Yes! My lawn looks like a prairie. And while I'm sure the homeowners association wants to egg my house, my lawn is not just grass, it's food. "Weeds" have such a bad reputation, but lately they have been the source of our outdoor classroom ventures, meals, and healing. 

Not only is it a survival skill, but it makes for great cross-curriculum lesson plans. We use the "weeds" to make art. We learn about identifying traits such as stem and leaf structure and color of flowers. We also learn to look for warning signs of poisonous plants. While most weeds/herbs are edible, they are not edible especially in the city because of the use of pesticides & herbicides, etc. So, if you know you have been spraying your lawn with chemicals, don't pick a weed and eat it!! Moreover, don't eat anything from your poisonous well manicured lawn!! With that said--Happy Foraging!! Next frontier--edible insects!!! 

In my house, Summer equals ice pops. At any given moment my 1 year old daughter can be found plastered to the freezer door, arms stretched up above her head screaming, "Pop! Poppppp!" I spend my nights blending fruit creations to pour into molds and freeze lest I run out. Not having homemade ice pops in storage could lead to a crazy meltdown. Sitting my children down with ice pop in hand guarantees me at least 20 minutes of uninterrupted me time (as you know I can never get enough of that)! So yes, there is something like an ice pop operation going on over here, and I don't plan on stopping any time soon. 

Pictured above is the Tutti Fruity Pop, Honey Dew Melon Pop, Layered Fruit Pop, Cherry Choco Pop, Watermelon Basil Pop, & Chai Pop.

Please share your favorite Ice Pop creations with me!!!

Here's a few recipes to get your own Ice Pop Operation going:

inspired by Irresistible Ice Pops by Sunil Vijayakar

Layered Fruit Pop:
8 oz strawberries
1/3 cup sugar syrup
2 small ripe peaches chopped
4 kiwis peeled & chopped

Blend each fruit separately, pour one layer, freeze, pour next layer, freeze, etc. 


Orange Dream Pop:
Coconut milk
Orange Juice
Vanilla Extract
Orange extract or essence
maple syrup, honey, or sugar syrup

Banana Fudge Pop:
Bananas
Cocoa Nibs Soaked or carobs
cashews or almonds soaked
almond milk
sugar syrup

Honeydew Heaven Pops
Honeydew melon chopped
sugar syrup or honey 1/2 cup
1 tbsp lemon grass paste
1/2 lemon peeled & cut
Blend. Pour in mold. Freeze.