Thickened Jello? Yes, Please!

Several years ago, my friend and SimplyThick representative, Eileen Hahn, reached out to me with something new and exciting to try. She was planning a visit to my area and had samples in hand that she couldn’t wait to share.

You know how it goes—when a patient is diagnosed with dysphagia and can no longer drink thin liquids, somehow the only things they seem to crave are water and Jello. Of course, explaining that Jello melts to a thin liquid (and therefore isn’t safe) is never fun. Cue the disappointment.

But Eileen? She brought something that might just change the game: thickened Jello.

Much like the concept behind Magic Cups, Eileen used SimplyThick to thicken pre-made Jello so that it maintains its consistency—even after sitting in the mouth.

She gave me a variety of samples to try, both Mildy Thick and Moderately Thick consistencies. I took my first bite just to test the taste—and honestly, it was good. It tasted like Jello, just a little thicker than I remembered. No weird aftertaste. No gritty texture.

But then came the real test.

After Eileen left, I put my clinician hat on. I shut my office door and went full-on science mode: swishing, chewing, and even holding the Jello in my mouth. I wanted to know—would it stay thick or melt away like traditional Jello?

Once I’d sufficiently tortured that sample, I spit it back into the cup for the spoon test. (You know, the very official method we clinicians use: hold the spoon up and let the sample run off to check consistency.)

And guess what? It held. The Jello maintained its thickened consistency throughout.

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Want to Try It Yourself?

Here are the instructions from Eileen if you’d like to make your own version of thickened Jello:

Using Pre-Made Jello Cups (4 oz):

1. Empty the Jello into a food processor.
2. Add one packet of SimplyThick (Mildly Thick Level 2 or Moderately Thick Level 3, depending on your goal).
3. Blend thoroughly.
4. Return the mixture to the original container.
5. Refrigerate to re-set.

Using Powdered Jello:

1. Follow the original package directions, but reduce the cold water by the number of ounces of SimplyThick you plan to add.
2. Since SimplyThick is mostly water, reducing the cold water prevents dilution and helps maintain flavor and thickness.
3. Add SimplyThick, mix well, and refrigerate as usual.

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A huge thank you to Eileen for this creative and practical idea. It may not be your grandma’s Jello salad, but it’s a patient-friendly option that gives our dysphagia patients a little more variety and joy.

Ready to find out more about the diet levels?   You can read more about IDDSI here.

Are you ready for a deeper dive with even more resources available? Join the Dysphagia Skills Accelerator today. You will get so many great tools with new tools being added all the time! Click here to join now!

Have you ever wanted a way to create a more standardized protocol for your Clinical Swallow Evaluation?   Do you often forget or leave out parts of the CSE, you know, the parts that are important for your Plan of Care?  You probably need the Clinical Dysphagia Assessment Toolkit if you answered yes.   You can get your copy here.