Healthy Mango Ice-Blocks

By Catherine Noonan on November 16, 2018 in Food

Few fruits are as synonymous with summer as mangoes, in particular the good old Bowen variety, which grow in many a Queensland backyard and are available in abundance from September through to March. Bowen mangoes range in colour from green to yellow on the outside with a deep orange coloured flesh that is delicately soft to touch and fragrant when ripe.

If you think you’ve never seen a Bowen mango, think again.

This variety is more commonly identified as Kensington Pride by commercial growers and retailers. They were first discovered in the northern Queensland town of Bowen when British Army traders gifted mangoes and spices to well-to-do locals. The best seeds were planted and a successful crop at a property named Kensington gave birth to the distinctive new variety.

The most recent season produced a whopping 10.7 million trays, thanks in part to improved technology in production and Australia’s vigilant biosecurity
measures. As for us consumers down here in Sydney, we can only hope that the weather stays kind for another cracking Aussie mango season with healthy returns for the growers and competitive prices and an abundant supply for us to enjoy.

Mangoes are already satisfyingly affordable, and to make them go that bit further I’ve taken to blending mine into delicious ice-blocks for my children. It’s either one fresh mango per child, which can get pretty expensive, or blend and freeze them into ice-blocks, which equates to approximately one mango per three or four popsicle moulds – now that’s an economical way to keep the kids happy!

TOOLS

Blender
10 capacity ice-block mould with sticks

INGREDIENTS

3 Kensington Pride (Bowen) mangoes
1⁄4 large avocado (to add an
element of creaminess to the ice- blocks)
2 Medjool dates, pitted
1⁄2 vanilla bean, scraped

METHOD

1. Peel and slice the mangoes;

2. Place the mango flesh in the blender;

3. Add the avocado, pitted dates and scraped vanilla bean seeds;

4. Turn the blender onto high speed and blitz the mixture until completely smooth;

5. Pour the mixture into the popsicle mould and transfer to the freezer;

6. Allow to set overnight and keep frozen until required.

Cath Noonan is a self-confessed health-foodie, recipe creator, and nutrition student, as well as the founder of healthy food blog, I Heart Scratch. Check out the delicious food pics on her Instagram account, @i_heart_scratch, and find more recipes by visiting www.iheartscratch.com.au.