Veggie Jelly Melons

Editor’s Note: As our Summer of Guest Foodies continues, I am beyond excited to bring you local mama Rosina Huber whose Nature Mama blog is packed full of nature learning, great crafting, homeschooling goodness and homestead cooking that looks and sounds so savory it’ll make you think comfort food for days afterward.

Rosina and her family have jumped in with us on our NeighbourWood Walks this Summer and we have totally enjoyed getting to know them.

I suspect you all will too as her recipe today is as charming as it is delicious.

Here’s Rosina:

What do you do with children that pretty much hate every vegetable known to mankind?

Why you trick them into eating those leafy greens and crunchy carrots!

And I’ve got a few tricks up my sleeves that they haven’t caught onto yet. I’ve tried puréeing broccoli and hiding it in casseroles, creaming black beans and adding it to brownies which is delicious I might add, but I’ve come up with a real gem this time.

Every kid loves Jello and would never think that mom could hide a carrot in it!

Boy are they wrong.

I know you’re probably thinking, Jello?? There’s way too much sugar at 4 1/2 teaspoons per serving!

But in actuality we aren’t going to be using the name brand Jello but Knox gelatin and some of the fruit and vegetable juice blends to create a healthier vegetable version with half the sugar found in a serving of Jello.

Just for fun I put it into hollowed melons. Mini sized watermelons are the favorite at our house. But cantaloupe, honey dew, or even oranges will work and you can find a ton of choices when it comes to vegetable juices.

We used V8 Splash drinks that have carrot juice and an assortment of fruits mixed in and fresh unsweetened raspberry juice that we juiced from our own raspberries, but the skies the limit!

Veggie Jelly Melons
(quantities depend on how many melons used)

Ingredients:

- Melons (watermelon, cantaloupe, honeydew etc.)
- Fruit and Vegetable blend juice
- Knox gelatin

Directions:

1. Start by cutting your melons in half and scooping out any seeds, or if you’re using a mini watermelon then using a spoon or a melon baller make yourself a nice sized hole in the center. When your melons are ready, place them in bowls for stability. You don’t want them to tip over when they’re filled with liquid later.

2. Next you will need to decide how much juice will be needed to make the jello. An easy way to do this is to fill up your measuring cup with water to the 2 cup mark and slowly pour it into one of the melon cavities. When it is full you will know exactly how much juice will be needed for that melon half by looking at what you poured out of your measuring cup.

3. You will want to use a ratio of 1.25 cups of juice to 1 packet of gelatin and follow the directions on the Knox gelatin box. Once your gelatin has been made pour it into your melon halves and refrigerate until completely set.

4. Cut into wedges and serve.

A super yummy treat on a hot day. Enjoy!

Photos courtesy of Rosina Huber

Tags: desert, family, food, fruit, jello, Kids, melon, recipe, Rosina Huber, Summer, vegetables

Category: EAT LOCAL, Recipes, Snacks