Home » Blog » Paleo Diet » Paleo Diet Recipes » Paleo Dessert Recipes » Paleo Jello (with Berries)
Paleo Jello (with Berries)
Although store-bought jello (or jelly in British English) is pretty far from paleo (with food coloring and artificial flavors), the main ingredient in jello, gelatin, is actually a naturally occurring animal product. I had always known that jello came from gelatin and that gelatin came somehow from cows, but it hadn’t really occurred to me that jello, even home-made jello, could be healthy! Maybe I just equated it with too much added sugar!
The topic of jello came up at a pot luck where the host pulled out a large container of gelatin and suggested we all try making jello at home! After researching gelatin, I found that it’s usually made from beef skin, hoofs, bones etc and is full of amino acids. Ok, beef skin, hoofs, and bones don’t sound all that appetizing…but let’s just focus on the end product, jello.
Gelatin touts some impressive health benefits ranging from improving joint and hair health to strengthening nails. It was easy to purchase gelatin on Amazon – in fact, I bought 5 lbs of it, which will probably last a lifetime since 2 tablespoons of the stuff makes 2 cups of jello (but it was only $35 for a lifetime supply of healthy jello)!
My first jello used strawberry and blueberry puree. For this, I took a cup of strawberries and a cup of blueberries (I cut up a few extra strawberries into slices for garnish).
I place the berries into the blender (or Vitamix) and pureed really well….
Then I put 2 tablespoons of gelatin (I bought it off Amazon here) into a bowl (make sure the bowl is large enough to fit around 2 cups of water).
I added 1 cup of cold water to the gelatin powder and whisked well to get the gelatin to dissolve. Then I placed the bowl into the microwave and nuked on high for 1 minute to ensure the gelatin was fully dissolved in the water. I used a fork to whisk it a bit more after taking it out of the microwave.
Then I divided the fruit puree (it came to around 1 cup of puree) into cups or whatever container you want the jello to set in. I poured it into 3 glass cups, filling each cup halfway.
Then, I filled the other half of each cup with the gelatin dissolved in the water. I whisked it a bit more with the fork to ensure the gelatin mixed well with the fruit puree. Then, I left it in the fridge for 3-4 hours to set. Before serving, I garnished each cup with a couple of slices of strawberries.
The texture of the jello is a bit different to that of traditional jello (mostly because I used fruit puree rather than juice). This jello was less solid and more of a mousse consistency in your mouth. It’s also not super sweet because there’s no added sugar. I really enjoyed how refreshing it was, especially when enjoying the summer sun.
Print
Ingredients
- 1 cup of strawberries
- 1 cup of blueberries
- 2 tablespoons of gelatin powder
- 1 cup of water
Instructions
- Puree the strawberries and blueberries in a blender or Vitamix.
- Pour the pureed fruit into cups, filling each cup half way.
- Place 2 tablespoons of the gelatin powder into a large bowl and add in 1 cup of cold water. Stir well. Then place the bowl into the microwave and heat on high for 1 minute. Mix well using a fork.
- Pour the gelatin water into the cups with the fruit puree (almost filling each cup to the brim) and mix well.
- Leave in the fridge to set for 3-4 hours.
- Serve with a few slices of strawberries as garnish.