Frozen Fruit Cups

Fall is fast approaching. And yes, I know – it’s the season of pumpkin EVERYthing. I’m as much a fan of pumpkin as the next gal, but this girl cannot live on pumpkin alone. And this time of year, as local fruits dwindle away I start looking for some healthy desserts for the fam.

Have I mentioned that my 11 year old girl has a sweet tooth the size of Texas? No? Oh my – she’s a HUGE fan of anything sweet. Anything. Chocolate is her favorite, but I can usually tempt her with a fruit treat. And believe me – we eat more apples here than your average family. We do live in the apple orchard paradise of the south, ya know. But even apples and pumpkin can get old. So, I found a fabulous “recipe” that makes everyone happy. And my family acts like these little fruit cups are the most decadent treats – makes me a happy girl!

Here’s the deal – it’s not really a recipe. There’s no cooking involved and no real way to mess this up. Yay! Here’s what I do…

Frozen Fruit Cups

2 (20 oz) cans crushed pineapple in juice (undrained)
2 (15 oz) cans mandarin oranges
1/3 cup lemon juice (from concentrate is fine)
1 bag (16 oz or so)frozen berry mix (mine usually has blackberries, blueberries and strawberries* in it)
1 bag (16 oz or so) frozen strawberries*
6 ripe but not overly soft bananas, diced
1 (12 oz) frozen orange-pineapple-apple juice concentrate, thawed

*Note: The frozen strawberries I get are just strawberries. No sugar, no syrup, no nothing. For two reasons – it’s healthier that way (and these do NOT need extra sugar) and because of child #1’s food dye issues. However, the frozen strawberries with no added anything come whole. And that would not make for good eats. So I simply take the whole strawberries and whir them for a couple of pulses in my Ninja blender. Easy peasy.

Also, all these amounts are flexible. I can’t always find these exact measurements in my stores – I just wing it.

Combine all the ingredients together in a large bowl. Ladle into freezer safe containers and freeze. When you’re ready for a sweet treat, allow one of the fruit cups (or two) to thaw in fridge until ready (or if you microwave, nuke it for a bit until soft.)

I use these nifty little Ziploc containers and usually get 16-18 from one batch. The 1 cup size is perfect for my children. But keep in mind one of my “children” is a 19 year old man-child. And the other is an 11-going-on-16-year-old. So, you may choose to use ½ cup storage instead.