Triple Melon Ice Blocks (Vegan, Sugar Free)

The monthly Sweet Adventures Blog Hop is always a good excuse to dust off my dessert thinking cap and make something for my sweet tooth. The only problem this month is that I'm on a detox. Yep - things have been a little indulgent around here during December and January and I figured that my body needed a good clean out! So for the last 9 days I've been on a strict detox (except for Saturday night when I went to a hen's night - oops). It's going great, I feel fantastic and I've lost 5 kilos in the last 9 days. I can share my detox plan with you guys if you like.

So, desserts have been a bit limited in my house lately. Mostly just eating fruit for dessert! This  month's theme is 'Licence to Chill' and at first all I could think of was ice cream cake and ice cream pie, semifredo etc. Not on my detox. For a little while I thought I might have to sit this one out, but then later in the day, when I was eating a huge bowl of cut up melon chunks, inspiration struck.

This is the result! They are a delicious and incredibly healthy snack for your sweet tooth. Perfect for dessert, breakfast, snacking or whenever you want really. The recipe is very simple and the resulting ice blocks look very pretty! I haven't added any sugar to mine, because it's not on my detox - and also because, well, when you eat a delicious bowl of chopped up melon you don't sprinkle sugar on top do you? So I don't think it needs it, but if you want to sweeten it you can.

I'm sure somebody will come out with criticism because I've labelled this sugar free but obviously the fruit contains sugar. In my opinion a dish is sugar free if I haven't added any sugars myself (cane sugar, coconut sugar, rapidura sugar, honey, maple syrup, agave nectar or any other type of sugar) but I'm simply relying on the natural sweetness of fruit.

Triple Melon Ice Blocks (Sugar Free)

Ingredients

2/3 cup chopped watermelon

2/3 cup chopped honey dew melon

1 cup chopped rock melon (cantaloupe)

3 tsp fresh lemon juice

You'll also need:

A set of ice block moulds (making 4)

4 paddle pop sticks

NOTE: The quantities needed may vary depending on the size of your ice block moulds.

To Make:

1. Blend the watermelon with 1 tsp of the lemon juice. Pour evenly into the bottom third of your ice block mould and then put in the freezer for an hour. (The watermelon layer will separate out into 2 layers, giving the ice blocks the 4 layered effect)

2. After an hour, blend the honey dew melon with 1 tsp lemon juice and gently pour into the middle third of the ice block moulds. Place in the freezer for 35 minutes.

3. Remove from the freezer and gently insert the paddle pop sticks - the mixture should be frozen enough to hold the sticks upright but soft enough so that you can easily insert them. Return to the freezer for another 25 minutes.

4. Blend the rock melon with the remaining tsp of lemon juice and gently pour on top, filling up the ice block moulds. Place in the freezer for 2-3 hours or until completely set.

Makes 4 ice blocks.

To eat, run some hot water around the outside of the mould to allow the ice block to slide out easily.

Enjoy!