Gel desserts are the perfect food edible sensory play sessions with a baby. It’s squishy, it wobbles, and if little fingers get some of it into little mouths, it’s perfectly safe to eat. We love the vegan jel desserts from Simply Delish.

To make a fun mandarin orange version, drain one can of organic mandarin oranges (such as Native Forest) over a bowl. Place the orange slices in a large bowl and set aside. Reserve 1/3 cup of the juice and chill for at least 30 minutes.

Dissolve one sachet of jel dessert in the chilled juice. Add enough boiling water to equal 12 ounces and stir to combine. Pour the juice mixture over the orange slices. Let cool to room temperature, then transfer to the fridge and let set for 1 hour.

I placed the jell-o on Veronika’s high chair tray.  She was quite skeptical at first!

Once I demonstrated with a finger how it wiggled and wobbled, she was game!

Little fists loved squishing and squashing through the jell-o.

And she liked trying to hold on to slices of orange.

Some of it made its way to her mouth, and a lot more ended up on the floor!

The activity looked so fun that big brother Travis wanted to join in, too!