Tuesday, December 1, 2015

Vegan Lemon Jello

Vegan Lemon Jello
We are very excited to bring this recipe to you. We have been thinking about creating this for a few years... it was one of those back burner projects. This is an excellent recipe. It's like real jello!

Have you ever had vegan jello before? No? Well, I will tell you about it... It is typically a harder gel than traditional gelatin jello. It's pretty tough and stiff actually. Not excellent to eat. It doesn't really jiggle either, which is half the fun. You miss the tender, bouncy mouth-feel of traditional jello.

Well, we worked out all those issues for you! My mom did actually on her first attempt. This original recipe was created by my mother, Nancy Glazier on July 14, 2015. We will be creating more versions of jello in the future, just so you know.

We also got rid of all the sugar, artificial sweeteners, artificial flavors, and artificial colors. Very cool, right? Now we can all eat a healthy, low carb, chemical free jello, and kids will love it too.

In formulating, taste is king, and texture is queen. That means if a healthy food doesn't first, taste good, and second, have an agreeable texture, the healthy food is “Right OUT”. (If that doesn’t ring a bell, it’s time to watch The Holy Grail again.) People will not eat it (Well, maybe 2 people will eat it), Which means if the product sells once and misses the mark, consumers will not buy the product again. That's not good for business.


Taste and texture is our specialty here at the Kitchen Cheetahs Test Kitchens. Part of our job when we professionally formulate is to make healthy foods taste good and have nice texture. We create a lot of delicious and unique formulas that are not commercially manufactured, which is a bonus for your family and ours. That's why we do it, so we can all benefit (and we love the creative challenge too).

So this is one of those recipes we created because we wanted a much better option than what is available in stores, or found from online recipe searches.

Follow the directions in the order given, so the texture turns out perfectly, it's worth the effort.

We hope you love this recipe like we do!



Tangy Vegan Lemon Jello:

2 1/2 c. plus 2 T. water, divided
3/4 t. tapioca starch
1/2 c. boiling water
2 t. agar agar powder
1 small pinch tumeric powder
3/4 c. white Lakanto zero-calorie sweetener, powder
3 T. strained lemon juice
1 T. vegetable glycerine
1 drop organic lemon essential oil
Stevia Glycerite, to taste


Method:

Dissolve 3/4 t. tapioca starch into 2 T. water. Set aside.

Bring 1/2 cup water to a boil. Add the tapioca starch slurry to the boiling water while stirring. Cook and stir until mixture is thickened. Remove from heat and set aside.

Mix 2 t. agar agar powder into 1/4 cup water and blend until smooth. Whisk in 1 3/4 cup more water and let sit 5 to 10 minutes. Cook and stir the agar agar mixture until it comes to a boil. Boil 1 minute. The solution should reach 190 to 195 degrees F, to fully dissolve the agar agar.

Mix the thickened tapioca water into the agar agar solution.

After mixing together well add 1 small pinch of tumeric powder (for color), and 3/4 cup powdered white Lakanto.

Stir in 3 T. Strained fresh lemon juice (you can add up to 1/4 cup for a very tart lemon jello).

Stir in 1 T. vegetable glycerine, 1 drop lemon essential oil, and stevia glycerite to taste.

Reheat the mixture, stirring occasionally, to 190 degrees F. Let sit 5 minutes.

Pour into molds and allow to set UNDISTURBED for at least one hour (up to 3 hours).

Chill before serving. Unmold jello by setting molds in very hot water for about 30 seconds.


NOTE:

If you coat the jello molds very lightly with a non-stick coating spray like Pam, the jello will unmold more readily.



See how fun and jiggly this amazing jello is... Watch the video above.




Beautiful, isn't it?


Enjoy!

Leila & Nancy.

Crazy Good Pear Sorbet - Protein fortified, sugar free, and healthy!



Try this Kitchen Cheetahs original recipe! We L-O-V-E this easy to make Pear Sorbet...

This sorbet is truly refreshing. delicious and has an amazing frosty texture. The sweet pear flavor is so bright and perfectly balanced with fresh tart lemon juice. It doesn't melt too quickly, so you have longer to savor it. Serve it for lunch. Serve it a a snack. Serve it to cleanse the palate at a dinner party. Serve it in the heat of summer. Serve it for dessert. Just serve it! You'll love it.

Here's the kicker...

It's sugar free (except for the naturally occurring fruit sugar from the pear), it's rich in vitamin C, which is good for your immune system, and it is protein enriched!

We offer you a healthy, good for you sorbet. It feels like you are cheating, but your'e NOT.

Party! 

If you live a clean eating life style, want to control your blood sugar, are avoiding dairy, or are on a low carb diet,  This is the clean, low carb frozen treat for you!

We much prefer to use collagen powder instead of egg white protein powder in this recipe. The texture is better and the flavor is cleaner with the collagen. Adding egg white protein is an OK alternative though, in case you do not have collagen powder in your pantry yet (get some).

We also do not recommend adding any plant-based protein powder to this recipe because the sorbet's flavor is so delicate, the color is so white, and the texture is so perfect as it is.




Fragrant Pear Protein-Fortified Sorbet (or Slushie):

1/2 c. cold water (you may need up to 3/4 c.)
1/2 t. unflavored gelatin powder
1 c. frozen pear cubes (1 large pear, peeled, cubed, and frozen)
1 T. vegetable glycerine
2 to 3 t. fresh lemon juice, to taste
1/2 t. vitamin C powder (ascorbic acid)
2 T. KC Sugar Substitute, to taste
1 T. collagen powder (or egg white powder as a 2nd choice)
8 to 10 ice cubes (8 to 10 ounces ice)
Stevia Glycerite, to taste


Method:

Advance preparation:

Sprinkle 1/2 t. gelatin onto the cold water and set aside 5 minutes. Heat to melt the gelatin. Cool then chill the gelatin mixture until it sets up. See note below.

Peel, core, and dice ripe pears and then freeze in individual pieces.

To make Sorbet:

Put into a high powered blender (we prefer the VitaMix):

The chilled gelatin mixture
1/4 c. cold water (you may need more water to process)
1 heaping c. frozen ripe pear (1 large pear)
2 T. vegetable glycerine
1/2 vitamin C powder
2 T KC sugar substitute
1 T. lemon juice
1 T. collagen

Puree using the tamper until smoothly integrated, then begin adding ice cubes, two at a time. Use a total of 8 to 10 ice cubes.

Blend until thick.

Add stevia glycerite to taste.

Serve immediately in frozen glasses.


NOTE:

You may prepare a quart of this gelatin gel and keep in the fridge for convenience. In a quart jar add 2 cups of cold water. Add 2 T. plus 2 t. plain gelatin powder to the jar of water. let it sit 5 minutes then heat to melt the gelatin in the microwave. Add 2 cups more water to the jar. Stir and chill the mixture in the refrigerator. Measure out 1/2 cup of this gel per batch of pear sorbet.


Placing frozen ingredients into the VitaMix blender.

Our Sorbet recipe melts much more slowly, so you have longer to enjoy it's frosty texture.

A beautiful frosty mug of PEAR SORBET!


Enjoy!

Leila & Nancy.