Kabocha Squash Ice Cream Pops

This is probably one of the most out-there recipes I’ve ever done, but it’s also one of the coolest.

You see, it all started with a squash. I have loved kabocha squash since I first tried it in Hawaii and proceeded to become obsessed. When I saw it was back on the shelves at Whole Foods last week I knew I had to do something with it. I figured why not buy one and turn it into a smoothie? Sure, squash smoothies are a little unconventional, and most people don’t think of squash when conjuring up spring recipes, but my love of kabocha knows no bounds.

So I got one home and started playing around. I knew I was scheduled to do a Stonyfield recipe post soon, so I figured why not incorporate Petite Creme into the mix? (Sidenote: I love Petite Cremes almost as much as I love kabocha squash. My Whole Foods needs to start carrying them ASAP!) I began dreaming up my perfect kabocha smoothie concoction and praying it didn’t taste horrible.

When all the ingredients were assembled I whipped out this bad boy.  This month Stonyfield sent me a personal single-serve blender from Hamilton-Beach. It’s great because you can pop off the base and take it to go. The best part? It’s only $20!

Everything ready for blending. The ingredients I used:

All the ingredients assembled inside the blender.

Blend baby, blend! I’m going to be honest and tell you that this blender struggled making this. I treated it like I would my Vitamix and threw in whole dates. Obviously a $20 blender is not going to be able to do the same job as a $600 blender. While it took some extra time and finagling on our part, the important thing is that it got the job done. If you’re not going to be throwing things like dates and tons of ice cubes in your smoothie, this would be $20 well spent.

All blended up and ready to eat! Josh was giving this smoothie the worst looks while he helped me blend it. He thought there was no way it could taste good and its final appearance wasn’t helping matters much. When we were done blending I had him try it and he went from grossed out to excited. He turned to me and said, “Erin, you didn’t make a smoothie, you made a milkshake. And it’s delicious!” Dates, maple syrup, vanilla, and squash are a magical combo!

Once I tried it for myself and confirmed it was really good and indeed milkshake-y, I decided to turn our smoothie recipe into an ice cream pop recipe! As much as I wanted to eat the rest straight from the blender, I figured small,  bite size portions would be better for my current weight loss goals. (I find my logic kind of ridiculous since I down monstrous veggie burgers after a workout and think nothing of it, but I digress.)

I think I also wanted to make ice pops so I could use our cute straws. 😀 The blender filled one ice cube tray perfectly. I popped these in the freezer over night and woke up to homemade squash ice pops! A sweet treat without a lot of guilt!

I never thought I’d use squash in a popsicle recipe but I’m so glad I did. This further proves my theory that kabocha can never taste bad. It is always delicious.

If you’re looking for a personal blender to make some pops of your own (or, you know, regular smoothies) you’re in luck! Stonyfield and Hamilton-Beach are giving away one single-serve blender to a lucky Her Heartland Soul reader! To enter to win, just answer one of my Questions of the Day! I’ll pick a winner this Friday! Good luck!

Questions of the Day: Are you a fan of kabocha squash? What’s a weird ingredient combo that’s worked for you? Do you like making single-serve smoothies?

Thanks to Stonyfield for partnering with Her Heartland Soul on this post!