A Family Friendly Challenge
So my girls have been asking me for jello for quite some time now. I will not buy the junk at the grocery stores because it is made from gelatin that is clearly not from a grass fed source and it has a ton of sugar and artificial flavors and coloring in them.
So this week when I asked my girls what they wanted to do for Family Friendly Fridays, they all said Jello, mama! 🙂 So the challenge was on, I had to create a delicious jello that everyone would enjoy.
A Little Information About Gelatin
Let’s talk about gelatin for a minute. I remember the first time I heard that gelatin was made from animals and I was shocked. Then I was told that is was the cows, pigs, and horses hooves, bones, nails and such…I about lost my cookies, for real. I did some research and quickly found some great information.
According to the Wikipedia,
“Gelatin is a mixture of peptides and proteins produced by partial hydrolysis of collagen extracted from the skin, boiled crushed horn, hoof and bones, connective tissues, organs and some intestines of animals such as domesticated cattle, chicken, horses, and pigs. The natural molecular bonds between individual collagen strands are broken down into a form that rearranges more easily. Gelatin melts to a liquid when heated and solidifies when cooled again. Together with water, it forms a semi-solid colloid gel. Gelatin forms a solution of high viscosity in water, which sets to a gel on cooling, and its chemical composition is, in many respects, closely similar to that of its parent collagen. Gelatin is also soluble in most polar solvents.”
Did You Know…
Gelatin is an incredible source of protein. It has been known to help with:
- muscle growth,
- creating a stronger metabolism,
- losing weight
- aiding in improving your digestive health.
- helping prevent sore joints
- creating longer and healthier nails and hair
- creating healthier skin.
Who knew gelatin had so many health benefits?
Where To Buy Quality Gelatin
But let me stress, you need to buy a healthy source of gelatin, preferably from a grass-fed source.
I have looked high and low and the only quality gelatin that I recommend is from the company Great Lakes Gelatin. Their gelatin is from grass fed healthy animals and is truly a quality product.
You can purchase some Great Lakes Gelatin directly from the company but you have to buy it by the case through the company.
Amazon has started selling Great Lakes Gelatin by the pound and it is pretty affordable. You can purchase Great Lake Gelatin through Amazon here: Gelatin-Regular/Unflavored Porcine-Type A – 1 lbs – Powder.
I also use gelatin in my bedtime tea and as a daily supplement. Check it out, you might be surprised how healthy and wonderful gelatin really is.
An Amazing Recipe Using Gelatin
Family Friendly Fridays ~ Finally A Jello That Is Good For You!
Prep Time: 10 minutes- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
Yield: Serves 4
Category: dessert
Method: stovetop
Cuisine: american
Print Recipe
Pin RecipeDescription
Who knew that jello could be so good for you. Read about all the amazing benefits of gelatin, you might be surprised!
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp grass fed gelatin (Great Lakes Gelatin is what i recommend, link to website is below this recipe)
- 1/2 cup cold filtered water
- 2 heaping cups of frozen or fresh berries
- 3/4 cup water (may vary)
- 1/4–1/3 cup rapadura (unrefined organic whole cane sugar)
Instructions
- Place 1 tbsp of gelatin in a bowl with a 1/2 cup of cold water. Stir and let sit for 5 minutes, and allow the gelatin to soften.
- Over medium heat, place the berries in a small saucepan. Heat slowly and press the fruit down with a potato masher as it is cooking down. Bring to a slight simmer (but not a boil) and remove from heat.
- Strain fruit through a sieve or fine mesh sifter. Cheese cloth could also be used. You should have 3/4 cup of puree left once you are through. If you do not want to strain it then you will most likely have 1 1/2 cup fruit puree left. You want to have a total liquid of 1 1/2 cups including your sweetener. Add enough water to this mixture to make 1 1/2 cups liquid (in my case I only had 3/4 cup strained fruit so I will add 3/4 cup water to make it 1 1/2 cup total liquid).
- Return back to stove and bring back to slight simmer.
- Add sugar and stir until dissolved, about 1 minute.
- Stir in the softened gelatin and stir until dissolved and combined, about 1 minute.
- Pour into your favorite jello mold or a glass pyrex dish.
- Chill for at least 2 hours before serving.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
Great Lakes Gelatin
Great Lake Gelatin can be purchased here: Gelatin-Regular/Unflavored Porcine-Type A – 1 lbs – Powder.
Resources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gelatin
Share Your Thoughts
What are some of your healthier snacks?
Do you use gelatin regularly?
definitely trying but will replace stevia for the cane sugar
Stevia would work great in this recipe too! Thanks for bringing it up.
Thanks for making the recipe with cane sugar as opposed to stevia, can’t wait
I’m def. trying this. Wholeheartedly agree with Tina, glad you used the cane sugar!
My little guy loves jello, well, so do I for that matter ;), but I’m like you and refuse to give him the packaged stuff. Thanks for the recipe! I may try to re-work it to use honey.
@frugalfarmwife honey will work just fine. Just count it as part of your total liquid. So if you have 3/4 cup pure and you add 1/4 cup honey, then you would just add 1/2 cup water for the total liquid of 1 1/2 cups. Let us know how it turns out 🙂
@hallecottis @frugalfarmwife I’m going to try this one too … this looks so much better than the packaged stuff! Thanks for sharing it at <a href=”http://grannysvitalvittles.com/scratch-cookin-tuesday-11132012/”>Scratch Cookin’ Tuesday!</a>
@frugalfarmwife I’ve used honey in jello recipes with great success. Halle’s suggestion is spot on!
We LOVE jello! Your recipe looks great. Thanks for sharing with us.
Hugs,
–Amber
Thank you for the info.
I really love some of these recipes! Thanks!
I had no idea how bad jello is for you!
Jello is NOT bad for you. We are way to over the top these days with grass fed or organic, GMO, and all the other buzzwords used to make you think something that is not true and make you spend more money for nothing. Cows can NOT live on grass. Only 1 breed can, and it is a poor small animal no industry can make a living on. ALL livestock animals need grains, corn, hay, alfalfa, protein, minerals and supplements, and way more to list, or they will die. As a farmer, I know we use the WHOLE animal and that is great. Jello has sugar, which we all know isn’t always good, but otherwise there are a lot of good things in Jello. Read up on it, you may be surprised!
★★★★
Could I use coconut palm sugar? That is what I have on hand. Thanks! 🙂
Sure, just make sure to dissolve it well. I have found coconut sugar hard to dissolve before.
My gran used to make calf’s foot jelly whenever anyone in the family (or extended family/friends) was poorly; mum didn’t like it so it was my job to help her 🙂 it really is a wonderful convalescent food and it was quite normal for recipes to be included in good cookbooks (e.g. Good Housekeeping, etc).My favourite tasted like french onion soup. Lovely to see a nice pud version 🙂