I thought I’d share with you today a homemade gelatin recipe. It uses just unsweetened fruit juice, so it has no food coloring nor white sugar, and good, grass-fed gelatin for enhancing gut health and joints. If you are concerned about the juice’s sugar load, you could try the coconut milk variation below. The fat slows the sugar absorption. This is based on the “Fruit Juice Blocks” recipe from Knox brand gelatin.
Know that the gelatin even provides a small amount of protein per serving, which will also slow down the absorption into the bloodstream. This recipe, using the Great Lakes brand, would supply 24 grams protein for the whole pan.
Ingredients:
- 4 TB or 28g good gelatin (Try Great Lakes unflavored beef gelatin. Says Collagen, Joint Care on it. I use Knox brand, too, since the above needs to be mail ordered.)
- 4 cups fruit juice (try grape unsweetened)
- Coconut milk (optional variation, choose a full fat version without guar gum for GAPS and SCD compliance. Arroy-D is one brand that I really like. It is found in Asian markets, and has no thickeners. Online retailers have it, too.)
Pour only 1 cup of fruit juice into a metal or porcelain bowl large enough to hold all four cups of juice and stir it. Sprinkle all the gelatin over the cold juice. Let sit at least 5 minutes.
In a stove pot, heat remaining 3 cups of juice to boiling, then pour over gelatin and cold juice mixture. Stir well. Cool for 15 minutes on counter, then pour into low baking dish (8×8″, 9×11″ – whatever you have.) Cover and put into refrigerator for a few hours until set. Cut into squares and serve.
Variation with Coconut Milk – Creamy Version, Slower Absorption
Fats slow down the absorption of all sugars into the bloodstream. So having the coconut milk in there makes the dessert richer, and actually healthier for the body than pure juice.
Sprinkle the gelatin over the 1 cup cold juice as above.
In the pot, instead of the above all juice combo, mix and heat 2 cups juice and 1 cup coconut milk to boiling. Pour over the cold gelatin mixture, stir, cool, and pour into a baking dish. Cool on counter for 15 minutes, then stir one more time before it goes into the refrigerator for a few hours to set. (If you forget, it’s OK – the coconut will be a separate layer from the juice, instead of mixed in.) Cut into squares and serve.
This creamy version is especially good for people with digestive issues, who are trying to gain some weight (been there!). It is legal on the Specific Carbohydrate Diet and GAPS diet. It’s also a fairly healthy snack that’s grain-free, low in fiber, bean-free, and refined sugar free (although it still has fruit sugar that is easily absorbed into the blood stream). Here’s an image of the gelatin.
