Swim time and popsicles are as great of friends as PB&J – they just go together! Making homemade popsicles will 1) give Ariel time to get the pool swim-ready; 2) entertain the kids for about 20 minutes; and 3) provide some relief from the heat while you’re hanging poolside this Independence Day. We love a good triple win! Today, we’re sharing a few tips and recipes from popsicle connoisseur, Sarah Bond, who recently published For the Love of Popsicles.

Before You Begin

You will need a mold & popsicle sticks! PopsicleLab’s Popsicle Mold Set creates a classic popsicle shape utilizing environmentally-friendly silicone. The complete set has all of the required accessories to make unmolding and cleaning a breeze, including sticks, a funnel and popsicle bags.

Making a Fruity Popsicle

“Most berries work beautifully in popsicles, though you can also use mango, pineapple, kiwi, banana, peach, or watermelon.” For the most flavor, use slightly overripe fruit. When food freezes, flavors become less intense, so you might add a sweetener to your liquid such as sugar, honey, agave nectar or maple syrup. A good rule of thumb is to make the mixture slightly sweeter than a smoothie. Your liquid can be juice, milk or water. Add a squeeze of fresh lemon juice to draw out the flavor and blend into a puree. Or don’t! You can place all of the elements into the mold individually, too.

Making a Creamy Popsicle

Selecting your fruit and adding sweetener are still required to make creamy popsicles. The key difference is the liquid that you put to use! Whole milk, plain Greek yogurt is high in protein and has a lower water content than regular yogurt, meaning that there are less water crystals to make your popsicle icy. Canned, full-fat coconut milk is another great option.

Four Recipes for Independence Day with Your Pool Robot

Berry Lemon

½ cup orange juice

1 ½ cup fresh berries

2 Tbsp lemon juice

1 Tbsp lemon zest

2 to 4 Tbsp honey or sugar

Directions: Combine all ingredients in a blender until smooth. Pour into molds.

Rainbow Fruit

1 cup sliced fruit

1 ½ cups coconut water

2 to 4 Tbsp honey or sugar

Directions: Distribute fruit into molds. Combine coconut water and honey, then pour into molds, tapping on the counter to remove air pockets.

Berries and Cream

1 ½ cups fresh berries

2 Tbsp honey or sugar

1 cup full-fat plain Greek yogurt

½ tsp vanilla extract

Directions: Puree berries until smooth (add a touch of water or juice if needed to get things moving). Stir together yogurt, honey and vanilla. Spoon berries and yogurt into molds in alternating layers.

Coconut Lime

1 14-oz can full-fat coconut milk

¼ cup lime juice

2 Tbsp lime zest

¼ cup honey

Directions: Stir together all ingredients. Pour into molds.

Insert the popsicle sticks and freeze until hard, which will be around 4 hours. Once they’re ready, run mold under the mold under warm water for a few seconds to loosen, then remove the popsicles!