Tag Archives: jello

Orange Jello

| 4 Comments | AIP, Apps, Snacks & Sides, Beatty Protocols, Recipes, Treats

Orange Jello | DIY, dye-free, sugar-free | real food, paleo, AIP | AmandaNaturally.comIt was 35 degrees here on the weekend (for my friends south of the border, that’s 95F) and while that’s just gorgeous for most people, being 6 months pregnant made it a little tough to handle! So I spent the weekend enjoying lots of cold food like salads, hard boiled eggs, smoothies and JELLO!! 

Why jello? Two main reasons.

  1. I’m obsessed with cold fruit, and jello is a fun way to add variety. But more importantly…
  2. Gelatin. I’ve gone on and on about the health benefits of gelatin – you can find them in my blog posts on bone broth, healing leaky gut, watermelon jello and chocolate smoothies. Pretty much it’s amazing for gut and joint health, but also anywhere that there’s connective tissue – including skin, nails and hair (bonus!). I’m especially obsessed with it right now, cause I’m building brand new connective tissue for my kiddo, so making sure I get in lots of building blocks during my pregnancy. Extra awesome about this recipe is the vitamin C content from the oranges – connective tissue also requires vitamin C to be created, so this is a double whammy!

Orange Jello

Tips

  1. Use real fruit, not juice. If you don’t want to juice oranges like I did, choose a different fruit and throw in your blender. I have a recipe for watermelon jello that does exactly that! Juice is barely better than pop, even the organic stuff found at health food stores. Keep it real folks.
  2.  As always, I prefer grassfed animal products. My go-to brand of gelatin is Vital Proteins Beef Gelatin (we actually important it from the US), and it is often available on Amazon.ca, but right now it is on serious back order. Great Lakes Brand is a solid alternative. Your standard grocery store gelatin would work just fine as well.
  3. Don’t use grocery store jello. The food dyes and corn syrup (or worse, artificial sweeteners) are pure toxins. It takes a few seconds to blend/juice some fruit and then it’s actually good for you!
Orange Jello
A healthy alternative to the store-bought junk! Dye-free, sugar-free, gut-healing and filled with vitamin C!
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Prep Time
10 min
Cook Time
2 hr
Prep Time
10 min
Cook Time
2 hr
Ingredients
  1. 4 cups orange juice (I used 3lbs of oranges, which I juiced the old fashioned way. It resulted in 2.5 cups of juice, which I topped up with water to achieve 4 cups total liquid.)
  2. 4 tbsp gelatin (Vital Proteins is my favourite product, followed by Great Lakes Brand)
  3. maple syrup, to taste (optional, I didn't use any)
Instructions
  1. Juice your oranges and add water to achieve 4 cups. Taste and add maple syrup if necessary.
  2. Pour half (2 cups) into a small saucepan and heat over medium. Do not boil!
  3. Meanwhile, add 4 tbsp of gelatin to the remaining 2 cups of liquid in a bowl or measuring cup. Let bloom for about 5 minutes.
  4. Once the liquid in the saucepan is very warm (but not boiling), stir in the gelatin/liquid combo and remove from heat.
  5. Whisk to combine well. If necessary, use an immersion blender to blend completely.
  6. Pour into an 8x8 glass pan, silicon chocolate moulds or silicon ice cube trays.
  7. Refrigerate for 2+ hours.
Notes
  1. If you only end up with 3.5 cups of liquid, use 3.5 tbsp gelatin - just keep the ratio the same!
  2. Add other flavours like lemon, lime, or grapefruit
  3. If you like stuff in your jello, add some orange wedges or berries after pouring into moulds/pan
Amanda Naturally http://www.amandanaturally.com/

Watermelon Jello

| 1 Comment | AIP, Apps, Snacks & Sides, Beatty Protocols, Recipes, Treats

Watermelon Jello | AmandaNaturally.comWhen I was in grade school, we were always allowed to bring in a treat for the whole class on our birthdays. Since my birthday was in June, and it was usually hot out, my mom would always make jello jigglers for me to take! They were always a huge hit because they were delicious, refreshing and fun. Making your own jello jigglers is super simple and can be incredibly healthy, as long as it’s not with the artificially sweetened, food dyed, jello brand.

The flavour of homemade jello that I tend to make the most often is watermelon, simply because a large watermelon is a lot of fruit for 2 people to polish off before it goes bad. By turning it into jello, not only do you extend the life of the watermelon, but you have the opportunity to make an incredibly nourishing treat! Why is homemade jello so nourishing? Because gelatin, especially the grass-fed variety, is the breakdown product of connective tissue. And the best way to support our connective tissue, is to eat it! Why would we want to support connective tissue? Well it’s the scaffolding that our entire body is built upon. More specifically, it’s what keeps the gut strong (ie. not leaky!), our joints healhy and our skin firm and elastic. For more info on the benefits of consuming gelatin, check out this post. I love using homemade jello when working with parents on healing their kids guts, but adults can enjoy them just the same!

 

Watermelon Jello

1. Cut open watermelon and chop into pieces or scoop out using a spoon.

 

Watermelon Jello | AmandaNaturally.com2. Puree in your blender. You will likely have to do this multiple steps since 1 watermelon can give you a lot of material to work with! This watermelon gave 13 cups of pureed juice. (Optional: strain watermelon juice to get rid of the pulp. I’ve done this before but I find it unnecessary and time consuming. The only benefit is you get clear jello, instead of the cloudy layer on top – which I actually kind of like the look of!)

3. Stir in some raw honey and a pinch of sea salt, to your taste. For 13 cups I used 1 cup of honey. A good ballpark number is 1-2 tbsp honey per cup of watermelon. (You can absolutely omit the honey altogether and just use the fruit juice!)

4. Measure your total liquid amount (watermelon + honey). Mine was 14 cups.

5. Place half the liquid in a pot over low heat. Stir frequently and heat until very warm. DO NOT BOIL.

6. Meanwhile, place the other half of the liquid in a bowl and add the gelatin. The amount you need is 1 tbsp gelatin per 1 cup of liquid. So I used 14 tbsp gelatin (or ¾ cup + 2 tbsp). Let the gelatin bloom for about 5 minutes, while you warm the other half of the liquid.

7. Once the gelatin has bloomed (either entirely or mostly), and the liquid in the pot is very warm, dump the gelatin/liquid mixture into the pot. Whisk thoroughly to combine.

NOTE: Small batches work well with allowing the gelatin to bloom and simply whisking it in. I find with large amounts of gelatin like this, the gelatin clumps together. So when you dump it into the pot, use an immersion blender to break up all the gelatin.

8. Pour mixture into silicon muffin liners/tins, cake pans or chocolate moulds.

9. Refrigerate for 1-2 hours before popping out of moulds or cutting into jello jigglers. You can simply cut into squares, or have some fun by using cookie cutters! 

 

Did any one else’s mom make jello jigglers when they were a kid? Every time I make these I get super nostalgic!

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