These coconut blood orange ice pops will make you feel like a kid again!

Ice pops are like art for me. I always wanted to be a great painter, but I wasn’t blessed with the skills for this endeavor. I can’t even draw a good circle… So, for me, food is my art. I love when you can take creative license with food and have it turn out beautiful and delicious. Ice pops are one of the easiest things you can make and yet they can be one of the most creative.

And, luckily, these awesome frozen treats can be made with great healing ingredients, with little or no calories, and can be customized to your particular tastes.

Steve likes to have dessert after dinner. Me, not so much… I prefer to stay away from the sweets after dinner, mostly because I have very little self control around them. If you have this issue, ice pops are perfect. If you can grab one of these out of your freezer, you will feel like you are indulging but with no detrimental effects. And, the dessert-loving-bad-influence-person (who shall not be named) is satisfied too, because these really are decadent tasting.

If I am being totally honest, I made these ice pops the other night when I was having a few good friends over for dinner. My friend Val and I loved them, but Frank and Steve… well, I think they would have preferred a big hunk of cake. That’s not to say that these ice pops are a feminine dessert, but they are not heavy like chocolate cake either… but this is one of the characteristics that make them so awesome…

So, I’ve been experimenting… wait until you see some of the ones I’ve tried! I’m actually really excited to start posting some of these pics and recipes. Once I got in the groove, there was no stopping me. Some of them are beautiful, some are delicious, some are just plain weird (and, not surprisingly, the latter category is my favorite)!

Anyway, this recipe for coconut blood orange ice pops is easy, healthy, and pretty. I love the layered effect, and it’s so easy to achieve. I tried this recipe both ways — some I layered and some I just stirred everything together and went for a creamier pop — you can choose (I like the layered ones a bit better)…

Here’s another grab-and-go freezer dessert recipe: Pumpkin Peanut Butter Fudge.

There are only a few ingredients in these ice pops, but they are good ones:

In Asian medicine, we use coconut to strengthen the body, reduce swelling, and stop bleeding. Coconut kills viruses, bacteria, and parasites. It’s good for all types of infections and viruses in the body, including the flu, bronchitis, tapeworms, urinary tract infections, and herpes. And perhaps most importantly, it helps you keep your mind sharp and it makes it easier for you to focus. I like to use full-fat canned coconut milk for these ice pops.

Coconut Sugar is made from the sap of the coconut palm. This sweetener won’t cause the drastic blood-sugar spikes that are associated with traditional white sugar. It has significantly less fructose than agave nectar, meaning that it is not as easily stored in the body as fat. Another plus is that it is not chemically altered. Coconut sugar is also a very sustainable sugar, making it the environmentally friendly choice.

Blood Oranges are oranges with extra anthocyanins. Anthocyanins are compounds found in many plant-based foods. These compounds can help prevent certain cancers and can help with brain function. Oranges, of any kind, will help boost your levels of vitamins A, B and C. In Chinese medicine oranges have been used for many years to help coughs, colds and anorexia. Lately, oranges have been widely touted for their ability to help heal colon cancer. I peel my oranges and lay the rinds in the sun to dry, and save them for tea or for cooking because the orange rinds are an actual Chinese herb. I dry out the peels of oranges, tangerines, clementines… whatever I have. Dried tangerine peel, or “chen pi” as it’s known in Chinese medicine, is one of the greatest and most easily accessible herbs around. It’s especially good for digestive issues like abdominal discomfort, distention, fullness, bloating, belching, and nausea. It’s also great if you have a cough with a heavy or stuffy chest.