Sick Day Rehydrating Gelatin

There has been an icky, unwelcome guest hanging out at the Hodge house lately, bringing with him the need for ER visits, lots of drugs, a liquid diet, and conscious effort to stay well-hydrated.  Ugh.

I have had precious little energy left for blogging, but I wanted to pop in real quickly today with a handy little tip for sick days like these.

G2 (the lower calorie, lower sugar drink from Gatorade) is my secret weapon when I'm sick.  It has helped me avoid serious complications and ICU stays when my blood sugar is out of whack, simply by not letting dehydration get out of control. :-) 

And flavored gelatin has long been associated with hospital food and liquid diets.  Our favorites around here are any of the red/pink ones (lol!) and orange.  Such a great comfort food for sore throats and upset stomachs.  

I like changing up my gelatin in fun little ways, so with this persistent little bug that has moved in with us, I decided to combine these two sick day powerhouses.  :-)

An hour or two before you're ready to make your gelatin, pop a bottle of G2 in the freezer.  You don't want it frozen, but well-chilled.  Slightly slushy is even better.   

Boil the water and mix in the gelatin powder as usual. Then instead of adding cold water, add in the same amount of cold G2.  Chill gelatin as directed.  :-) 

G2's favors are light (making them gentle on upset stomachs), so they won't change the flavor immensely.  I mixed fruit punch with cherry gelatin and can barely tell a difference.  There are lots of potentially fun flavor combinations to try though! Maybe lemon-lime G2 with lemon gelatin?  Grape on grape would make my husband's day. :-) 

I haven't tried it myself, but I would imagine other "-alyte" beverages, intended for children, could be used this way, too. I know some kids aren't big fans, so this would be a fun and tasty way to sneak in some extra electrolytes ;-) Someone out there try it and leave me a comment, let me know how it goes, okay? 

What are some of your favorite ways to stick to a liquid diet?  I'm running out of ideas for things that aren't broth or applesauce. ;-) Although my bestie reminded me last night that sherbet counts... woohoo!