Recently, I was invited back to Studio Artes to participate in Mental Health Week. The first time I visited and made a podcast about nutrition with an amazing group of people, I had so much fun! So I couldn’t resist joining them again, this time in the kitchen.
Studio Artes is based in Hornsby, and offers a range of creative arts programs and life skills education for adults living with disabilities. It’s an inspiring place full of creativity, excitement, joy and learning.
Our mission this time was to make healthy jellies that heal the gut as well as the soul. Mental health incorporates so many important areas, but I chose to focus on gut health. Many of our happy hormones and neurotransmitter, such as serotonin, dopamine and GABA, are made in the gut. Without a healthy digestive system, our mental health suffers.
Gelatine contains many essential amino acids that are necessary building blocks for our hormones and neurotransmitters. It’s a natural product that comes from the connective tissue around joints – so has the healing properties to strengthen our joints, as well as the lining of our gut.
I also find cooking and eating good food a salve for my soul and whenever you do something you are passionate about, you are helping your mental health.
So how did we make these jellies? Well, we started by juicing carrots, beetroot and apple with a little ginger. Everyone joined in to help chop up and juice the fresh produce. Then, we measured the juice and other ingredients, and other volunteers stirred it for me on the stove. We poured the gelatine juice mixture into silicon moulds and then put our treats to the fridge to set.
While we waited, we had a chat about how we can have a healthy diet and good mental health. You can hear the podcast we made here:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1U9G3fvE-qvPLvgSYWGPAXDY7Byy21OBM
or listen on Triple H 100.1FM at midday on Friday 16 November 2018.
Sweet Veggie Fruit Jellies with Gut healing Gelatine
Gluten free, dairy free, moderate salicylates and low citric acid
Ingredients
Vegetable and fruit to make juice – choose from apples (red delicious or golden delicious for low salicylates), pears, carrots, beetroot (all sweet)
Enough to make 1 cup juice
3 tbsp gelatine (powdered, no additives)
1 tbsp maple syrup or raw honey (or more to make them sweeter)
Method
- Juice vegetables and apple until you have 1 cup
- In a saucepan, combine juice and gelatine and stir through
- Leave mix to sit for 5 minutes to bloom (thicken)
- Place on medium heat and stir continuously for 5 minutes
- Pour mixture into silicon moulds, or a lined dish of any kind
- Place in fridge to set for approx 20 minutes
- Pop out jellies or slice them with a knife, and enjoy!
- Store in a jar in the fridge for later.
Leave a Reply