I discovered sugar free jello!
 

OMG! I had not even really thought much about "dessert?" since I started eating low carb, (I'm still sort of a newb).

On a lark, I grabbed a couple packages of sugar free strawberry Jello at the store and made it up in a mixing bowl and put it in the fridge to cool. A few hours later I got it out just to taste, (sure it was going to have a cruddy fake sugar taste), and it was GOOD! WOW! I ate the whole bowl myself right then and there :lol: :blush:

Next I tried making Jello 1 2 3 and it came out Jello 1 3 but it was still pretty good! (I used the store brand lite whipped topping in the recipe because it was 2 carbs per serving instead of the 3 in cool whip lite). We had it tonite for dessert :)

Cool Whip Lite:
INGREDIENTS: WATER, CORN SYRUP, HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP, HYDROGENATED VEGETABLE OIL (COCONUT AND PALM KERNEL OILS), CONTAINS LESS THAN 2% OF SODIUM CASEINATE (FROM MILK), NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR, MODIFIED FOOD STARCH, XANTHAN AND GUAR GUMS, POLYSORBATE 60, SORBITAN MONOSTEARATE, SODIUM POLYPHOSPHATE, BETA CAROTENE (COLOR).

Hydrogenated vegetable oil is always transfat, I believe.

Sugar Free Strawberry Jello:

Ingredients
INGREDIENTS: GELATIN, ADIPIC ACID (FOR TARTNESS), DISODIUM PHOSPHATE (CONTROLS ACIDITY), MALTODEXTRIN (FROM CORN), FUMARIC ACID (FOR TARTNESS), ASPARTAME** (SWEETENER), CONTAINS LESS THAN 2% OF ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR, ACESULFAME POTASSIUM (SWEETENER), SALT, RED 40. **PHENYLKETONURICS: CONTAINS PHENYLALANINE

I was disappointed to see Dr. Bernstein recommend sugar free jello in his book for diabetics. Personally I don't think it is good-for-you "food", due to the aspartame, Ace-K, and dyes.

But we all have to make choices and decide where to draw the line.

At present, I'm more concerned about what I consider to be more serious issues like being obese and having a A1C over 10. Once I reach my goals regarding blood sugar and weight, I might start worrying about stuff like food coloring :)

I think sugar free jello is a great treat and I've had it from time to time. I like to ones in the cups because they're handy. One thing I noticed is that the cups on the shelve are pretty much 0 carb and the ones in the refrigerator section have a couple of carbs for some reason.

About anything that says lite, that usually means lite on fat which means added sugar to compensate. Make your own whipped cream. Just take whole heavy cream and blend with a stick blender.

I recently started making my own sugar free jello. I had some left over tubes of drink mix and I use those for flavoring. I think it's cheaper, especially when you eat a lot of it. I just add HWC.

You'll find lots of people here who knock the use of artificial sweeteners, but I've been using them since 1972 and I'm in excellent health. Better than most at 72 with NO bad blood numbers, no substitute joints or limbs and no chronic illnesses.

Just sayin'.

I like the sugar free jello, too, but being cheap I buy the store brand. Tastes the same as far as I can tell.

If you're trying out the different flavors, don't buy too many at once. I found out I like the strawberry & lime, hate the raspberry. Fortunately, my husband likes it - I've only 4 boxes left on the shelf. :)

Fake strawberry flavor has really improved over the years - I used to hate it. I get the DaVinci SF strawberry syrup & add it to cooked rhubarb. Yummy! I'm also fond of the old-fashioned Vegetable Salad with lime jello, carrot, celery, onion, & vinegar.

SF jello, gum, & syrups are my occasional treats. I figure if having it once a month or so keeps me from going off the rails on carbs, I'm doing good.

I make SF jello from time to time. I've used the store brands with aspartame. I've also used plain (knots) jello favored and sweetened with STUR - (natural sweetener stevia). I like to dice it and add whipped cream. Sometimes I dissolve the jello in just enough hot water to get the job done, then pour it into my ninja blender with ice and a few tbsp. of HWC. It makes a frozen desert that tastes sort of like orange sherbet.

The boxes have maltodextrin, a starch made of corn, while the refridgerated cups do not, though they have sweeteners that bother some people. The cups were suggested for that reason, but since I avoid the sweeteners it was a moot point.

We tried another last nite :)

This time I dissolved the jello well in 1 cup of hot water then added about 3/4 cup of crushed ice. After it melted and the jello slightly thickened I poured it in a mixing bowl with 4oz of cream cheese and mixed it all up with a stiff whisk. I poured it into serving dishes and chilled. It was great :)

When DH and I first started lc we wanted some jello. Only problem was DH gets stomach cramps from all artificial sweeteners except splenda. I came up with my own sugar free jello. We loved it. 1 Pac unsweetened coolaide, & 1/3c. of Splenda dissolved in 1 1/2 c.cold water, add 2-3 pkg unflavored gelatin dissolved in1/2 cup warm water. Put in fridge till set. All kinds of flavors available!

Chocolate.... YUM! I'll have to try it! :)

What a sweet post awwww :)

I remember when I used to get a sheet of aluminium foil and concertina it (like if you were making a fan)

Using SF Jelly (Jello) I would add only about 1-2 Tablespoons hot water to it and then pour it along the valleys in the foil. Thus making low carb Snakes once it has set. It sets firm
hehe the things low carbers do lol

If you like chocolate don't forget recipes like these

https://lowcarbyum.com/low-carb-cho...-mousse-recipe/

I like to grate 84% chocolate on top and sometime use a little orange extract in the mixture with a little grated orange peel -- if the Pope is coming for dinner.

It sounds wonderful!

Put 3 cups heavy whipping cream in an electric mixer bowl and sprinkle a box of sugar free Jello over the cream and whip until it makes stiff peaks. The jello will keep it from "deflating" for several days in the fridge. Makes a LOT of "fluff" as my husband calls it.

This sounded so good & easy I made it. Three cups of cream is too much for us, so I tried a teaspoon of jello powder to 1 cup of cream. I'm not sure that was enough as it's very soft - I thought the jello would stiffen it up more.

Still really good & pretty. I made regular jello with the powder that was left, then when it was set, covered it with the jello whipped cream. Very pretty - very tasty. :yum:

How would you describe the finished "fluff" - stiff? Soft like whipped cream? Or ???

It is pretty stiff. It whipped up to stiff peaks and held it for more than a week in the fridge.

Thanks Sharon! Next time I'll either increase the jello or decrease the cream. And thanks again for the recipe - it's not something I would have thought of on my own. :)

Sharon - one more question!

After making it again & still tasting great, but not stiff, I got to wondering - what size box of sugar free jello did you use?

Made it with black cherry this time & loved it, but the artificial colors did something weird to the whipped cream - it had tiny polka dots! And some of the dots were blue. :D

Bill, isnt jello fun?!?!?!?

Beating your own whip cream is easy peasey--1/2 cup and a bowl and whisk. Add a few drops liquid sucralose, or granular. You probably noticed that you can use less sweetener than before starting LC.

I have made homemade jello using gelatin and fruitjuces but of course that is more carbs. My boys like it though.

Sugar free jello is a SUPER intro into the gelatine world of desserts. Only limited by your imagination!!

You can get creative using a crystal light type drink mix and gelatine--takes a little trial and error to find the mix you like. My personal favorite was apple, with whipped cream of course.

( Carefully count the carbs--these are not zero. But they sure hit the spot.)

I use Great Lakes beef gelatin. Knox plain gelatin packets work fine, but Knox does not state, nor do they guarantee which animals the gelatin comes from.

Great Lakes beef gelatin and whole leaf stevia work very well for "jello" creations. Some prefer monk fruit to stevia.

RE: Whipping the Cream

Freezer the beaters for the mixer, and freezing the mixing bowl make it easier to whip the cream to a nice stiff consistency.

I get headaches from the aspartame in sugar-free jello if I eat very much of it. I can handle Splenda and stevia, but not aspartame. Once in awhile I'll have a little bit of S/F jello, but not very often. Not much of a sweets eater, so I just skip desserts most of the time. :)

Yea, I can't eat the sugar free jello any more, but my husband loves his "fluff" so I make it for him. I've made some with knox, liquid splenda, and unsweetened kool aid. I've also made chocolate with cocoa powder, splenda and knox.

I beat mine in my big kitchenaid mixer. I use the whisk attachment and just keep beating until it gets stiff.

Aspartame is one of my triggers for Interstitial Cystitis. Gives me all the symptoms of a bladder infection.

I've been thinking about mixing Knox unflavored gelatine with Celestial Seasonings Raspberry Zinger Tea instead of Kool-Aid. Sounds crazy but it just might work. With a little Splenda, it will be sweet enough and the citrus will give it just the right amount of zing. I guess that's why they call it Zinger.

If I try it, I'll let you all know how it works out. If it's a fail, I'm going to give up the ghost and try unsweetened Kool-Aid.

I don't know about using the tea...you don't add any liquid except the heavy cream, so I don't know how you would use the tea. Unless it is an instant powdered tea.
The chocolate is very good. Just add cocoa powder (I use Hershey's Special Dark) sweetener of your choice and knox gelatin. I've made it with just knox, cream and mio drink mix.

Thanks, Sharon. The chocolate sounds good!

I've never used Knox gelatine before, so I assumed you had to mix in some hot water with the powder and let it set. I was thinking I could use hot tea instead of hot water.

I just sprinkle the knox on the cream and let it sit for about five minutes to soften, then add the flavoring and sweetener and beat like mad.