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If you are concerned about giving your kids healthy food options, Homemade Healthy Gummies are the way to go. Real fruits, veggies, and no refined sugars! You can also add supplements and make these little chewable snacks super nutritious. Make these little fun fruit and veggie snacks that your kids will absolutely love!
Homemade Healthy Gummies
These little chewable snacks are made with real fruits and veggies, full of vitamins, minerals, and essential nutrients! You don’t have to worry about high fructose corn syrup or dangerous artificial dyes anymore. Isn’t it great? Just whole fresh fruits and veggies. You can also get creative and add superfoods like chia seeds, ginger, probiotics, cod liver oil, or kale to your blends.
We’ll get to the recipe in a minute. First, though, let’s look at why they’re so much better than store-bought gummy snacks. Then, I’ll share some tips for upgrading them into even healthier gummies.
What’s Wrong with Store-Bought Gummies & Fruit Snacks
Did you know store-bought gummy snacks are full of sugar, high fructose corn syrup, and artificial dyes? There’s very little- if any- actually fruit in them! Don’t believe me? Check out the labels! Here, I’ll even do it for you.
Gummy Candy Ingredients
This is what you’ll find in the most popular gummy candies by Haribo:
GLUCOSE SYRUP (FROM WHEAT OR CORN), SUGAR, GELATIN, DEXTROSE (FROM WHEAT OR CORN), CONTAINS LESS THAN 2% OF: CITRIC ACID, ARTIFICIAL AND NATURAL FLAVORS, PALM OIL, PALM KERNEL OIL, CARNAUBA WAX, WHITE BEESWAX, YELLOW BEESWAX, YELLOW 5, RED 40, BLUE 1. MAY CONTAIN: WHEAT, TRACES OF MILK.
Three of the four main ingredients are just sugars in different forms. We don’t even need to go beyond that to know these are not healthy snacks.
Fruit Snack Ingredients
Don’t even get me started on so-called “fruit” snacks! Or should I say, “fruit-flavored snacks?” Whenever anything is followed by the word “flavored,” there’s so little of the real ingredient in it that the brand legally has to toss in that word as a disclaimer. Again, let’s look at the ingredients of one of the most popular brands, Kellogg’s (they make the fruity snacks shaped like popular characters from kids’ shows):
CORN SYRUP, SUGAR, APPLE PUREE CONCENTRATE, WATER, MODIFIED CORN STARCH, GELATIN, CONTAINS 2% OR LESS OF CITRIC ACID, VITAMIN C (ASCORBIC ACID), NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL FLAVORS, YELLOW 5, RED 40, SODIUM CITRATE, BLUE 1.
Aside from a bit of fruit puree concentrate (which is not the same thing as actual fruit), their ingredients look almost identical to gummy candies. I think that’s actually worse. Haribo doesn’t hide the fact that they’re a candy brand behind healthy-sounding words like “fruit.” FYI, many dentists also blame fruit snacks as the number one cause of cavities in children!
If you make your own homemade gummy snacks, YOU control the ingredients.Keep it simple by following my recipe below, or make next-level healthy gummies just by adding a few extra simple ingredients. Let’s look at some ideas to try.
Heads up The rest of this post contains affiliate links to my recommended ingredients. If you make a purchase through them, your cost will be the same but I receive a small commission. Your support is greatly appreciated.
Make Your Own Natural Remedy Gummies
Turning these snacks into gummy vitamins is the easiest way to elevate them to next-level snacks. I’ve shared recipes on how to do just that in my Homemade Real Non-GMO Vitamin C Gummies andHow To Make Your Own Gummy Multivitamins posts. So, rather than rehashing them here, I’m sharing some of my favorite ways to use things like food-grade essential oils, herbs, and spices to turn your gummies into natural remedies.
- Make peppermint gummies with food-safe peppermint oil to soothe upset tummies. If your kids aren’t into minty flavors, ginger is another great “tummy rescue” ingredient.
- Add some turmeric for natural orange coloring AND for natural pain relief (it’s an amazing anti-inflammatory).
- Add probiotics to support overall gut health (and maybe prevent those upset stomachs in the first place). I like these for kids. You can also make some for yourself using these for adults.
- It sounds weird, but you can add food-safe lavender oil to make a “calm down gummy.” Lavender candies are actually pretty popular in some countries, so maybe it’s not as weird as it sounds after all.
- Mix in a bit of elderberry syrup to make a natural remedy for congestion & coughs (perfect for both cold and allergy seasons).
Get creative! If there’s a spice that you turn to for a home remedy yourself but your kids won’t go near it, try it in the gummies. The good thing about food-based remedies is that the vast majority of them are actually safe for kids (but always talk to your doctor about any concerns you may have, of course).
Healthy Homemade Gummies Recipe & Tips
Whether you go with the simple recipe below or add in some extra healthy ingredients, I do have a few tips for success before we get to the tutorial.
Healthy Gummy Snacks Are Full Of Collagen, So Use a Good Source
A good quality Gelatin is very important. This is why I recommend one made from 100% Pasture-Raised Beef. The collagen in this type of gelatin along with the many amino acids helps regulate our metabolisms, has anti-inflammatory properties, strengthens hair and nails, and regulates hormones.
Gelatin is also known to improve digestion. If you want to learn more about gelatin and its benefits, click HERE. You can also get this great quality grass-fed gelatin
from Amazon.
Try Fun Molds to Make Your Own Healthy Gummy Bears
A friend of mine recently tried my recipe and found the cutest Gummy Bear Molds
. They are smaller than the ones I used for this recipe, but they come with a dropper, so you can easily fill them. They are made of 100% food-grade silicone, non-stick, and are BPA-free. I find them absolutely adorable. I need to get these ASAP!
Please check out also my Blueberry Gelatin recipes for more fruit snack ideas and how to make your own vitamins at home.
This recipe will make a big batch of healthy gummies snacks that you can keep refrigerated in a closed container for about a week or two approximately.
FAQs about Making Homemade Gummies
How do you store homemade gummies to keep them fresh?
Since homemade gummies don’t have added preservatives, store them in an airtight container to keep them fresh for up to two weeks.
Do I need to refrigerate homemade gummies?
You don’t have to keep them refrigerated if you’re planning to eat them within a few days. Refrigerating them does make them last longer, though (up to 2-3 weeks). Either way, make sure you store them in an airtight container.
Where should I store my gummies if I’m not putting them in the fridge?
Keep them someplace dry and relatively cool. Your pantry or cabinet is fine. Avoid hot and sunny places. For example, a counter where the sun shines constantly is NOT a good place to store them. Keep in mind that unrefrigerated gummies usually only last for about 5 days even if you store them in an airtight container away from heat and sunlight.
Homemade Healthy Gummies
- Author: Ursula Herrera
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 5 mins
- Total Time: 3 hours 15 mins
- Yield: 50 gummies 1x
Description
The perfect healthy snack for kids. Real fruits, veggies, and lots and lots of nutrition.
Scale
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups fruit and/or vegetable juice, freshly made with a Juicer
(cold press -best choice) or store-bought (making sure it is 100% juice and preferably not from concentrate). Smoothie blends are great too! - 4 tablespoons gelatin (I prefer a grass fed gelatin but you can find plain gelatin near the flavored Jello at your local grocery store. A tablespoons is usually one gelatin packet, but just to be sure, empty the packets into a bowl and use a measure spoon.
- 2–4 tablespoons Raw Honeydepending on your preference and how sweet your juice is. You can also use maple syrup or stevia. If your juice has lots of veggies you will need more but it is up to your personal taste.
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract, I recommend Organic Pure Vanilla Extract– optional for extra flavor
- Optional: Any other ingredients you would like to incorporate like probioticsorelderberry syrup (to prevent or fight a cold), or cod liver oil (immune system booster). Remember you can make these gummies your natural multivitamins.
(cold press -best choice) or store-bought (making sure it is 100% juice and preferably not from concentrate). Smoothie blends are great too!
depending on your preference and how sweet your juice is. You can also use maple syrup or stevia. If your juice has lots of veggies you will need more but it is up to your personal taste.
– optional for extra flavor
or
(to prevent or fight a cold), or 
(immune system booster). Remember you can make these gummies your natural multivitamins.Instructions
- Pour juice into a small-medium saucepan. Sprinkle the gelatinover the top and let sit for just a few minutes until it starts to “bloom” (it will get wrinkly looking on the surface and all of the white powder from the gelatin will absorb into the liquid). When all the gelatin is absorbed, mix it well.
- Then place the saucepan over medium heat on the stove. Let the liquid warm, but don’t let it boil. You want all of the gelatin to dissolve and turn thin and runny (it will be grainy at the beginning but after a couple of minutes in the heat it should dissolve completely).Add the honey, vanilla extract,and any other ingredients you will be using.
- Put the liquid in a little jar (I use my measuring cup) into a Loaf Panor your fun gummy molds and refrigerate for about 2-3 hours. Some of my favorite molds are the Freshware 30-Cavity Silicone Mold, the Toy, Car, Block and Bear Chocolate, Gummy Mold and the kilofly Silicone Mold, Robot & Dinosaur
- Remove from molds. They pop right out. If you used the loaf pan, cut your gelatin into small squares.
- Keep your homemade healthy gummies in an airtight container in the refrigerator for about 2 weeks. If you leave them outside they will last but I recommend storing them in the refrigerator.
or your fun gummy molds and refrigerate for about 2-3 hours. Some of my favorite molds are the 
, the 
and the 
Notes
*Update. If you want to make smaller gummies, these are fantastic mini Gummy Bear Molds. They even come with a dropper for easy filling.
Ideas For Juice Combinations:
Red:Beets, strawberries, raspberries, watermelon, red apples.
Orange:Carrots, oranges, clementines, tangerines, mangoes, papaya, peaches.
Yellow:Yellow pear, yellow apple, grapes (DO NOT use pineapple juice, your gelatin will not set up due to the enzyme bromelain that’s found in pineapple).
Green:Kale, spinach, green grapes, cucumbers, celery, green apple (DO NOT use kiwi, your gelatin will not set up).
Purple:Purple cabbage, blackberries, blueberries, concord grapes.
If you want to change the colors and lighten up your homemade healthy gummies, you can also substitute some milk (dairy or non-dairy) for some of the juice in the recipe. I like using almond milk.
- Category: Snack
- Method: Simmer
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: healthy, snack, kid friendly,
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Last update on 2022-11-19 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
