Real Fruit Gummies

Figuring out creative, healthy and tasty treats can sometimes feel like a big task and well that is why I am here.  To help you discover simple tasty and healthied up versions of some of our favourite things. ​

I have been using collagen and gelatin for years now and have reaped the benefits to my skin, my digestion, my hair and nails but sometimes the old tossing it into a smoothie for extra protein approach gets boring.   Sometime ago when I was feeling particularly crafty (trust this very rarely happens) I went over to amazon and bought myself some gummy bear molds.   That day I had a segment on CTV Morning Ottawa and we were talking about ways to sneak greens into our foods, then I am going to be honest I COMPLETELY forgot I had even purchased the molds. 

Well I discovered them again and I decided to test my hand at making some gummy bears once again.    The fun thing about gummy bears is you get to feel like a total scientist while not really being a scientist at all.  Plus you get to have tasty treats without worrying about all the high fructose corn syrup, added sugars and food colourings that go into the commercial brand gummies. ​

These gummies were made from freshly squeezed juices and a touch of maple syrup along with grass fed gelatin.   Although this make it so they are not vegan these gummies are 100% paleo, refined sugar free and chemical and preservative free and so far have gotten two thumbs up from all of my taste testers.   Each recipe makes between 30-40 gummy bears (this will depend on the size of your mold) or if you don't have molds and aren't interested in buying any cut the gelatin in half and you can make yourself some good old fashioned jello. ​

Blood Orange
1/2 cup blood orange juice, freshly squeezed
1/2 cup naval orange juice, freshly squeezed
2 tbsp maple syrup
4 tbsp gelatin

Raspberry Green Tea
1/2 cup raspberry juice, thawed from frozen and squeezed
1/2 cup green tea
2 tbsp maple syrup
4 tbsp gelatin

Grapefruit
1 cup grapefruit juice, freshly squeezed
3 tbsp maple syrup
4 tbsp gelatin

Directions:
1. Freshly squeeze the fruit, for oranges and grapefruit a citrus juicer works best and yields more juice.  For the raspberries I found it easiest to thaw frozen berries and use a mesh strainer to separate the berries out from the juice using a spatula to squish down the berries.   (I saved the berries to make some raspberry chia seed pudding) 
2. In a small sauce pan pour liquid and bring to a low boil, add in maple syrup and whisk until dissolved. 
3. Add in 1 tbsp of gelatin at a time whisking well until gelatin is totally dissolved, once completely absorbed add another tbsp of gelatin being sure to continue stiring. 
4. Once all the gelatin has been incorporated place your molds on a baking sheet (to keep them from bending when you move the molds to the fridge) and using a dropper fill molds one at a time.   Trust me you want a dropper without it you will make quiet a large mess. 
5. Place the filled mold in the fridge for about an hour, checking to make sure the bears are completely solidified before popping them out of the mold and enjoying. 

Notes: 
If you have extra/left over gummy bear fill you can pour it into a bowl or shallow dish, but the texture will be much more ridged and tough than traditional jello.  ​