We all love gummy snacks in our house. What’s great about making your own, is that you can add beneficial ingredients, or control the quality of the ingredients. Many fruit snacks or gummy snacks have unhealthy sweeteners and additives. This is no bueno for the belly!
If you have poor gut health, then it will affect everything else. This is especially true for your thyroid. Healing the hypothyroidism I’ve had has centered upon fixing my gut health. Malabsorption of nutrients or having food particles in your bloodstream can be a root cause. I discovered that I had symptoms of leaky gut syndrome when I started seeing a holistic nutritionist. So, how can you start fixing that?
Gelatin and collagen soothe the gut wall, and help to patch up any “leaks” that could exist. This is what makes something like these gummy bears a great addition to your diet to add healthy forms of gelatin and collagen.
We don’t tend to eat the tougher parts of animals (connective skin/tissue), which creates a void in getting this natural gut repair tool. It’s also a loss of beneficial amino acids that we need. Collagen levels start to go down in our bodies significantly when we reach age 25. This hinders everything from our joint health, to the quality of our connective tissue, and even the vitality of our hair, skin, and nails.
Hydrolyzed collagen and gelatin powder both come from animal collagen and are what we need to replenish our collagen stores. They have the same amino acids, but they just have different properties. Hydrolyzed collagen dissolves in hot and cold liquids. You may use or see “collagen peptides” as well, which is the same thing. You can add it to your coffee, or sauces/soups and it dissolves easily. If you use gelatin powder, it doesn’t dissolve like the hydrolyzed collagen. It will turn into a gel, which makes it perfect for homemade Jello or gummy bears.
The recipe I use for gummy bears comes from Avery Road. I bought the gummy bear molds and dropper from them a while back, and they provide recipes on their website. Adam and Carly and their two children were one of the first businesses I found to sell gummy bear molds online. They’ve recently released dinosaur molds that my son would love!
I adapted their recipe to make grape elderberry gummies. Since it’s cold and flu season, the elderberry syrup is awesome for supporting the immune system and cutting the duration of illness. When I’ve used only juice for my gummies, sometimes they turn out bland. I prefer to add a syrup of some type to give the gummies a richer flavor.
*Don’t use pineapple juice. It will break down the gelatin, and the gummies won’t form!
Grape Elderberry Gummies
- 1.5 cups of organic fruit juice (I used 1 cup of organic grape juice and a 1/2 cup of elderberry syrup.)
- 8 tablespoons (1/2 cup) of grass-fed gelatin powder
- 1⁄4 to 1/2 cup local, raw honey or raw maple syrup for sweetness (optional, I used maple syrup.)
Instructions
- It’s easiest to use a glass measuring cup to mix everything in. Heat about an inch of water in a saucepan to a simmer. (You will be putting the glass measuring cup in there once the water starts to simmer.)
- Meanwhile, pour in 1.5 cups of juice/juice and syrup (room temperature) into the glass measuring cup. Whisk it together.
- Place the glass-measuring cup in the pan of simmering water. Whisk it until everything is mixed and smooth.
- Slowly start to sprinkle the unflavored gelatin into the glass measuring cup while whisking. NOTE: If you put gelatin in too quickly it will get lumpy and be difficult to mix evenly.
- Once the entire gelatin is in, you will notice the juice become ‘lighter’ in color and into a thick texture.
- At this point, you can slowly drip the honey or syrup in while whisking.
- Once it’s mixed well, take the glass measuring cup out of the pan of water and put it directly next to your mold for ease. Take a dropper and start filling each cavity.
- Allow molds to sit for 5 mins before moving. This will make transporting them easy without spilling them. Put them in the fridge or freezer until firm. It usually takes 20-30 minutes in the freezer.
- When ready, they should pop out easily and fully intact. If they don’t, it can mean that they weren’t in fridge or freezer long enough. Put them back in for a little longer (freeze – 10 more minutes, fridge – 30 minutes) If they still aren’t firm, it means you need to add a little more gelatin next time, or the juice used may have enzymes that cause the gelatin to not harden.
- Store the gummies in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
That’s it! You can experiment and make different kinds of gummies to serve different purposes. The possibilities are endless.
Enjoy your snacks! Please comment here or send me a message below if you have any questions!
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