Review: Hell Never Freezes Over For These treats
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 12 11, 2012
Frozen confectionaries are ubiquitous in America. Who doesn't have fond memories of Mister Softee plying his trade as (s)he slowly wends their way down neighborhood streets throughout the summer? Or being able to ride your bike to the local Dairy Queen or some other mom-and-pop ice cream stand with a friend or two and partake of a Dilly Bar or a Peanut Buster Parfait?Nowadays, it's most likely cheaper to buy a half-gallon of ice cream at the supermarket than fork over several dead presidents for a Good Humor bar being sold at cost to a bunch of neighborhood kids. When I was a kid, a single-scoop ice cream cone cost forty cents. Nowadays, the same item can run you almost four dollars.This is no exaggeration.As much as these frozen goodies saturate our collective memories, Stephen Williams asserts that there is a much healthier and cheaper alternative---the popsicle. (Or, as the Brits would say, the iced lolly.)"Popsicles: Healthy Snack in an Instant" declares unequivocally that, like its sister tome about smoothies, making your own popsicles using fresh fruit is not only a better, wiser alternative to cakes and cookies and other assorted sugary flotsam, but also leaves your wallet a bit fatter as well.Why would this be?Generally speaking, consumers pay for advertising (read: brand name products). So, popsicles that come in a box with the trademark label "Popsicles" will cost more than, say, "Hyde Farms Brand Popsicle Treats." Not only is the former much more widely known, but the higher cost is justified due to the tremendous amount of advertising sent out by the manufacturers of "Popsicle." Revenues need to be recouped somehow, and since "Popsicle" has been a brand name that's existed for over a half-century, there is not much doubt that people who are craving a frozen treat on a stick will have no real strong objection to paying a bit more for a trusted brand. Increased costs are marked up in gradual, subtle increments so as not to spook the public, and so, as the price increases slightly each year, rationalization and justification set in."Popsicles" provides recipes for making numerous variations on an old summer standby, and Williams exhorts his readers to take advantage of them as often as possible. He ties together the idea of making and eating a variety of popsicles with the larger, long-term goal of living and maintaining a healthy diet and lifestyle: "Eating healthy is the best choice you can make today to change your life. . .popsicles are a great (dessert) that (require) almost no effort at all. . .(b)ecause they're delicious, fancy and healthy!" (intro.)I have had the opportunity and pleasure to review Williams's writings, and he consistently churns out sound, well-intentioned books that cater to helping his readers help themselves improve different aspects of their lives. He has written books about being assertive and confident in social settings; about learning and developing latent talents and interests such as cooking and blogging; about staying physically and emotionally well; about maintaining proper diet, and so forth.Williams continually writes with enthusiasm and a certain je nai se quois; it is evident that, though he may get a bit rah-rah at times, it is done without malice and should be taken with the proverbial grain of salt."Popsicles" is a book that fits a particular niche: namely, cooking and/or entertaining at home. It is written for all ages and allows the imagination to be let loose. Creativity and fun are its overarching traits and in no way resembles the solid, classic colors and flavors that have been the popsicle's trademark for decades. Flexibility and adaptation, such as what graces the pages of Williams's work, allow for certain products to survive into the twenty-first century. Hey, if Heinz ketchup can be mass-produced in a dark green hue, then why can't the popsicle be produced in colors that span the known spectrum?"Popsicles" outlasts any brain freeze.