(Photo: Adam Levey)

The Best Bet
Too many trips to the Mister Softee truck can turn you into the ice cream’s namesake. A homemade ice pop, on the other hand, is just as sweet, even more refreshing, and when made with organic juices, genuinely healthy. These reusable ice-pop molds have a retro-utilitarian look and are especially good for children—the base catches melting juice like rain in a gutter, and there’s an attached straw through which you can slurp every last drop, saving clothing, couches, and carpets from sticky disasters ($5.98 at Garber Hardware, 710 Greenwich St., nr. Charles St.; 212-929-3030). For grown-ups, there’s no better way to evoke bygone summers—after all, an ice pop is less a dessert than a state of mind.