Cranberry Jello

Before I share today’s recipe, I first want to take a moment and share my condolences to the victims, families and those affected by the terrible tragedy that took place in Connecticut yesterday morning. My heart is breaking for those affected by this devastating and horrible event. I fount myself bawling throughout the day as I watched and listened to the news in disbelief and shock at the event that took place. As a mother of 2 sweet young children, I can’t even fathom what these families are going through as they deal with the sadness, pain, grief, shock and loss of what happened. I am sickened, saddened and terrified of the evil and wickedness that some people are capable. My prayers, thoughts and heart are with all those who are suffering.

Today’s yummy recipe comes from my Grandma’s cookbook, but has been adapted slightly because of something exciting that involves YOU!

This is one of the ALL NEW recipes I will be sharing on my blog next week for a fun and live Christmas Dinner Twitter Party. I have teamed up with iFit to bring you some delicious, traditional and easy Christmas recipes with some healthier spins. You can still enjoy your favorites with a little less guilt :) The Twitter party will give you ideas, tips and tricks for making some healthier changes to the meals you already love and you will also have the chance to bake right along side with me. I will be guiding you through the recipes and giving you suggestions to help your recipes turn out successfully. I will be sharing some more details within the next couple days, but make sure you are following @chef_n_training and @iFit on Twitter so that you are ready to go for next week. There will also be a super AMAZING giveaway coming up that you do not want to miss out on! Stay tuned :)

My family LOVES this recipe. My grandma makes it often around the holidays and we all can’t get enough of it. I wanted to take this family favorite and eliminate some of the unnecessary sugar and thus reducing some of the calories and carbs. I replaced the regular jello mix with sugar free and WAHLA! I cut the calories down to 95 per serving (permitting you make 12 servings out of it). You can make it each serving less calories by cutting the squares into smaller pieces. 12 servings will give you twelve 3inx4in squares. I was able to eliminate 60 additional calories per serving and slashed the carbs down to about 22g per serving.  If you make the jello into 16 servings it drops the calorie count down to 71 and 16g of carbs. This recipe is also FAT FREE! Not too shabby for a festive Christmas side dish. Better yet, you can make this into the dessert if you wanted to :) You can obviously cut out some added calories/sugar in other ways, but for my family, this was an easy adjustment to make this dish slightly healthier and a little less guilty.

Enjoy!

Nutrition Info:
For 12 (3inx4in) servings: 95 calories, 22g carbs, 0 fat
For 16 (2inx3in) servings: 71 calories, 16g carbs, 0 fat 

If you make this recipe, snap a photo and hashtag it #chefintraining and/or #chefintrainingblog. I would love to see how these recipes take shape in your kitchens.

Filed under: dessert, side-dish

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  1. Patrice

    I made this and loved it! Even my picky eater gobbled it up. Looking forward to the rest of your line up!

  2. Lisa Langston

    This looks yummy! I am making this for Christmas, perfect color for the holidays.
    Thank you

    1. sabri

      Was stopping bye to hopefully find your blueberry breakfast dish...been a while since you posted it...but would love to make it the night before christmas and have it for breakfast while we open presents...i believe you made it in a baking dish and it was oozing with blueberries...looked really yummy....could you re-post if you have time...thanks :)

  3. Jennifer

    Cranberry Jello Salad is a staple on my grandmother's holiday menu. She uses cherry jello and mixes in finely chopped cranberries, celery, and apple (she leaves the walnuts out for me, yuck). I have never been able to make mine quite as good and it never sets up. Thanks for sharing your version. Aren't grandmas great?!

  4. Sarah A

    We have made a version all my life at the holidays of this salad...Give this a try:
    Coke Salad
    large Black Cherry jello
    20 oz crushed Pineapple drained (reserve juice)
    large can black cherries drained (reserve juice)
    8 oz block cream cheese - cubed
    2 cups Coke
    Chopped nuts of your choice (optional)
    use the juices from fruits to make the hot liquid for Jello- add water or extra pineapple juice to make required amount
    allow jello to soft set- add fruits, cream cheese and nuts and allow to set completely.

    The coke and juices make this rich! it is Delish!