Healthy Strawberries and Cream Gelatin Dessert (Real Food, Paleo)

Growing up, one of my favorite party desserts was a strawberry Jello that was made with evaporated milk, rather than water. I recently remembered and just knew I had to recreate it!

I am always looking for ways to incorporate more gelatin-rich foods in our diets due to its many health properties but there are just as many reasons to avoid standard store-bought gelatin. Below are the ingredients for Jell-O brand of Strawberry Gelatin Dessert:

Ingredients: Sugar, gelatin, adipic acid (for tartness), contains less than 2% of artificial flavor, disodium phosphate and sodium citrate (control acidity), fumaric acid (for tartness) and red #40

Besides including gelatin from poorly treated animals, this product contains zero natural flavorings or colorings. Red #40 is synthetically produced and linked to ADHD and a host of other health issues and is banned in the majority of other countries. And sugar is an all-around no-no when it comes to living a healthier lifestyle.

And because dairy tends to be problematic for many people, even those without known allergies, I decided to recreate my version with full-fat coconut milk. And it turned out so well, my daughter polished it off fairly quickly!

Healthy Strawberries and Cream Gelatin Dessert

1/2 cup water
1/2 tablespoon unflavored gelatin (I used this one)

2 cups organic strawberries, defrosted if frozen (like mine were!)
1 cup full-fat organic coconut milk
1/4 cup raw honey
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

Bring the water just to a boil and stir in the gelatin. Stir until the gelatin is completely dissolved.

Place the berries, coconut milk, honey and lemon juice in a blender jar. Blend until combined and the berries are crushed.

Add the gelatin mixture to the blender and blend once more until the mixture is just combined.

Pour the strawberry and cream mixture into an 8x8 glass dish and refrigerate until firm, about 4 hours, before serving.

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