I have been attempting to make homemade jello for our boys that tastes yummy but is super good for their bodies. So after a couple past attempts not tasting very sweet or too bold etc, I tried a new recipe this week to use as a visual aid for our Bible lesson (Jesus walking on the water). It turned out delicious and even a bigger bonus was some awesome immune boosters that made it even sweeter (literally and figuratively)!
We use Young Living wolfberries for my oldest son and I’ve always thought it is crazy sweet and a little on the tart side, very similar to a pixie stick. It is packed with sooooo much goodness though so it gave me an idea to use them for a jello. Combined with the beef gelatin** that is great for bones, joints, hair skin and nails, and gut/digestion health, and natural juice and sweetners…I have no problem with them getting a few extra servings!
I was also attempting to make it blue to look like water using McCormick’s* natural blue food coloring. Unfortunately, all my blue sunk to the bottom in a granual base so you might want to try disolving it first in a small amount of liquid then incorporating it into your jello if you want to add natural coloring. Or you could also try Watkin’s coloring or India Tree which uses liquid coloring and probably would work better for this creation. (Supernatural is another great brand for natural food coloring and sprinkles, but I have not seen a liquid food coloring option.)
Okay! Let’s get started!
You can use any flavor of juice you want (except pineapple). I just recommend a 100% fruit or veggie blend and you may or may not want to add sweetners depending on the juice. Since the gelatin does dilute the juice a bit, honey or raw cane sugar does help bring it back to its regular flavor. And honey has so many health benefits as well especially during cold season! For this recipe I chose apple juice (and used 1/8 cup raw cane sugar instead of the honey since all I had was my first aid honey which is another story) and the wolfberries to give it a stronger flavor in addition to the immune boosters.
Homemade Healthy Jello
- 4 cups of juice
- 2 TBSP unflavored beef gelatin (grass-fed)**
- Sweetner (sugar, honey, agave, etc)
- 5 packets of Young Living wolfberries (optional)
Add 1/2-3/4 cup of the juice to a bowl or liquid meausing cup and sprinkle with gelatin powder. Whisk together and allow to sit for 3-5 minutes to gel. While the gel sits, heat the remaining juice.
Pour the remaining 3 1/4 -3 1/2 cups of juice into a pot and heat until almost boiling. Remove from heat and add your sweetner and wolfberries packets. Combine til fully dissolved.
Blend in the gel mixture until combined. Pour into a baking dish (size depends on how thick you want your jello). Refrigerate about 4 hours or until set.
I hope you enjoy it as much as we do! Now I have figured it out, I hope to try several other juices again and stock up on my natural food colors so we can play more!
*This is the McCormick natural food coloring I used from a friend’s recommendation! I love using it for things knowing I’m not giving the kids Red40 or any of that junk!
**I ordered my beef gelatin from Amazon since we don’t have a local health food store. You can order it here.
I am not paid to advertise for any of these products.