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Alison's Agar-Vegan Dessert Gelatin
Alison made it up!
A delicious low-calorie gelatin flavored with “Dandy” Herbal Beverage coffee substitute and stevia.
For each cup of water, add:
2 ml1/2 teaspoon agar powder (If you use agar flakes, try maybe a scant teaspoon)
5 ml1 teaspoon of powdered coffee-like beverage of choice. (I used Inka in years past. Now I use Dandy Blend.) *
Stevia to taste
Lightly cooked apple slices (optional)
Add the agar to cold water in a saucepan and wait a few minutes.
Bring to boil, stirring to keep it from sticking to the bottom.
Add the flavoring and sweetener, stir for a couple of minutes and pour into dishes to cool.
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Add slices of lightly cooked apples if you like.
Refrigerate.
* Flavor alternatives: many people use fruit juices to flavor the gelatin. I like the grain flavor in part because I make it low glycemic, using stevia. With fruit juice one contends with the fructose.
When I read macrobiotic cookbooks, I encountered advice to use agar gelatin to counteract constipation. This was never a condition I needed to tend to. However, when I had the opposite problem, it occurred to me that agar might be helpful as a ‘normalizer’ for either extreme. It contains moisture yet keeps its firmness in warm temperatures. (Jello, by comparison, needs refrigeration to gel.) Agar gelatin proved to be a wonderful remedy! Agar is a natural detoxifier, as it’s a sea vegetable, and it’s very gentle on the system. It also is rich in calcium - 5% daily requirement per serving, according to the packaging. And it’s quite versatile, as you can flavor it with fresh juices, etc.
For ‘medicinal purposes’ I generally used more - about 1 teaspoon of powder per cup. I found the consistency to be quite acceptable. (Others may not care for that level of firmness.) Some recipes call for 1 tablespoon per cup! This would be quite ‘rubbery’, so I’d recommend you start with less and then experiment. Simply make small test batches with varying ratios of powder or flakes to water. Cool it in a pyrex custard cup and then test it. With this simple initial experiment, you can easily arrive at a consistency you like for your personal taste and health. Then you’re set for life to prepare this delicious, healthy, low calorie and low glycemic snack!