Healthy Snack Recipe: Fruit Tea Jello

When I was in the supermarket last week, I noticed a product from Jell-o I had never seen before: “Mixchief” Jell-o. “Mixchief” contains one ingredient. What is it? Plain old unsweetened gelatin. A-ha, I thought, perfect for a healthy snack recipe.

Occasionally I have purchased Knox unsweetened gelatin to make homemade fruit juice jell-o for our daughter, but I realized that she would be much more thrilled to have  juice jell-o if it came from a box with the “Jell-o” logo. (Although she is a generally open-minded eater, she does roll her eyes at her mother’s annoying imposition of a healthy, low-sugar, no-packaged-foods diet.)

So I purchased the Jell-o “Mixchief” box and ostentatiously showed it to my 8-year-old critic. “Cool, Mom!” she said. Score!

When I got home and opened the cupboards to make the jell-o, though, I realized that we only had one kind of juice, which was apple juice. To me, apple juice jello seemed kind of boring. Then I had a eureka moment — why not fruit tea jello? That would have a subtly complex flavor that would appeal to me, and a fruitiness that would appeal to the 8-year-old.

Following the package directions, I boiled 1/2 cup water, but instead of plain water, I added a bag of Celestial Seasonings Red Berry Zinger tea. Soon the water was a bright and cheerful boiling magenta red.

After dissolving the gelatin in the fruit tea, I added 1 1/2 cups apple juice, poured the mixture in a tray, and popped it in the refrigerator. The 8-year-old and I couldn’t quite wait the directed 4 hours for the jell-o to set, so we tasted it within 2 hours. Delicious! It was fruity, floral, and just the right amount of sweet.

I got the thumbs up from my critic. Super score!!

Fruit Tea Jell-o Recipe

1/2 cup water

1 bag herbal fruit tea (such as Red Berry Zinger or Black Cherry Berry)

1 package plain gelatin

1 1/2 cup apple juice

Pour water in a small saucepan with tea bag and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and add contents of gelatin package. Stir for 3 minutes until completely dissolved.

Add apple juice and stir again. Pour into shallow dish and place in refrigerator to set for 4 hours. Cut into cubes and enjoy.