FANCY A BEETROOT ICE LOLLY?

As stores mount a desperate bid to sell children’s treats to grown-ups . . .

GROWn-UP ice lollies might sound oxymoronic, but this year they are so popular you may have to queue up for them.

From fancy, foodie flavours that combine the strangest of ingredients, to healthy ones that sneak in vegetables as you lick, lollies are suddenly sophisticated. But, asks REBECCA LEY, can ingredients such as spinach, whisky, beetroot and peanut butter make a delicious treat — or will we be begging for a Calippo?

BERRIES & ELDERFLOWER

Delipops, £1.90 for one, delipops.co.uk GOOSEBERRIES and elderflower are lovely, seasonal flavours to include in a lollipop. summery and refreshing — this tastes like something I could make by gathering berries from a hedgerow, if I only had the time and patience. 9/10

EARL GREY TEA

Ice Kitchen, £2.50, ocado.com CREAMY and delicate, this is the most sophisticated lollipop I’ve ever tasted. This brand — introduced at Ocado this month — is credited with starting the trend for posh lollies — and I can see why. The range of flavours includes peach and hibiscus, and blueberry, honey and yoghurt, if you fancy a sweet take on breakfast. 10/10

PEANUT BUTTER

MiiRO, £2.49, miiro.co.uk MADE with coconut milk, sweetened with grapes, ‘balanced’ by himalayan pink salt and ‘ fortified’ with pea protein, these are a choc-ice fix for the seriously healthy.

The chocolate coating is raw, which means the maximum amount of nutrients are retained. sadly it doesn’t make for a tasty snack. I would opt for a Magnum if I could. 5/10

BEETROOT & CARROT

Sainsbury’s Smoothie Blackcurrant, Carrot & Beetroot Ice Lollies, £2 for four x 73g, sainsburys.co.uk ALMOST anything tastes good frozen and packaged up as an ice lolly — even, it turns out, a carrot and beetroot smoothie.

This is an inky purple colour and has that characteristic earthy note of beetroot, but surprisingly, it’s delicious. 9/10

COLD BREW COFFEE

Olly Lolly, £2, ollylolly.co.uk TAKING the iced latte to another level, this coffee lollipop is from fancy West Country brand Olly Lolly. It’s a funny colour, but if you’re a coffee lover it’s an enjoyable way to feed your addiction. 7/10

WATERMELON SLICE

Rowntree’s, £1, supermarkets THIS is designed to look like a slice of watermelon, but any resemblance to fresh fruit ends there. The taste is standardissue ice lolly sugariness, which is to say my children Isobel, seven, Felix, four, and sebastian, two, would adore it. 3/10

BLOOD ORANGE

Popping Licks, £3.50 or ten online for £30, poppinglicks.com WITH a hint of rosemary and a splash of the botanical spirit Kamm & sons — which contains ginseng, manuka honey, and grapefruit peel — topped up with soda water, this is a properly adult indulgence. It’s sweet, but with a tangy twist. And it would be a great end to a dinner party. 8/10

SESAME SEEDS

Pierre Marcolini, £5, eu.marcolini.com These are from the smart — and expensive — chocolatier Pierre Marcolini. You can get ice cream, sorbet and chocolate combinations. A raspberry sorbet dipped in white chocolate with roasted sesame seeds is indulgent, but the seeds add welcome texture. 8/10

SPINACH & LIME

Sainsbury’s Smoothie with Mango & Apple, Cucumber, Spinach & Lime, £2 for four x 73g, sainsburys.co.uk A SPINACH lollipop shouldn’t work, but like the sainsbury’s beetroot one, this is a winner. I t’s unlikely that my children would countenance this as a smoothie, but frozen, they love it. I find the same psychology works on me, too. 7/10

HOMEMADE . . . CREAMY AVOCADO

FEELING brave, I decided to try making my own lollies, too. I used Ice Pop Molds (£12.99 for six, Zoku at lakeland.co.uk).

For my first trial, I opted for a super-healthy avocado lolly. You make these with two small avocados, the juice of two limes, 250ml of natural yoghurt, a teaspoon of vanilla extract and three tablespoons of honey. sadly, they taste awful. 2/10

. . . RAINBOW LAYERS

NEXT, a striking ‘rainbow’ lolly — something any child would love. Choose fruit with different colours (raspberries, blueberries, oranges etc), pulp them, before layering the mixtures in a lolly mold. Unfortunately, it’s hard to keep the layers distinct, but the result is delicious. 6/10

...CARROT & SATSUMA

MY HEALTH kick continued as I grated six carrots before squeezing out the juice, then adding it to the juice of three oranges, the zest of one, and a peeled and chopped satsuma. The lollies are a zingy explosion of vitamin C. 8/10

...COCONUT & FRUIT

ThIs is the easiest way of getting an impressive result. Pour coconut water into a lolly mold and add chopped pieces of your chosen fruit. These look and taste great — and they are simple to make. 9/10