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My daughter once asked about “Jello Pudding” when we were at the store.  She wanted to know if it was vegan or healthy.  I told her that it wasn’t vegan and it contained a lot of sugar and other ingredients that I wasn’t familiar with.  So, I decided to make her something similar.  Veganized and healthy, of course.  As a child, my parents would buy me a Filipino dessert called “gulaman”, which was our version of “Jello Jigglers”. It contained seaweed which gave it that “jello” look and texture.

I found this gulaman/sea weed at the health food store.  Here it is called “agar agar”.  It comes in flakes, powder, or a bar form.   I was surprised to know that agar agar is actually pretty healthy.  It contains calcium, fiber, iron, protein, potassium, and no cholesterol.  I wanted to make this low-sugar, but you can add more agave or unprocessed sugar if you want to give it a more sugary taste.

My daughter and I both enjoyed this dessert.  This is perfect on a warm summer day.  It is light, refreshing, and satisfying!   I will be making another version of this dessert very soon….next time, I want to try coconut milk with pineapples!  Yum!

Serves 4

Prep time: less than 30 minutes

Ingredients:

• 3 cups of non-diary milk
• 3 tablespoons of agar agar flakes
• 1 teaspoon of all natural vanilla
• 1 banana
• 2/3 cup of blueberries
• 2/3 cup of strawberries
• 3 teaspoons of sugar (This is optional.  Add more or just omit the sugar based on your taste preference.  Some non-dairy milk already contains a good amount of sugar.)

Directions:

1. Boil one cup of non-dairy milk in a pan then add one tablespoon of agar agar flakes and 1 teaspoon of sugar (again, sugar is optional). 
2. After about a minute or two, when the agar agar flakes have dissolved, pour the liquid into the blender and add the strawberries.
3. Blend.
4. Pour into custard cups about 1/3 of the way. 
5. Place the custard cups in the refrigerator.
6. Boil another cup of non-dairy milk  and then add a tablespoon of agar agar flakes and 1 teaspoon of sugar.
7. When the agar agar flakes have dissolved, pour the liquid into the blender and add the banana.
8. Blend.
9. Pour into the same custard cups with the strawberry mixture, add about the same amount as you did the strawberry.  By now your cups should be filled up 2/3 of the way.
10. Place the custard cups into the refrigerator.
11. Boil another cup of non-dairy milk and then add a tablespoon of agar agar flakes and a teaspoon of sugar.
12. When the agar agar flakes have dissolved, pour the liquid into the blender and then add blueberries.
13. Blend.
14. Pour the mixture into your custard cups and fill it all the way up. 
15. Place in the fridge for a few hours and serve.
16. Enjoy!