Stock your freezer with summer fruit while you can and make popsicles

The autumn produce season catches me off-guard every year. As we glide from the hot days of August into the cooler months ahead, we never quite know when the magic moment arrives that we have seen our last bit of fresh summer fruit in the produce aisle. Sure, we can get peaches all year if we insist (and are willing to pay a small fortune), but they just aren’t nearly as delicious.

The good news is that so many summer fruits freeze quite well. It’s a great excuse to stock up when things are seasonal (and more affordable) and freeze them for later. Peaches and most berries are particularly great candidates for this.

In fact, my easy recipe for peach-blueberry frozen pops is a great way to use some of your frozen stash any time of year. Low-calorie peaches (about 60 calories a cup) and blueberries (about 80 calories a cup) bring their natural sweetness along with plenty of nutrients to these refreshing and pretty little treats.

Coconut milk makes the pops creamy and gives just a hint of coconut (add coconut extract if you want more coconut flavour). The best part about frozen pops is that they take a long time to eat, which means my family can enjoy a leisurely dessert without overdoing the sugar.

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PEACH-BLUEBERRY FROZEN POPS

For richness, this recipe uses coconut milk, the variety sold in cartons as a beverage. If you can’t find that, substitute canned light coconut milk.

Start to finish: 15 minutes, plus freezing

Servings: 8 (depending on mould size)

• 1 cup chopped peaches (about 1 large peach), fresh or frozen
• 3/4 cup low-fat plain Greek or regular yogurt
• 3 tablespoons honey
• 1/3 cup coconut milk
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla or coconut extract
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1/2 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen

In a blender, combine everything but the blueberries, then puree until smooth. Stir in the blueberries, then divide the mixture among frozen pop moulds. Add the sticks and freeze for at least 8 hours.

Nutrition information per serving: 60 calories; 5 calories from fat (8 per cent of total calories); 0.5 g fat (0 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 0 mg cholesterol; 15 mg sodium; 11 g carbohydrate; 1 g fiber; 10 g sugar; 2 g protein.

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Food Network star Melissa d’Arabian is an expert on healthy eating on a budget. She is the author of the cookbook, “Supermarket Healthy.”