When I sent the above pic to my husband, his first reaction was ‘ What? Where did the worms come from?’ He He, I felt good – my worms looked real! Thanks to these gummy worm molds that I ordered from amazon. Making these was a breeze! Getting that dirty brownish green color for the worms was also not too had – mixed up some fruits and veggies and pretty soon I had a color that made you want to puke 🙂 And then the bright red color was possible by mixing strawberry with a little bit of beets. And trust me both the juice blends tasted delicious and sweet enough without any added sugar! Isn’t that wonderful?
I had also seen a post on Instagram with ‘oreo crumbles’ that resembled dirt and gummy worms. So I thought why not make a ‘healthier’ version of that? So I made a quick batch of cookie crumble using coconut flour and arrowroot flour! Came out perfect and it tastes yummy too! Who knew things could look like dirt and still taste great? LOL! Anyways, this is going to be my contribution to the neighborhood Halloween party along with this Veggie Skeleton that I made last year! 
Going back to the ‘Worms in Dirt’, you could just have it served in a tray with the worms over the dirt or you can serve them in individual cups with some dirt and worms like shown below(gross!) LOL! This recipe can be easily doubled or tripled depending upon the size of your party and it’s really easy to make!
- ½ cup orange juice
- ¼ cup strawberries
- ½ cup fresh spinach leaves
- 2 tbsp gelatin
- 3 tbsp water
- 5 chopped strawberries fresh or frozen
- ¼ cup water
- 1 tiny piece (about 1 inch by 2 inch) of fresh beet , chopped up
- 1½ tsp gelatin
- 2 tbsp water
- ½ cup coconut flour
- ½ cup arrowroot flour
- 3 tbsp carob powder or cocoa powder (use carob for AIP)
- pinch sea salt
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 4 tbsp melted palm shortening (or you can use coconut oil)
- Blend the orange juice, strawberries and spinach in a blender till smooth. Pour this juice blend onto a small sauce pan and place on low heat.
- Meanwhile take a small bowl and add the water. Sprinkle the gelatin on top of the water and mix using a fork to mix the gelatin well with the water to form a thick wet mass.
- Once the juice blend is hot, add the gelatin mixture to the pan and stir continuously until all the gelatin dissolves and there are no lumps. Turn heat off and let the mixture sit for a couple mins. Then using the dropper, pour the mixture carefully into the worm molds. Let sit on the kitchen counter for 10 mins before transferring them to the refrigerator. Let set for a couple hours before unmolding.
- Blend the strawberries with the water and the chopped beets in a blender till smooth(Use a small blender jar if available or you may need to double the recipe). Pour this juice blend onto a small sauce pan and place on low heat.
- Meanwhile take a small bowl and add the water. Sprinkle the gelatin on top of the water and mix using a fork to mix the gelatin well with the water to form a thick wet mass.
- Once the juice blend is hot, add the gelatin mixture to the pan and stir continuously until all the gelatin dissolves and there are no lumps. Turn heat off and let the mixture sit for a couple mins. Then using the dropper, pour the mixture carefully into the worm molds. Let sit on the kitchen counter for 10 mins before transferring them to the refrigerator. Let set for a couple hours before unmolding.
- Preheat oven to 325 F.
- In a large mixing bowl, add the flours, carob (or cocoa), the salt and the baking soda. Mix using a fork till well blended. Next add the maple syrup, vanilla and the palm shortening and mix. Using your hands mix to form a doughy consistency. It will be crumbly.
- Line a baking tray with parchment paper and spread the crumbly dough on it spreading it through out the pan.
- Bake at 325 F for about 10-12 mins until you get a toasted aroma and the dough gets crispy.
- After cooling, you can further process this crumbles in a food processor if needed or leave as is (I processed mine to get a finer dirt like consistency)
