We are not gas station convenience store shoppers, but my kids know what Icees are. There is an Icee machine inside of our Target store, right next to Starbucks.
Of course, I don’t have to explain to you my need for caffeine. As a full time working mom of 3, it’s a necessity. Once a week, I used to get my iced coffee + cranberry orange scone fix; but since I figured out how to copycat the recipe and make my own… that is no longer a weekly stop. I keep mine in the freezer and get my fix on demand… it’s a lot more cost effective too!
But that Icee machine… my daughter says it’s “staring at her and telling her that it’s cool and delicious” even though she knows that’s not the truth. So one day, I told her: how would you like for me to make you Icees at home? Her face lit up.
While I don’t who introduced my kids to the world of Icees, let’s just say that I have not and will not buy my kids one. It’s not just about the fake ingredients and sugars, but also about the artificial coloring. If Europe bans artificial colors due to ADHD and cancer links, why should I give them to my kids? I rather not. They are quite happy and healthy as they are.
If I don’t like Icees for the funk they contain… why make my own Icees? Because kids, ultimately, want things everyone else is having. It’s summer and it’s hot. We live in Louisiana and one of the ways to beat the heat is with iced cool drinks and snow balls (another treat filled with rainbow colors).
My homemade version has a fraction of the sugars, none of the artificial colors, real flavor and all of the “fun” aspect of the real thing. The best part: all you need is a blender and juice. No, I don’t have one of those fancy blenders. I think mine was like $14 nearly a decade ago.
Real Homemade Icee
My homemade version has a fraction of the sugars, none of the artificial colors, real flavor and all of the “fun” aspect of the real thing.
- Yield: 1 1x
Ingredients
- 1 cup crushed ice
- ⅓ cup 100% fruit juice
Instructions
- In a blender, combine ice and fruit juice. Blend until you have an even slush consistency.
Notes
I prefer to use 100% real fruit juice with strong flavor, such as pomegranate juice, grape juice, cider…etc.
You can also use frozen fruit juice concentrate (such as orange) and use 2 Tablespoons.
Alison @ Ingredients, Inc.
My kids will LOVE This
Stephanie
Yum this looks delicious! I will have to make this for my kids!
Rachael
How have I not thought of this? Genius! Icees are my kids guilty pleasure (although the guilt is all mine, mind you!)
Laura Fuentes
haaahaaa. now you an make them at home and save money too Rachael!
Tammy
It’s so refreshing to see another Mom that feels the same way about feeding our children the “junk”! I have a child with life threatening food allergies and when you start reading labels you really start opening your eyes to what is in the food you are eating and really start making better choices. Thank you for this idea! I love it and will be trying it. Maybe a lemonade icee? Sounds great for summertime! 🙂
★★★★★
Laura Fuentes
yes, I would rather not make junk a regular thing at our house… 🙂
Jasmin
It’s not all that bad it’s made out of juice it’s not like icecream or sugar
Laura Fuentes
the real icees are not made out of juice. they are made of high fructose corn syrup, artificial colors, and artificial sweeteners. Those are things I rather not feed my kids. I’m not concerned with ice cream that is made with real ingredients. Artificial ones, yes.
brooklyn
I just wrote it down I am gonna try it and see if I like it the way it sounds it sounds good I hope I enjoy it
★★★★
Sarah
This is fantastic. If only my blender would crush ice consistently. As a closet Slurpee addict, it may be worth a new one just for this! Thanks!
Katie
Pomegranate… yum! Made homemade “smoothies” for breakfast – fresh strawberries, oj, ice… Blend! Delish.
Denise
Mine turned out too watery the first time… so instead I froze my 100% juice in cubes. My blender is pitiful, so I put the cubes in a baggie and smashed them with my mallet. My son loved to eat the “purple snow” with a spoon. In hindsight, I will save some juice to pour over the top to make is slushy….
Thank you for the recipe… I NEVER would have thought to do this without it!!!
Laura Fuentes
maybe because my blender is SO CRUMMY it came out perfect? either way, the concept is simple. a little bit of juice to a lot of ice. 🙂 thank you for coming by!
Matt Robinson
Both of our sons LOVE icees and we give in a little too often. I have to admit, I love them too. The simplicity of this is awesome and I can’t wait to make them with them. Thanks!
★★★★★
Laura Fuentes
Glad you liked these Matt!
jamarys hwang
hi. would u thicken the juice to pour over sno cone?
Laura Fuentes
to pour over a snow cone, I use regular grape or pomegranate juice.
jamarys hwang
thx
Norma Yera
This was great.I just smashed up ice a bit in a Zip lock bag before putting in my b lender…as I’ve killed a few blenders before. lol I’ll be busy making these for my grands this summer. Thanks so much.
★★★★★
Laura Fuentes
your grands are going to love it. hurray!
katherine
my mom doesn’t buy me icees because they have too much sugar, now i can’t wait to make this!
great recipe!
★★★★★
Laura Fuentes
Enjoy!!
Hannah
I <3 THIS DRINK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
★★★★★