Okay, so they are more pink, white and purple than red, white and blue. But when it comes to patriotism, surely it’s the thought that counts. I am fairly certain that the forefathers of this country didn’t expect us to be rendering our allegiances in berries and yogurt, or cake, or any food for that matter. But it certainly is fun and festive. And I happen to live in a town that takes its Independence Day celebrations VERY seriously. We lay claim to having the largest Fourth of July parade in all of Massachusetts. And the citizens take it to heart, and start saving their spots along the parade route with folding chairs more than 24 hours in advance. We’ve actually missed the revelry both years that we’ve lived here, due to other plans, but perhaps this year will be the one where we stand in the hot sun, watching the parade go by.
I, of course, am not really a citizen of this country. By virtue of my marriage, I am a greencard holder, a permanent resident, a “legal alien”, if you will. What does that mean for my allegiances? That, my friends, is an interesting question. I have lived in the US now for 13 years, and I daresay that I will end up living here longer than I ever lived in Canada. My kids are Americans (Canadians too, technically), and we have roots here. But I think I will always identify myself as Canadian, first and foremost. It’s very much a part of who I am and how I think of myself. I feel my heart swell with pride when my homeland is mentioned (or, on occasion, shrink with shame, as with the recent riots in Vancouver). And although I have switched to pronouncing the last letter of the alphabet as “zee”, this is mostly to avoid the confusion on people’s faces when I say “zed”. I stubbornly refuse to drop the “u” in words like favourite and honour and harbour, a fact which drives the spellcheck on my computer crazy. I secretly get a little kick out of this.
That’s not to say that I feel no allegiance to my adopted country. It’s been good to me, there is no question about that. It gave me my Master’s degree, and my first (and second, and third) real job after graduate school. It introduced me to the man I would marry and it’s where all three of my babies were born. It’s home…at least for right now. And the funny part is, I now know the words to the Star Spangled Banner as well as, or perhaps better than, I know the words to O Canada. So yes, I suppose I do feel a certain amount of loyalty and allegiance to the US. But it is tinged with the sense of not quite belonging, of having allegiances elsewhere as well. Perhaps it always will be.
So these yogurt pops are my offering to the Independence Day celebrations, but in the spirit of divided allegiance, you will notice that I also did some Red, White And Red (or pink, white and pink) popsicles for those north of the border. After all, Canada Day, July 1st, comes first! I got the idea for these when I saw some truly junky red, white and blue popsicles at the supermarket around Memorial Day, all sugar and artificial colouring. Mine are full of goodness, fresh berries and delicious greek yogurt. You can sweeten them with whatever you like. I chose stevia to remain low carb, but sugar or honey would work just as well. My kids loved them, and I have pictures of yogurt-pop-covered-faces to prove it!
Red, White and Blue Yogurt Pops
1/2 cup strawberries, chopped
1/2 cup blueberries, chopped
2 cups greek yogurt, divided
4 tbsp lemon juice, divided
Preferred sweetener – I used liquid stevia, about 8 – 10 drops per flavour of yogurt. For sugar, I imagine about 1 tbsp per flavour would be sweet enough.
In a blender or food processor, combine strawberries, half a cup of the yogurt, 1 tbsp lemon juice and sweetener. Blend until smooth. Remove to a bowl or measuring cup.
Repeat with the blueberries, half a cup of the yogurt, 1 tbsp lemon juice ans sweetener.
Mix remaining 1 cup yogurt, 2 tbsp lemon juice and sweetener together until smooth.
Divide strawberry mixture among 8 popsicle molds or paper cups. Tap molds firmly on counter to settle mixture to the bottom. Divide plain yogurt mixture among molds or cups and tap firmly. Top with blueberry mixture and tap firmly to even out.
Place molds in freezer and chill 1 hour, until just starting to firm up. Add popsicle sticks and freeze until completely firm, at least another 2 to 3 hours.
Notes: if you want to do Red, White and Red, omit the blueberries and increase strawberries to 1 cup. Blend strawberries with 1 cup of the yogurt and 2 tbsp of lemon juice, plus preferred sweetener. Layer strawberry mixture on the bottom and the top of the popsicle molds.
Makes about 8 regular-sized popsicles, but how many will depend on the size of your molds or paper cups.
I love these yogurt pops, they're so much fun. 🙂 Not to mention they look sooooo good. Love the Canadian ones too!
Love both of these! Always room for international exchange. =)
Combination of colors looks just amazing!
As an American living in Australia I know exactly what you mean. I love Australia and I will probably die here but my yank bones remain.
I will celebrate the 4th of July. 🙂
So much fun! Who cares about the color when they taste so darn good!
What a great idea! I love the 4th of July celebrations and will do/make anything to help add to the fun. Your pops look delicious and so refreshing.
That's really a low-carb option to satisfy our "pop" cravings! Very colourful and "yogurt"ful!!!
I think I like these better with a pink tint:-)
I love making my own pops with yogurt! But I usually go the lazy way with flavored yogurt :P.
Regardless of it being for a celebration or not – perfect for summer in general. Plus nice and healthy! 🙂 Hope you're able to enjoy the parade this year.
I love fresh fruit popsicles and know these would be great especially to serve to my little man. Yummy!
Yogurt pops are so much fun! I'm looking forward to experimenting with these…and hopefully the weather will turn not rainy!
Beautiful, Carolyn! Now where did I put those popsicle forms? 🙂 …Susan
This is a great post because i know where you're coming from. I now say 'zed' instead of 'zee' and I can belt out 'Homeland, Fair Cayman Isle' like a born and bred Caymanian but I still like fireworks and hot dogs on the 4th. Now, tell me how to get a turtle on my 'Constitution Day' yogurt pops?
No problem feeling allegiance to more than one place. I am sure American and Canada would both be happy to have you! Especially if you offered them these yogurt pops!
delicious looking healthy popsicles to beat the heat
This such a nice idea. Red white and blue work for the French and British also.I guess for Ireland I could do Lime and Orange.
I have become a US citizen mostly so I could vote.
So…….. fun and so……….pretty!
Beautiful and tasty, how can you go wrong. Great recipe!
These look delicious! As a fellow Canadian who also stubbornly insists on including the u in neighbour, etc I very much appreciate your red & white versions! Theresa
BEAUTIFUL pops!!
Such pretty pops…and I imagine they are so much better than those icky grocery store ones (which my kids loved, of course!) I lived in Canada only one year, but it was enough for my whole family to root for the Canucks (even though the fans were poor sports!).
These sound wonderfully refreshing!
Absolutely fantastic and refreshing! Thanks for sharing.
These are so pretty. Who cares what the color is as long as they taste as good as they look and I am sure they do!
These are so pretty! I love that you made canadian and american versions!
I love both of your pops. As a fellow "greencard holder, a permanent resident, a "legal alien"" I know what you mean. You made me think about making pops in my home country's colors and I realized they would still be red white and blue, unless I did our sporting colors.
I have a whole pinboard on Pinterest about Popsicles so these will be pinned up there soon! Those American ones are so cute with the natural coloring adaptation of red, white and blue. I like the shape of the Canadian popsicles more, of course ;-).
Great I was just looking for nex recipe to make ice cream 🙂 I'm gonna try this one
I strange that limbo between what FEELS LIKE home now (which was foreign when you first arrived) versus what ACTUALLY WAS home (which now feels a bit foreign). It's a no-win situation for first generation immigrants the world over, but good for you in putting a super positive spin on it, eh!
Beautiful and delicious. A nice, healthy treat there.
I love these!!! And I can empathize with you. My very good friend is Canadian so I hear about this alot 🙂 I think it is important to live in the moment and also celebrate your roots.
What fun! I wanna come play at your house… around snack time!!!
What a great way to celebrate Independence.
I've been hoovering yogurt pops from Trader Joe's – so cool to know I can make 'em at home! And so prettily too…
Such pretty and patriotic pops! I too like to drive my spell check crazy with words like herbalicious and yumtastic. See, there it goes!
Yes! Love these and they would be perfect for all the hot days ahead. Nice to see the heart still misses home. Great post, Carolyn!
These are so cute! And who cares if they aren't a perfect red white and blue? I bet anyone gobbling them down wouldn't say a word lol 😛
I don't care that they are pink and purple – they are beautiful and any kid (or adult!) would eat them up in a heartbeat! 🙂
These look delicious! I just bought my first popsicle mold! I need to eat up the popsicles in my freezer so I can make these!
I love both versions, it's important to keep your roots as well as incorporating the traditions of your new home.
What pretty fruit yogurt pops for celebrating – healthy too!
The pops look delicious!! And beautiful!
Two weeks ago I was really trying to come up with red/white/blue creamsicles… it didn't work out. I got all pinks and purple/greens. 🙂
You and I are in the same bi-cultural boat, my friend. I love the coloUr of these yogurt pops and love that they use one of my favoUrite fruits. And by the way, I still end the alphabet song with "zed", even though my kids think I'm crazy. Great recipe!
How clever! I would love to see the pictures of the yogurt-covered kiddies. 🙂
Love these! I can relate to the color issue … I just posted Blueberry-Lime Iced Tea that I'm making for the 4th. Though it's made with BLUEberries, it turned out more red! Thankfully, red is a signature color of the 4th, too.
we are visiting my mother in law for the weekend and she has has to watch her blood sugar too. Already showed her these yogurt pops, later today we're going to make them!! Can't wait!
Thanks for sharing Carolyn
Lovely yogurt pops! I am sure my little girl would love these… The colors are so pretty! Yes, they're more pink, white and purple, but I am sure no one cares as long as they taste yummy, and i am sure they do! Love the 'Canada pops' too! Very cute! 🙂
I love that you are still so in touch with your Canadian side!
We are going to have to try making these this summer.
These remind me of the pops my neighbor used to make for us kids growing up. My favorite part was always the creamy yogurt. I haven't had one in years, and your post was a reminder that I need to get myself a set of pop molds and make them!