We pulled down the last of the oranges. The grapefruit began to fall off on their own. When I gathered them off the ground, many were too soft to give away. But not too soft to juice…
But juice can grow boring. Which got me to thinking….what about homemade popsicles? And so I did.
I used my grandmother’s old-timey juicer. The frozen grapefruit ones just tasted like super cold grapefruit juice. (It made for a better juice than a popsicle.) The orange ones tasted like authentic popsicles. One or two squares and our craving for something sweet disappeared. And refreshing? Wow! I ended up with a sticky, wet mess of a table and two happy tummies. Great for a snack or dessert.
There are a handful of grapefruits left on the tree–about the size of oranges. I plan on pulling them off and creating a citrus scrub with them. The tree does better if all the fruit is removed. Well, allow me to help it out! (I’ll post the citrus scrub if it works.)
Have you ever made your own popsicles? How did they turn out?
Grapefruit thoughts and a citrus cleaner:
- Spo-Reflections on Grapefruit (sporeflections.wordpress.com)
- Things I Want to Try: Ginger Grapefruit Curd (ericametzger.wordpress.com)
- Grapefruit Juice and Medicine May Not Mix (dietarysupplementreporter.wordpress.com)
- DIY All-Purpose Citrus Cleaner (thrivefarm.wordpress.com)
Attempting zero waste lifestyle in a military household 
I haven’t done it in a while, but yours look so good I’ll have to make some with the kids soon.
I always freeze all kinds of juices (especially from homemade canned pineapple) to use in my smoothies instead of plain ice cubes! it works great! 🙂
never had popsicles before yesterday. they gave it to me in the hospital. I LOVED IT 🙂
We used to only eat popsicles made from juice growing up. My oldest son doesn’t like them as much as store-bought though. I will have to try again this year. Yum! I can imagine how delicious freshly squeezed home-grown orange popsicles would taste.
Oh we do this too – it’s such a fab idea to reduce food waste and I have another motive – saving money and keeping my DD off sweet stuff and additives, so it really is a win-win! Thanks for sharing the inspiration 🙂
I love your smile!!!! ….. That was so healthy!!! Nothing beat the fresh squueze oranges. Have you tried the grape smoothie? Must try!
@ Lightly crunchy–your household sounds like so much fun, I want to live there!
@Mom Photograher—your smoothies sound AMAZING. I tried making your spinach one the other day (I’ll have to post it.) But I didn’t have strawberries, so I used blackberries. The entire thing turned out purple!
@Stephanie—they were SOO good, it almost felt like a sin to eat them. Then I I was like, hey, this isn’t a doughnut, it’s an orange!
@Litttle green blog–My mom used to make them when we were little, but I don’t think she used juice–though they were homemade. So good to hear your little one isn’t getting all that dreaded sugar. It’s just in everything! AUGH!
@Mama– if you’re reading this, do you remember those homemade popsicles? What did we use?
@Nors—where is this grape smoothie? Is it up on your site? I saw the melon juice! Yum!
Did you like that smoothie?! I hope you did 🙂 I missed those smoothies in hospital. Finally I’m home. Back to my old routine 🙂
WELCOME HOME MOM PHOTOGRAPHER! I did like the smoothie. But I don’t know if I did it right. It was really tangy though. I’ll have to post it up!
if you made the one with kiwi I’ve noticed that it is tangy (because of the kiwi). I think that if I make it again I’ll skip the kiwi. A few weeks ago I made avocado-kiwi smoothie and again it wasn’t perfect. I think I prefere kiwi just by itself 😉
I’ve never tried this (at least not yet). But I like this idea very much, especially with the warm weather coming!
Meg–I think you’ll really like it! They’re so refreshing and easy to make. Yes, perfect for the upcoming hot summer days! Will be watching for Ruthie in Cali!
Great idea!! I used some old bitter grapes in my parents back yard to make some delicous and not overwhelmingly sweet jam! I bet this would be GREAT as a marmalade or chutney.
Well Jennifer, what you made is a whole lot healthier than what I made as a kid… popsicles out of Kool-Aid! Yes, I was the original Kool-Aid Kid! It seems strange to hear that you were picking grapefruits and oranges–one of the perks of living in the south, eh? Your shots are great–and pretty! (and yummy looking). My mom used to have a juicer like that–have no idea whatever happened to it, might have to search one out at a second hand store. bye now!
It used to be a weekly chore (which I loved) when our kids were growing up; I haven’t made them in ages. I guess I’ll be starting over soon, this time for the granddaughters. Thanks!
@MomPhotographer—I think I did use the kiwi. I’ll have to go back and take a look at what I used. It was tangy— but good. 🙂
@Aveena–bitter grapes = sweet jam. Who knew? Sounds yummy! Orange jam….I’ve never had that…but girl, you could make anything.
@ Marcia—I bet the grandkids will love that!
@jrlittetsblog–we were Kool-Aid kids growing up too. But my mom didn’t buy it very often. It was a treat for parties, if I remember correctly….which I might not. The juicer is so great! My mom had one just like it when we were little and used to make lemonade. Yes, the fruit trees are a perk of the south. Never had this luxury before. Better not get too used to it, or we’ll end up in the far north next time! ha!
We always froze juice made from our orange tree oranges…so we’d have juice all year round. We applaud your no-waste attitude. We also have been on the no-waste plan. We cook everything that nears wilting. We’ve baked and “jammed” all the fruit that ages. We are also tackling the garbage…and are trying to reduce that every way we can.
Cheers from north of the Arctic Circle.
Hello Sunshine! You’ve been nominated for an award! Find out more at http://thriftshoppingbuzz.com/2012/04/23/hello-sunshine-woohoo/
Cheers! — Jody
Sounds like Florida really suits you Jenn!
@ Barbara and Jack–Such encouraging news! I’m so thrilled to hear about your story above the Arctic Circle. Thanks for visiting my site!
@Jody–this got stuck in my spam. A hearty thank you for your thoughtful award!
@ Alison–I like everything but the heat. And here it comes!
Heat! I love the heat – though haven’t experienced Florida’s heat, which may well be overwhelming for me. Humid I bet!
Humid indeed. I’m not so crazy about humid. 😛