Name: Immune Boosting Herbal Homemade Jello
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 15 min
Yield: 8 servings
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 2 Tbsp Echinacea leaves or tops; 2 Tbsp hibiscus flowers; 2 Tbsp rose hips; 1 Tbsp nettle leaf (optional); 2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice; 1/4 cup raw honey; 2 cups filtered water - the filter I use; 3/4 cup water; 3 Tbsp grass-fed gelatin

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It’s inevitable. As hard as I try to stay away, cold season always find me. My natural disinfectant spray and diy hand sanitizer definitely help, but it’s impossible to avoid germs 100 percent. Bacteria are everywhere, but when our immune defenses are down, cold and flu can strike. Homemade jello with immune boosting herbs is a tasty way to fight off unwanted invaders.

Kid Friendly Homemade Jello

I vividly remember the disgusting taste of artificially flavored cherry syrup as a kid. Once I started coughing, sniffling, and my tonsils swelled up I knew the dreaded syrupy liquid was coming.

Not all herbal remedies taste great, so it can be hard to get little ones to take them. However, I’ve found this herbal gelatin is an easy, painless way to get more herbs into my kids (and husband). It’s tangy and fruity thanks to the lemon and vitamin C rich herbs.

“Honey honey how you thrill me”

Raw honey adds a little sweetness and ups the immune boosting factor. Unlike processed sugar, raw honey benefits the body and has antibacterial and antiviral properties. A 2011 article, Honey and Microbial Infections, reported this:

“When ingested, honey also promotes healing and shows antibacterial action by decreasing prostaglandin levels, elevating nitric oxide levels, and exerting prebiotic effects. These factors play a major role in controlling inflammation and promoting microbial control and healing processes.” – source

Immune Boosting Echinacea

Echinacea is known for it’s immune boosting properties and for good reason. This little powerhouse is anti-microbial and anti-viral. It also stimulates the immune system and strengthens the body by enhancing the physiology Echinacea is most effective though when it’s taken at the first sign of a cold or sickness, or right after you know you’ve been exposed to something.

A 2011 report in Pharmaceuticals found echinacea worked against all of the tested viruses, including flu viruses resistant to the drug Tamiflu. Echinacea also helps fight lymphatic congestion, modulates the immune system, calms inflammation, fights bacteria, viruses and fungi. It enhances the immune system to help and stimulates white blood cells that help the body destroy harmful cells and pathogens.

Echinacea herb can have a slightly bitter taste to it, so I like to pair it with other, more pleasant tasting herbs, especially for kids.

Vitamin C Packed Herbs

Rose hips have a fruity, sour taste and are packed with immune boosting nutrition. They’re one of the highest herbal sources of vitamin C too. As a water based vitamin, our bodies don’t store vitamin C, so this is one we need to consume daily. Rose hips help soothe irritated tissue and are full of inflammation reducing antioxidants.

Hibiscus flowers, however, have to be one of my favorite tasting herbs. It’s fruity tasting like rose hips and can help calm spasms. “15 to 30% plant acids, including citric, malic, and tartaric acids.” It’s also high in antioxidants. I’ve also added a splash of lemon juice to this recipe for even more vitamin C content. Raw honey balances out the sour qualities of the other herbs and also helps mask the Echinacea taste.

Nettle

Yes, the same poky plant that leaves stingers in your skin. Nettle is packed with nutrients, like iron, calcium, beta carotene, and lutein. When it’s dried and steeped in tea there aren’t any stingers and you’re left with a potent nutritive herb. It has a bit of a fresh, grassy taste, but in this recipe, all you taste are the tangy herbs and sweet honey.

Can you make Jello from scratch?

I used to think the only way to enjoy jello was by opening up a little box and dumping out the bright powder. Those days are over. Yes, you can make jello from scratch, and no, it’s not complicated. It took a little research and experimenting but I figured out how to get the firm jello consistency I want. Some people make a softer version of jello that’s eaten with a spoon, but I’m firmly on team jello jigglers. Jello squares are also more fun for kids and easy for little hands to grab a hold of.

Immune Boosting Homemade Jello