Let’s pretend you and I are at the spa, and they just handed us icy cold cucumber pops studded with fresh raspberries.  Well, if you and I are friends enough to go to a spa together, you probably would assume that I snuck vodka in my purse to dunk these popsicles in.  When you eagerly reach for the vodka without a hint of judgement in your eyes, you and I just elevated to best friend status.

My new best friend lately is the juicer.  No, I don’t juice gigantic kale leaves, and then instagram it to make you feel bad about your diet choices that day.  (but I live with someone who does!).  I juice things for cocktails, which is way more fun.  I’m not the only cool cat that does it—check out Joy’s carrot juice Bourbon cocktail!  I want to re-tox with her so bad.

I can’t get over how fresh-tasting a cucumber is right out of the juicer.  One thing I learned with juicing this summer is that you must always include a lemon.  Lemons make everything not taste like dirt, ya know?  I also throw in a knob of ginger because I like the heat and spice.

For these cucumber pops, I juiced a giant cucumber from my garden.  It gave me about 1 1/2 cups of juice.  Crazy, right?  I also peeled a lemon and tossed it in the juicer, too.  I left out the ginger this go around, but I’ll probably add it next time.  Taste the juice before making the popsicles—you may want to stir in 1-2 tablespoons of agave nectar.  I’ve grown accustomed to the earthy taste of fresh juice, but if you’re new to it, please, stir in a little sweetener.  You’ll love it more, and you’re still getting your veggies, so what’s the harm?

One little persnickety thing about fresh juice:  it separates.  So, to make these gorgeous green pops with raspberries floating in them just so, I ended up pouring the mixture in and then stirring several times before it froze solid.  I know, it sounds like a pain.  But not as big a pain as my Earl Grey latte pops with all the stripes, I swears.