Fruit Popsicles

I started running about 20 months ago.  I'd never been much of an athlete, but for some reason I thought I'd give running a try.  Little did I know that I would end up loving it!  Since then, I've competed in 6 5k races and I'm currently training for my first half marathon (13.1 miles) in September.  I never thought I would be the person who runs 7+ miles at 7:00 on a Saturday morning for fun, but that was me last weekend!

One of the greatest things about running is the community.  I have a few "gym friends" who offer training advice as we're on the treadmills, as well as a great group of friends from church who are runners.  I've also discovered a fantastic group of running bloggers, I'm sure you've heard of a few of them!  This group, the Red Faced Runners, has set out to encourage others to get active.  On the weekend of September 8 & 9, the Red Faced Runners will be joining together to run various 5k’s all across the country.  I've signed up to join in the fun and there's always room for more!

When I run, I get really hot and sweaty (TMI? sorry...), so I try to find ways to cool down quickly when I've completed a run.  I drink a lot of cold water, but I've recently started making my own popsicles.  These are 100% natural fruit popsicles and they definitely do the trick of helping me to cool down!  They're healthy, simple to make, and they are a fantastic summer treat.

Fruit Popsicles

You will need:
fresh strawberries
fresh blueberries
pineapple juice
small dixie cups and popsicle sticks or popsicle molds

1.  Cut strawberries into quarters.

2.  Place a few pieces of strawberries and some blueberries in the bottom of the dixie cups.

3.  Pour pineapple juice over the fruit, filling the cup about 3/4 of the way.

4.  Place the cups on a tray and freeze them for about 1 hour.

5.  Then stick the popsicle sticks in the center of the popsicles and freeze 2-3 more hours, until completely frozen.

Peel off the dixie cups and enjoy!