If you’re currently enjoying the summer season, you’ve probably been tempted to indulge in some ice cream. While a scoop of chocolate or strawberry ice cream may be delicious and seem innocent enough, it can contain a lot of sugar and a fair few calories.

This doesn’t mean you need to melt in the summer heat, though, as you can enjoy frozen desserts that are delicious but also much healthier. Skip the store bought ice cream or frozen yoghurt — which often has a lot of added ingredients — and make your own treats that are ideal whether you’re on a diet or just trying to be healthier.

Yoghurt pops

Yoghurt pops are easy to make, really tasty and suitable for trying different flavours. They’ll also be a hit with big and little kids alike, so it’s a good thing you can make them in batches.

All you need is Greek yoghurt — you can use full fat or fat-free depending on your preference — honey or agave nectar for sweetness and fresh fruit. Simply blend all of your ingredients together until the mixture is smooth and pour into ice pop moulds before putting in the freezer overnight.

Great flavour combinations include raspberry and lemon — use lemon juice rather than the fruit — strawberry and mango and kiwi and melon. Just be sure to test your mixture before adding your honey so it doesn’t end up too sweet.

You can also use this method to make frozen yoghurt that you can scoop, although you’ll need to stir the mixture every hour as it freezes to break the ice crystals down if you don’t have an ice cream maker.

Frozen bananas

Everyone has been making bananas into ice cream over the last few years, but you can also turn the fruit into ice lollies. Simply peel your banana, cut it in half and put a wooden lolly stick in the cut end before freezing for at least six hours.

Once the bananas are frozen, you can dip them in unsweetened dark chocolate and add chopped nuts, fruit, desiccated coconut and anything else you fancy decorating them with. Pop them back in the freezer and enjoy as and when.

Smoothie lollies

If you enjoy a smoothie to start your day, why not turn your favourite into a frozen dessert? All you need to do is whip up a smoothie that you like — whether it’s fruity or creamy — and pop it in ice lolly moulds to freeze overnight.

You could even combine your smoothie with some yoghurt to create marble effect lollies that mix two different textures. This is a great way to balance out the sharpness of fruit with something a bit sweeter without having to add loads of sugar.

Avocado ice cream

Rather than whipping up ice cream using bananas, try mixing things up and making the most of creamy avocados instead. Avocados contain more potassium and healthy fatty acids, while also having less sugar than bananas. They also go really well with chocolate.

Blend avocados together with unsweetened cocoa powder, coconut milk, Greek yoghurt and honey or agave until you have a nice smooth mixture. You can also add dark chocolate chips if you’re a real chocoholic. Pour this into a container and freeze overnight. The result is an indulgent and creamy chocolate ice cream that is surprisingly healthy.