Whew, it’s crazy time! Just got back from a beach vacation with just enough turn-around time to accomplish 7 loads of laundry, take the kids to the dentist and restock my pantry for the hungry boys I’m leaving behind. Oh, where am I going?  To the Pacific Northwest, where I will run on a Nuun Hydration sponsored team in the Hood to Coast Relay; you might have heard me mention that before! If you didn’t it’s just a little 198 mile jaunt from Mt. Hood to Seaside, Oregon that I split up with 11 other teammates No biggie!

Needless to say, I’m so pooped I could pop . . . literally!  I’m leaving behind some homemade Chocolate Protein Pudding Pops for the kiddos as my way of saying “remember your dear old mother as she’s hauling butt down a mountain.” If you’re as old as me, you probably remember similar frozen confections hawked by that famous Huxtable in the 1980s. Back in the day, my brother and I convinced my mom (aka “the sugar sheriff) to hook us up with these tasty treats because they “contained wholesome milk and all the goodness of pudding frozen on a stick.”  In my version, I’ve added whey protein powder to round them out nutritionally, an “ah-ha” discovery from the recent extraction of oldest son’s wisdom teeth. Enjoy!

Chocolate Protein Pudding Pops Recipe

• 1 box (4-serving size) instant pudding, chocolate
• 2 cups fat free milk or milk alternative
• 1 scoop whey protein powder, chocolate
• 1 cup fat free non-dairy whipped topping

In medium bowl, whisk together pudding mix and protein powder until combined. Whisk in milk until smooth. Pour approximately ¼ of mixture into another bowl; fold in whipped topping until combined with pudding mixture.  Fill frozen pop molds about 2/3s full of pudding and top off remaining space with the pudding-whipped topping mixture. Add stick tops to the molds and set in freezer overnight.  Makes about 6 pops, depending on mold size.

Note: You can use any type of molds you like, even empty yogurt cups with wooden sticks. However, I double love this fun star-shaped set by Tovolo:

Also, don’t forget to stock up on your Nuun Hydration tablets, summer is still going strong and you need to drink lots!  In the promo box, type in “bloggerslovenuun” for a 15% discount off your total order.