame the kid, it’s delicious. We live down the street from Little Man Ice Cream in Denver (one of the most delicious ice cream shops I’ve ever been to). We love to take family strolls and have ice cream dates, but the truth is we don’t allow Giulian to eat ice cream whenever he wants (which would be every dang meal). Since he’s always asking for ice cream or popsicles, especially during the summer months, we decided we needed to think of something else that he’d be satisfied with. We’ve gotten a bit creative with ways to say “yes” to ice cream and popsicles but with it being a win-win for both us and Giulian. There are three alternatives we use now when Giulian asks for ice cream and popsicles. I thought I’d share them with you just in case your kiddo shares a similar obsession! If you have other alternatives, please comment below, I’d love to hear your ideas!

1. Healthy Popsicles

We’ve been making our own popsicles instead of store bought so we can cut back on the sugar and add some veggies (sneaky sneaky). When making these, you really can’t go wrong. Try blending things like water, spinach, a little bit if apple juice, berries, bananas, maybe add some carrots or almond yogurt to thicken the popsicles! Get creative! I love adding berries and bananas because it really masks the taste of the spinach. Giulian loves these and I seriously LOVE giving them to him!! This alternative is my favorite because it’s the one that will sneak a ton of spinach in my son’s diet. I truly feel like I’m winning when he eats these, because he is happy and feels like he is getting what he wants, while I’m thrilled that he’s eating fruits and veggies and getting the nutrients he needs. Sometimes I’ll even give him a “popsicle” for breakfast! It’s the same as doing a smoothie, but a bit more fun to eat!

You can get popsicle molds off amazon! I’ve linked the ones we use. You might need to turn off any ad blocker in order to view the popsicle mold link.

2. Frozen Bananas

Yep, simple. I’ve been buying an extra bunch of bananas and freezing them! Giulian loves the texture and is convinced it’s some sort of ice cream popsicle thingy even though it’s only a banana. Another pro to this is it takes them a while to eat, which maybe buys you some time to get the dishes done or sip on your coffee!

3. Frozen Greek Yogurt

The last thing we’ve been loving as an alternative to ice cream is freezing these Siggis Dairy squeezable pouches (in photo below). They’re only 50 calories and a great treat for Giulian (or mommy). We purchase these at King Soopers but I’m sure you can find them or something similar at wherever you grocery shop.

I hope you found this post helpful! If you have other creative ways to “trick” our kiddos into eating healthy things, please drop a comment below! I’d love to hear your ideas and try them out with Giulian! Thanks for reading! Make sure to subscribe.