Natural Berry Beet Juice Jello

We've been celebrating Valentine's Day a bit early in my house. We'll be away for the big day and my kindergartener is SO INCREDIBLY SAD to miss his class' party. So, we made these jiggly, little treats at home—and he felt like he wouldn't be missing quite so much. 

There's no need for those store-bought boxes of Jell-O powder, filled with refined sugar and artificial colors and flavors. Not when it's so easy to make your own gelatin with juice! I used this Mixed Berry Fruit and Vegetable Juice from Trader Joe's, which includes juice from cherries, raspberries, beets, and purple carrots. It's 100% juice with no added sugars and it's sweet enough to make this homemade jello a real treat.

Gelatin is said to have health benefits ranging from supporting healthy growth of hair and nails to boosting joint health to improving digestion. It provides protein and many essential amino acids. Add to that the fact that homemade gelatin means no added junk—such as artificial colors—and you've got a sweet treat that you can feel good about giving to your kids. 

Ingredients

• 1 + 3 cups Mixed Berry Fruit and Vegetable Juice or other 100% juice
• 2 T unflavored gelatin (use grass-fed for a bigger nutritional boost), equivalent to 4 packets of this Knox gelatine
• 2 T honey (optional)

Put 3 cups of the juice in a small pot and heat to boiling. In the meantime, put 1 cup cold juice and the gelatin in a large boil and stir, then let the mixture stand for about a minute. Then add the hot juice to the gelatin mixture and stir until the gelatin is fully dissolved; it should take about five minutes. If you're adding honey, stir it in now. 

Pour the mixture into a 13x9x2" pan. Refrigerate until it's firm, about three hours. Either cut into squares, or use cookie cutters to cut out shapes (my son likes to help with the cut-outs). I bought some mini Valentine's Day-themed cookie cutters, because I wanted to send you all a message: