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I have been hesitant to try slime recipes with my kids mostly because I wanted to use a recipe that didn't use borax or liquid starch. And when you have an oral sensory seeker in the house, I needed a safer alternative. As a result, I attempted to create my own edible slime recipe.





Well, my attempt at slime didn't work.





Yet, we ended up coming up with a delightful sensory play concoction that my boys couldn't get enough of. Okay, I couldn't resist playing with it too. So slime fail or not, this edible sludge recipe (yeah, I'm totally calling it sludge) turned out to be one bowlful of fun!









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It is soft, squishy, and somewhat puffy.









And it becomes increasingly gooey as it warms up in your hands.









The edible sludge can be picked up and stretched. Then it starts turning into a sticky mess. So if you are afraid of the mess, now might be a good time to check out these easy water sensory play ideas instead because, frankly, this edible sludge might not be for you afterall. But if a little mess doesn't phase you, then carry on...













As you pull and stretch it, it eventually becomes a bit sticky. I may or may not be finding little sticky edible sludge remnants on my sunroom walls after J tried shaking it off of his hands. J was absolutely fascinated by the way it felt on his hands.









Here's how edible sludge can stretch...





Droop...





And plop. So, alas, it definitely did not turn out slime like.





The edible sludge became a full body experience for the boys. They spent some time stepping and dancing in it, as well as stretching it up high with their feet.





K, unfortunately stripped naked at the start of the fun, so the only photo that I have of him enjoying it is this one...I promise he was more into it than this!





Edible sludge can be formed like dough. It dries hard and crusty, but flakes off of any surfaces when dry. And it washes off easily. I cheated and just took the boys in the backyard afterwards and hosed them down with the garden hose.





How to Make Edible Sludge Sensory Dough for Kids

Yeah, yeah, so you want to make it, don't you? This recipe was inspired by Fun at Home with Kid's edible slime recipe using the alternative method of chia seeds. However, I added a few different ingredients to make this edible sludge and it's obviously quite different than an ordinary slime recipe. Here's what we used:





2 packages of gelatin dissolved in 2 cups of hot water

3/4 cup of chia seeds

1 1/2 cups cold water

3 cups of corn starch

1 cup of flour

Food coloring - Please note that I added liquid watercolors, which are not edible, for photography purposes only.

Chill the mixture in the fridge overnight (or longer) to help the gelatin set.





You may need to add extra water or flour until the sludge is the consistency that you desire. I did a lot of eyeballing so the amount of cold water is approximate. The flour in the recipe was unintentional. I ran out of corn starch while experimenting, but I love how the flour made it more doughy.