M.J.
Real unprocessed gelatin from grass fed animals is very very good for you. You have to get it at health food stores.
Here is a healthy recipe and info on gelatin
http://holisticsquid.com/finger-jello-a-wiggly-jiggly-nut...
I know that I can buy plain, unflavored jello, but I do not know how to flavor it so it is appealing to my son (5).
I use Stevia in place of sugar, but the plain jello still has no flavor.
Part of this is that I want to avoid those nasty commercial dyes.
Can anyone make any suggestions?
Is there a brand that comes naturally flavored, and has none of the nasty commercial dyes in it?
Thanks.
S.
Thanks for all the comments.
I may try the Great Lakes gelatin, as well as agar agar.
Thanks again.
Real unprocessed gelatin from grass fed animals is very very good for you. You have to get it at health food stores.
Here is a healthy recipe and info on gelatin
http://holisticsquid.com/finger-jello-a-wiggly-jiggly-nut...
I am not sure why you want to make jello at all - is there a specific reason? Gelatin is what you get from boiling beef parts that include cartilage. The natural flavor would be beef. If you want a dessert with a pudding like consistency you could make dairy based puddings/creme brulee, tapioca, rice pudding or farina/wheat based puddings.
I probably make jello 4 times a year.. kids like it but they don't love it.. it is not like they ask for it daily.. so I buy real jello brand jello.. and I don't worry about it..
I bet if you bought the unflavored gelatin and used fruit juice..(maybe cherry juice-for red color...) it might be OK.. also add some canned or fresh fruit...
For those who comment on artificial sweetners. Stevia is a natural sweetner. It is NOT artificial. It's made from the leaves of the stevia plant just as sugar is made from the sugar cane plant or the sugar beet.
Try making it with fruit juice. I would try a concentrated form of juice so that the flavor would be more intense. I think you can found it in a natural food type store.
I like to put fruit or grated carrots in jello. Fresh, canned, or frozen. If frozen thaw it first and include the juice in the liquid measurement. Do not use fresh pineapple. That has to be canned. It contains a substance that breaks the gel.
I do wonder why you're wanting to make jello in this way. It will not hurt him to have the regular flavored jello every once in awhile. I've never made jello often.
I have a vegan friend who uses something called agar-agar to make "jello". I've never had them, but she also makes vegan "marshmellows" and my son's had those and raved about them. Or you could use kosher gelatin, but it's still hooves and hides.
Don't use artificial sweeteners, they are harmful to our bodies. If you don't want to eat jello then find something else to eat. Jello is Jello. You can't make other stuff taste like Jello.
S.:
Jello-O is sugar. It doesn't have any nutritional value - really.
If you want something tasty for your son? use Yogurt with fruit.
Using "processed - fake" sugar - isn't going to make it healthy or tasty.
It's JELL-O. Just make buy the flavored ones....if you want "healthy" then don't by Jell-O! Or google "healthy jell-o" and you might find something.
This is what I found:
http://wellnessmama.com/3803/how-to-make-healthy-jello/
Good luck!
If you want to make it tastier for him, you could try adding in fresh fruit, or even canned. Or use 100% juice instead of water? Jello itself has no nutritional value anyway, so I would use only the kind with real sugar if he insists on eating it. Everything in moderation. :)
jello and gelatin is not healthy, steer away from it and dont hook your kid on something that has no redeeming healthy qualities.
I just ran across this recipe and thought of your post. Hope it tastes as good as it looks!
http://www.phoenixhelix.com/2013/05/01/healing-foods-juic...
Here is another recpie..
http://www.adventuresofaglutenfreemom.com/2010/08/homemad...
I too will not give my child any artifical dyes.
This is an article showing how scary US foods can be.
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/0...