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Love is in my Tummy

Plant-based flavor

June 12, 2017 By Tina Dawson 16 Comments

VEGAN Rainbow Popsicles

I’m celebrating Pride Month with these Rainbow Popsicles – full of fresh fruits, these are natural, Vegan + Gluten-free!

Celebrate Pride Month with these Rainbow Popsicles - full of fresh fruits, these are natural, Vegan and Gluten-free!

‘Eat the Rainbow’, they say. Filled with fresh fruits, each one selected for it’s special color, these Rainbow popsicles are a fun and healthier way to include the rainbow in our lives this summer, not to mention a solution for those boring last bits of fruit that hang around the fridge!

Although, I needed to add a little blue food color to the banana, because I couldn’t find a fruit that was a true blue. If you know of one, please leave a note in the comments below. And don’t you say blueberry!

But today’s post is more than just about food.

June is LGBT Pride Month and while I usually steer clear of all topics besides food here, this week has me a little rattled. I just found out that Netflix has canceled one of my favorite shows, Sense8. It was grief that drove me to create this recipe for a Rainbow themed popsicle, and I went berserk at the supermarket trying to find a fruit, each one to represent a different color in the rainbow, beauty in unified diversity.

More than just another show

If you haven’t see the show yet, it’s a sci-fi story about 8 strangers from all over the world who develop a connection that allows them to experience each others’ lives as if it were their own.

*Potential Spoilers*

While just the sci-fi factor would usually be sufficient to pique my interest, Sense8 is so much more than just another series. It is the only show I’ve seen that talks about LGBT issues, with characters that bring new meaning to ‘all love is still love’. From the gay couple Lito & Hernando in Mexico City, to the Interracial Transgender-Lesbian couple Nomi and Amanita in Los Angeles, one cannot help but fall in love with them and their stories. Or feel their anguish when they’re persecuted for being different from what most of the world thinks should be right.

Celebrate Pride Month with these Rainbow Popsicles - full of fresh fruits, these are natural, Vegan and Gluten-free!

And I don’t mean to trivialize the issues faced by the other ‘straight’ characters  – Sun (Korean), the daughter of a powerful businessman and a brilliant kick-boxer is ostracized for her gender, by her father and most of the society who looks down on women. Or the Chicago PD officer, Will who is constantly haunted by an unsolved murder from his childhood, which drives him to become a dutiful and compassionate cop. Kala, the Indian pharma-scientist, who is caught in an arranged marriage to a man who loves her, but whose love she struggles to reciprocate. Capheus, a cheerful, good-hearted Kenyan driver who fights against corruption and poverty to provide for his mother infected by AIDS. Wolfgang, a German safe-breaker and thief with powerful ties to a family rooted in organized crime, who struggles with morality. And last, but definitely not the least, Riley, a DJ who lives a solitary life in London, trying to escape the horrors of her early life in Iceland.

Each of these characters come with a powerful back story, and we see them fight, fail and get back up again. But most importantly, despite the different cultural backgrounds they come from, because of the connection they share with each other, they are able to understand and accept each other for who they are, lending their skills and strengths to the entire cluster to fight against an evil corporation that is out hunting them down for being different.

We could all take a page from this philosophy, and first try and put yourself in someone else’s shoes before you start throwing stones at them!

It is truly an all-inclusive, truly diverse (geographically, economically, culturally and sexual orientation) show, and inclusive and diverse not just for the sake of it.

Celebrate Pride Month with these Rainbow Popsicles - full of fresh fruits, these are natural, Vegan and Gluten-free!

It’s a pity that budgeting issues ($108 million/season) are the reason for such a wonderful show to be taken off the air, although I cannot help but wonder if that is the only reason.

I think Modern Family was the first show I followed regularly, which had prominent+recurring gay characters – and while the sitcom did its part well in making Mitch and Cam seem no different than any other couple, especially when it comes to parenting, I will always love Sense8 for taking my passive acceptance into an enthusiastic embrace.

Because in this day and age, with so much hate suffocating the world and turning it into a toxic cesspool of pointless violence, I don’t believe that anyone should be persecuted for choosing to love.

Celebrate Pride Month with these Rainbow Popsicles - full of fresh fruits, these are natural, Vegan and Gluten-free!

While watching the movie ‘Hidden Figures‘, I was absolutely appalled to see people of color, especially women, be treated so inhumanely, even at a time when science was so advanced that mankind could reach for the Moon. And it got me thinking, what are we doing wrong now that will cause our children to look at us with complete disdain?

This is probably where I must mention that I am neither a lesbian nor do I personally know anyone in the LGBT community, but that doesn’t mean I can’t stand with them in their fight against discrimination. As a human being, I abhor discrimination of any kind, and I refuse to be party to one that is founded on a misplaced idea of what love should be.

And so, this month, I am celebrating Pride Month with these Rainbow Popsicles (The Rainbow Flag is a symbol of LGBT Pride) and because food is the only way I know how to celebrate anything! Our lifetime saw immense courage in those who finally managed to ‘come out of their closets’. Let’s not wait too long to accept them. It just reflects very poorly on us.

Celebrate Pride Month with these Rainbow Popsicles - full of fresh fruits, these are natural, Vegan and Gluten-free!

Today happens to be the anniversary of the horrific Orlando Nightclub shooting. We cannot undo what’s happened, but we can do something to prevent something like that from being a repeat entry in our history books.

When you make these Rainbow Popsicles (which I really think you SHOULD!), be sure to SHARE YOUR PHOTOS with me through Facebook, Instagram or Twitter. I’d love to see what you cook from here!

Rainbow Popsicles

Created by Tina Dawson on June 10, 2017

Celebrate Pride Month with these Rainbow Popsicles - full of fresh fruits, these are natural, Vegan and Gluten-free!

  • Prep Time:1m
  • Cook Time:5m
  • Total Time:8h
  • Serves: 8
  • Yield: 8 popsicles

Ingredients

Violet Layer

  • 1/4 c blueberries (I used frozen, but fresh also works)
  • 1/4 c strawberries (I used frozen, but fresh also works)
  • a drop of vanilla bean paste (or extract)
  • 2 tsp. sugar

Blue Layer

  • 1/2 c chopped banana
  • 1 -2 tsp sugar
  • a drop of blue food color
  • 2 tbsp. water

Green Layer

  • 1/2 c avocado
  • 2 tsp. sugar
  • a few drops of lemon juice
  • 2 -3 tbsp water

Yellow Layer

  • 1 c chopped mango (roughly one small mango)
  • 2 tbsp. water
  • 3 tsp. sugar

Orange Layer

  • 1/2 c papaya
  • 1 tsp. sugar
  • 1/2 tbsp. water

Red Layer

  • 1 1/2 c raspberries
  • 3 -4 tsp sugar
  • a drop of vanilla bean paste (or extract)

Instructions

For the Violet layer

  1. Combine the blueberries, strawberries, sugar and water in a small pan over medium heat. Cover and let the berries cook till soft enough to be crushed with a spoon. Remove from heat and cool. Stir in the vanilla. Blend.

For the Red layer

  1. Combine the raspberries, sugar and water in a small pan over medium heat. Cover and let the berries cook till soft enough to be crushed with a spoon. Remove from heat and cool. Stir in the vanilla. Blend.

For the remaining layers

  1. Blend each layer separately to a smooth liquid. Run the juice through a sieve to strain any seeds or fiber. You'll need to wash the blender & sieve after each layer to maintain colors.

Assemble

  1. Divide each layer between the popsicle molds equally, letting each layer freeze before pouring over another layer. This will make sure that the colors don't accidentally mix due to varying liquid density.
  2. Around the yellow layer, insert a popsicle stick and pour the remaining layers around the stick.
  3. Once all the layers are poured, freeze completely overnight.
  4. Dip the popsicle mold into warm water to loosen the popsicles, then shimmy the popsicle stick to remove from mold.
  5. Serve immediately. Can be frozen (wrapped in cling film) for several weeks.
  • Print
Celebrate Pride Month with these Rainbow Popsicles - full of fresh fruits, these are natural, Vegan and Gluten-free!

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Filed Under: All Recipes, American, Cuisines, Desserts, Gluten-free, Vegan, Vegetarian Tagged With: fruits, popsicles, rainbow, summer

Previous Post: « Spicy Grilled Pineapple with Dorot
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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Kim | The Baking ChocolaTess says

    June 12, 2017 at 7:27 pm

    What a wonderful message Tina! I always worry about how much hate and discrimination there really is in the world and how people and families have to deal with it on a daily basis. They are innocent people just trying to live their lives they way they want.

    AND…Love those popsicles and what they represent! 🙂 They look so pretty.

    Reply
    • Tina Dawson says

      June 12, 2017 at 10:33 pm

      Thank you so much Kim! You said it right: they’re just people, trying to live their lives.

      Reply
  2. Anjana says

    June 12, 2017 at 2:12 pm

    What a lovely post, Tina! And I also agree that one doesn’t have to be personally affected to support such issues. Live and let live is a mantra that is fast losing its meaning in today’s world.
    And, these pops are MUCH better than the commercial “rainbow” pops that are nothing more than colored water!

    Reply
    • Tina Dawson says

      June 12, 2017 at 3:21 pm

      Thanks Anjana! <3 Yeah, colored water is so unappetizing and 'gunky' compared to these!

      Reply
  3. Molly Kumar says

    June 12, 2017 at 12:32 pm

    These look so pretty and full of summer flavors. I absolutely believe that everyone should have the freedom to love and be who they are and what they believe in.

    Reply
    • Tina Dawson says

      June 12, 2017 at 12:44 pm

      Amen to that Molly! 🙂

      Reply
  4. Catherine says

    June 12, 2017 at 12:20 pm

    These are just beautiful! I love how healthy and all natural they are…perfect summertime treat. Pinning for later! xo

    Reply
    • Tina Dawson says

      June 12, 2017 at 12:24 pm

      Thanks Catherine! I hope you like them, I truly did!

      Reply
  5. Lindsay Cotter says

    June 12, 2017 at 12:19 pm

    What a fun treat to enjoy all summer long! The colors in these rainbow popsicles are so gorgeous!! And the different layers of popsicle flavor will sure be fun to eat through, right?! hehe

    Reply
    • Tina Dawson says

      June 12, 2017 at 12:22 pm

      So much fun! My husband and I kept comparing ‘tongue colors’ like children while eating these!

      Reply
  6. Mary // chattavore says

    June 12, 2017 at 11:57 am

    Gosh, these are gorgeous and they sound absolutely delicious. I have never heard of Sense8 but we will have to look it up. And I love that your created these to celebrate Pride Month! What a great tribute!

    Reply
    • Tina Dawson says

      June 12, 2017 at 12:07 pm

      Thanks Mary! I think the more Rainbow Pride becomes a regular part of our lives, the sooner the world can move into the future!

      Reply
  7. Lisa Bryan | Downshiftology says

    June 12, 2017 at 11:43 am

    Love how bright and cheerful these popsicles are – and healthy! They remind me of rainbow pops I had as a kid. 🙂

    Reply
    • Tina Dawson says

      June 12, 2017 at 12:07 pm

      Thanks Lisa! The best part of food is when it reminds us of old times!

      Reply
  8. Joyce says

    June 12, 2017 at 11:09 am

    These popsicles look so pretty!! 🙂 Definitely more healthy than the usual ones I eat! I’m getting my popsicle mold soon and I’m so excited! I’m kinda sad about the Sense8 news 🙁 I wanted to start watching it sometime this month, hopefully they change their mind and bring it continue it.. 🙁

    Reply
    • Tina Dawson says

      June 12, 2017 at 11:24 am

      Thanks Joyce! Unfortunately, no it’s gone -GONE. I hope though, that they make a movie finale (like Firefly did) to give us a little closure.

      Reply

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Hi! I'm Tina - the human behind all the content you see on this blog. Welcome to my little corner of the internet where I create flavorful and unique plant-based recipes.

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