Dear Del Monte,

Though I generally view you as an evil multinational corporation, who would rather dye its cherries with potentially carcinogenic red dye than sacrifice sales of fruit cocktail, I have to admit that we're a little bit addicted to your Real Fruit bars/popsicles.

First off, the whole "real fruit" concept. I like it. Even though it's from concentrate and there's nothing in your ingredients or packaging that really makes me feel you have to be totally truthful about this, I buy it. I ignore the little voice in my head that asks, who's picking the fruit? What pesticides are they spraying on said fruit, thereby contaminating the bloodstreams and water streams of poor farmers with? I just think, real fruit! Better than dye coloured frozen water!

Oh sure, I could avoid all this by just making my own popsicles at home. But let's face it -- the handles on the Ikea popsicle forms I bought are flimsy. No matter how good a juice I buy, eventually the homemade popsicle becomes a juiceless wad of ice on a flimsy stick.

Oh DM, your flavours are so inventive. Raspberry/Blackberry or Mango/Peach? Heaven on a stick! Blueberry/Pomegranate? How did you know? Don't answer that. I know how you know. You have a lot of money to put towards researching someone just like me. And now, neither I, nor my family can imagine a summer without you.

Sincerely,

Pregnant Mama (with an internal fire that only your popsicles can put out.)