Dog Days of Summer Pops: a Treat for People and Pups

This quarantine we got a puppy and ever since frozen dog treats have been on my mind. I wanted to make something for both of us that would taste good and be safe for both humans and canines. When I would make smoothies for myself he would look up at me begging for a lick. That's when it hit me. Why not make a smoothie for dogs? I started making them frequently and he loved them. I would freeze them for a hot day or just give it to him as is. I started conjuring up yummy dog friendly popsicles and this recipe seemed to be a hit for everyone in the family.

**Note: The following recipe is for human use, there are modifications for dog popsicles. Do not add the chocolate syrup and Nutella spread.

Recipe:

2 ripe bananas

1 Tb smooth peanut butter

1/4 cup vanilla yogurt

2 Tb Hershey's chocolate sauce or any kind of chocolate syrup (omit for dog treat recipe)

1 cup water

3/4 cup Nutella or other chocolate hazelnut spread (omit for dog treat recipe)

1/2 - 3/4 cup crushed peanuts

**Instead of chocolate ingredients we added 1/4 cup strawberries and 1/4 cup blueberries for our pup.

Put bananas, peanut butter, yogurt, water, and chocolate sauce in the blender and blend until smooth.

Put 1/2 cup of Nutella in a plastic ziplock bag and cut off a tiny bit of one of the corners to be able to "pipe" Nutella into the molds.

In a popsicle or any kind of mold pour 1/4 of the mold with the smoothie. Pipe in a tiny layer of Nutella (no Nutella for dog recipe) so you can get a chunk of Nutella in every bite. Alternate layers of smoothie and Nutella until mold is filled. Freeze until solid.

Take the peanuts and either smash then up to pieces like I did in or run them through the Cuisinart until fine. Take the popsicles out of the molds and roll them in the peanuts until your desired amount of the nuts are on.

Cool off with your pup and enjoy the flavorful pops!