It never fails! Every time my kids and I walk into the bulk food store, they make a beeline for the section with rainbow-filled bins of glowing gummy worms and gummy bears. Even the healthiest of bulk food stores has candy. And while it may be “sugar-free” and “organic”, it is still candy. Their favourite: the gummy bears. On the odd time I will begrudgingly toss some in a baggie. Thankfully picky eating is in our past – and I know the girls will get their nutrition at home. I also decided to make my own Homemade Healthy Raspberry Gummies that actually had some nutrition to offer.
For parents with fussier eaters who love their sweets, this Homemade Healthy Raspberry Gummy recipe is going to be a favourite – for you and them!
Your ‘picky eaters’ can get their sweet fix while we improve their eating.
Homemade Healthy Raspberry Gummies are SOOOO much better than the store bought ones, because:
- They are made with organic, nutrient-dense, and vitamin-packed berries (versus just fruit juice)
- They only have a bit of sweetener from quality honey (versus simple processed sugar)
- They are also a source of important amino acids (versus just a sugar hit)
Protein in gummies? That’s right! The amino acids come from something called Gelatin.
What is Gelatin?
Gelatin is a translucent, colorless, and flavorless food (thank goodness!) derived from collagen, which we find in animal parts. The parts that we no longer consume such as skin, tendons, and other gelatinous cuts of meat. It is commonly used as a gelling agent in food and other products and gives gummies their gumminess.
If you’ve had Jell-O, you’ve had gelatine or gelatin. But the quality of the source is the differentiator (i.e. which animals they are getting the collagen/gelatin from).
Gelatin provides the amino acids glycine and proline that are used in the production of collagen.
Why should we add gelatin to our family’s diet?
Gelatin isn’t just beneficial for our little ones. We (moms and dads) ALSO benefit big time from the amino acid make-up of this food. Yes, that means you can eat those gummies too!
Four reasons to try gelatin:
- BEAUTY benefits: Collagen supports skin, hair, and nail growth because it is one of the primary structural elements of skin. And mamas, you’re going to love this…it helps strengthen and tighten loose skin (goodbye wrinkles and belly after baby!)
- SLEEP benefits: Glycine can decrease anxiety, promote mental calmness, and improve sleep quality.
- DIGESTIVE benefits: Glycine coats and heals the stomach which can help alleviate food allergies, etc. It also helps improve the absorption of other minerals.
- DIETARY benefits: Those with a meat and egg-heavy diet (even from quality sources) tend to have high amounts of homocysteine, which we can balance out with glycine (the predominant amino acid in gelatin).
Muscle meats and eggs are high in methionine, an amino acid that raises homocysteine levels in the blood…. We don’t want high homocysteine in our blood because homocysteine is a significant risk factor for serious diseases like heart disease, stroke, mental illness, and fractures. – Source
The brand of gelatin we use is Great Lakes, which comes from grass-fed animals. If you’re in Canada click here. In the US or elsewhere, click here. You’ll want the Gelatin in whole form (orange bottle) for the homemade gummy recipe.
Ok, let’s put that gelatin to use and make some Homemade Healthy Raspberry Gummies!
Homemade Healthy Raspberry Gummies
Healthy Raspberry Gummies
Leave those sugary candies at the bulk store and make yourself a batch of these fruit and gelatin-based gummies!
- ¾ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 cup frozen organic raspberries
- 2 tablespoons honey ((optional))
- ¼ cup grass-fed gelatin ((agar-agar for vegetarians/vegans))
- Blend lemon juice, honey, and raspberries on high.
- Pour raspberry mixture into a saucepan and turn the heat on low.
- Add the gelatin and whisk together for 5-10 minutes. Once thin and well mixed remove from heat.
- Pour into mini ice cube trays, silicone molds, or a small flat baking dish (9×9).
- Put in the refrigerator for about 1 hour (or more) until no longer soft inside.
- If you used a larger dish (vs. mini molds), cut it into bite-size squares.
TIP: you can pour the gummie mixture into ice cube trays, a baking dish, or a fun gummy bear mold (In the US? Click here.)
Are you up for the challenge of making these Homemade Healthy Raspberry Gummies? Let me know in the comments!
I’m contemplating trying to adapt this recipe for redcurrants – I’m going to have to add a lot more sweetener of course! But I was wondering what the purpose of the lemon juice is, and whether I should skip it with the much tangier redcurrants, do you think?
Oh gosh, I’m not sure actually. Haven’t tried anything else other than blueberries and raspberries at this point. Let me know how it goes!
What is the preparation time for this? (For a school project.)
About 15-25 minutes to prep 🙂 Then has to let stand in the fridge for some time as indicated.
Okay thank you.
I would love to try this for my family.
It is possible to add iron on them? I suffered anemia due to my chronic condition and pretty sure Ms Mily has too.
Like the lucky fish iron (mix with the limon juice)
Will these gummies need to stay refrigerated once prepared? I don’t want to add them to a school lunch only for my son to find a soupy mess 🙂
Hi Amy – they can stay out for a bit but want to keep the batch in the fridge and covered.
What are the calories per gummie?
Unfortunately I don’t have that info but you can add it to a tool like MyFitnessPal to find out!