Valentine's Day Jello Jigglers

Valentine's Day Jello Jigglers is a fun dessert that makes everyone smile made with all-natural herbal hibiscus tea, pomegranate juice and grass-fed gelatin.

Watch it wiggle...

See it jiggle...

Cool and smoothy, its jello brand gelatin. Of all the desserts you like the one that tastes so light and creates so much fun... (Or something like that, did I get the lyrics right?)

It's J E L LO!

Do you guys remember the Jello commercial?

As soon as we opened the package of cherry jello mix, we were teleported back into time.  Do you know how certain smells bring back some fond memories? I felt like I was back in my mom's kitchen, sitting on top of the counter because I was too short to reach.  Patiently stirring the jello until all the crystals melted.

However, then I turned over the container and read the ingredients. My goodness, maybe our moms were secretly trying to kill us off. What the heck is disodium phosphate, fumaric acid, acesulfame potassium and red dye #40? We have no idea but things we cannot pronounce we should probably not be ingesting…

The Healthier Version of Valentine's Day Jello Jigglers

Jello fruity gelatin is one of those desserts that never goes out of style.  However, we can’t be giving our family odd ingredients that we can’t pronounce. Kids and adults as well, love to watch this dessert jiggle and wiggle on their plate.  We came up with a brilliant way to make both the kids and adults feel happy about eating a heart happy dessert. With just all-natural grass-fed gelatin, all natural juice and slightly sweetened hibiscus tea we were able to make a fun Valentine’s Day Jello Jigglers that everyone could enjoy. If you are looking for another delicious dairy free Valentines dessert be sure to try our Velvety Vegan Chocolate Mousse.

Why use grass fed gelatin vs regular gelatin like knox?

Un flavored grass-fed gelatin is best. We used Great Lakes Unflavored Beef Gelatin in the RED can and that is important. Do not use the one in the GREEN can or otherwise it will not make jello, it will stay liquid. This is not a sponsored post. However, each gelatin can respond a little differently, so we wanted you to know the one we used. (This one happens to be a double pack)

You really can use either grass fed gelatin or regular gelatin (like Knox). They will both work well in the recipe. However, the plus in using a grass-fed gelatin is not ingesting hormones, antibiotics and other foreign things that are placed in the cows or porcine.

Grass fed cows vs grass fed cows and porcine gelatin

You have one more decision to make. Do you want your gelatin to be kosher and only grass fed or do you want one that has grass fed and also porcine? If for religious reasons you cannot have pork, then the kosher option is best for you. However, this can be a little more expensive. The gelatin that contains porcine is not 100% grass fed. It is just something to think about. At the end of the day, please use the gelatin you love or have access to as just choosing gelatin instead of jello with all kinds of dyes and weird additives as you are already a step in the right direction. Check out our other Valentines Day Recipes for more inspiration,

What is gelatin?

Gelatin is made by boiling animal bones, cartilage and skin to extract the collagen. Collagen is a protein. When this gelatin cools it creates a jelly like texture.

Health benefits of gelatin

Gelatin is rich in protein. It may help with irritable bowel syndrome and leaky guy symptoms. Gelatin may reduce joint and bone pain, increase brain function, increase sleep quality and help reduce the signs of skin aging. It may also make you feel fuller longer and assist with maintaining your weight goals.

How the heck do you get your gelatin to bloom?

The purpose of blooming your gelatin is to get a very smooth and uniform end product. Otherwise, you will get lumps and bumps in your Valentine’s Day Jello Jigglers! As the gelatin absorbs the cold liquid, it will start to swell up and thicken. The blooming process takes about 5 minutes. Then you add a hot liquid to dissolve the gelatin. The name of the gentlemen that invented this process was called Mr. Bloom,

All-Natural Juices make Valentine’s Day Jello Jigglers delicious

You can use almost any all natural 100 juice you like. However, avoid pineapple, kiwi, papaya, mango and ginger have an enzyme that prevent the jello from setting so avoid these fruit juices. However, we have been told that the canned version is okay as the enzymes have been removed. We used all natural 100% pomegranate fruit juice as this is high in antioxidants and pretty red for Valentine’s day. Grape juice, apple juice, orange juice and cranberry juice all should work well.

Hibiscus Tea in my Jello?

You bet! And it is so refreshing and delicious. We brewed a little fresh herbal hibiscus tea and added a little honey and added it to our delicious Valentine’s Day Jello Jigglers. The combination of hibiscus tea and pomegranate juice is delicious together. So, refreshing. The hibiscus is a little sour and the pomegranate juice is a little sweet. As you need to add a hot beverage for the gelatin dissolve, this worked great.

Health Benefits of Hibiscus Tea

Hibiscus tea has many health benefits such as reducing blood pressure, reduction in cholesterol, high in antioxidants, anti-inflammatory, reduces menstrual pain and aids in digestion. In addition, hibiscus tea is caffeine free.

Cautions of drinking Hibiscus tea...

Just as an FYI…You should not drink hibiscus tea if you are pregnant as it can stimulate menstruation or blood flow in the uterus or pelvic region. Nursing mothers should consult with their physicians prior to drinking hibiscus tea. Also, if you have low blood pressure, hibiscus tea may cause your blood pressure to go lower.

Will you be celebrating Valentines Day with a date night at home? Be sure to check out our Crab Stuffed Whitefish as it takes only 30 minutes, super simple but yet very decadent.  This recipe is our most popular recipe on Healthy World Cuisine.

More Delicious Dessert Recipes

Velvety Vegan Chocolate Mousse

Chocolate Espresso Fig Balls

Icebox Lavender Lemon Angel Food Cake

Honey Candied Meyer Lemons

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Valentine's Day Jello Jigglers

Valentine's Day Jello Jigglers is a fun dessert that makes everyone smile made with all-natural herbal hibiscus tea, pomegranate juice and grass-fed gelatin.

5 from 4 votes

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Course: Desserts

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 4 hours

Total Time: 4 hours 5 minutes

Servings: 6

Calories: 52kcal

Author: HWC Magazine

Ingredients

• ▢ 1 sachet hibiscus tea bag
  or 1 heaping tablespoon loose leaf dried hibiscus tea (organic)
• ▢ 1 cup boiled water
  
• ▢ 2 tablespoon honey
  
• ▢ 1 cup 100% pomegranate juice
  cold (split into ¼ cup and ¾ cup)
• ▢ 2 tablespoon grass fed gelatin
  
• ▢ Spray oil
• ▢ silicon mold Wilton Ruffled heart shaped silicone molds - 6 hearts or a 8 x 8 inch pan and heart shaped cookie cutters.

US Customary - Metric

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Instructions

• Boil water to make tea.
• Place ¼ COLD pomegranate juice in bowl and sprinkle over your grass-fed gelatin over the top, evenly. Just leave it sit and then when it starts to thicken up stir well to mix.
• In the meantime, Place your hibiscus tea bag or loose-leaf tea and steep in 1 cup hot water for about 5 minutes. Remove tea bag or loose-leaf hibiscus flowers from your cup. Add honey to taste. (FYI- hibiscus flowers can leave a blue/pink stain on your countertops so be sure to use paper towels underneath. Usually a little bleach water will help it come right out)
• Slowly add the hot sweetened hibiscus tea into the bloomed gelatin and stir until all dissolved. Then add the other ¾ cup cold pomegranate juice in and stir well.
• Spray a little cooking spray on your molds so they do not stick, especially if they have a lot of grooves. Gently pour the liquid jello gelatin into the molds or 8 x 8 pan. (If using a silicone mold, be sure to place this on a baking sheet BEFORE you pour in your jello gelatin mixture into the mold. You can thank us later)
• Refrigerate the heart molds or 8 x 8 inch pan with gelatin for at least 3 hours or until firmly set.
• Silicone Molds: Remove heart happy jello molds from fridge and place in a shallow dish of warm water to help them unstick- about 2 minutes. Carefully push on the underside of the silicone mold and push out the heart-shaped jello jigglers.
• Cookie Cutter Method: If you used a 8 x 8 inch pan then you can now use cookie cutters or hand cut into shapes and blocks, use a spatula warmed in water to remove from bottom of pan. Be very gentle so they do not tear.
• Play with your food. Make it wiggle, jiggle and dance then pop it in your mouth. Valentine's Day Jello Jigglers are firm and made with less water than traditional jello, so you can eat it with your fingers. Enjoy the cool, refreshing and sweet taste of this childhood nostalgic favorite.

Notes

You can use any 100% juice you like except, mango, pineapple, papaya, kiwi and ginger as these have an enzyme that will not allow your jello to set. (exception: if you use canned juices or cook your juice first this neutralized the enzyme)

You can use all juice if you would like instead of combining hibiscus tea and pomegranate juice.

You can exchange honey with maple syrup or other sweetener of choice.

If you want to make this recipe vegan you can try to exchange the gelatin with agar agar but we have not tested this out. Technically speaking, you should be able to use 2 tablespoons agar agar powder in this recipe but we have not tested it with agar. (we do not know how much it would be in agar agar flakes or agar sheets.)

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 52kcal | Carbohydrates: 11g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 9mg | Potassium: 89mg | Sugar: 11g | Calcium: 5mg | Iron: 1mg

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