Friday, February 1, 2013

Homemade gummi vitamins

We did something a little bit different today. The Ladybug and I made some gummi vitamins which turned out really well and were actually pretty easy.

Recently our naturopath has given Ladybug some liquid herbs to take to help her overcome a chesty cough she's had since Christmas. Unfortunately she is NOT a fan. By the second day she would clamp her mouth shut if I so much as came near her with the stuff (I tried some myself and they are a bit of a nasty shock to the taste buds!) there had to be a way I could get some of these into her each day...



Homemade gummi vitamins were the perfect solution! The original idea is not my own, it comes from The Wellness Mama, who has some fantastic DIY recipes on her blog. Her recipe can be found here.

I tweaked the original so it was more suitable for us and the end results were great! (Recipe below)



All you need is some fruit juice, gelatine (grass fed beef gelatin is best if you want the extras of protein, collagen, no added sugar/flavourings/chemicals/etc - I used the Bernard Jenson brand seen here), rice malt syrup (you could use honey), silicone molds and herbs or vitamins of your choice (you could use liquid herb extracts like we did or powdered probiotics or vitamin c or even cod liver oil depending on the flavour)

 

Ladybug enjoyed helping with the measuring, pouring and mixing (and tasting) until I had to move everything onto the stove top where she watched from a distance.


Stir on a low heat until the gelatin has dissolved then pour into a jug. As it was cooling down I added the liquid herb extracts and mixed them all through. I gave the silicone molds a quick spray with some coconut oil then poured the mixture in then popped them in the freezer for 10-15mins.


Gently push them out and viola, our very own gummi vitamins (and lots of them too! - we put triple the amount of everything)


The real test was seeing if Ladybug would actually eat them - which, as you can see here was no problem at all. She actually ate 3 of them and was still asking for "more, more?"


Such a difficult task of getting Ladybug's herbs into her has suddenly become so much easier! *phew!*

 Recipe:
1/2 cup juice (we used cranberry)
2 tbs rice malt syrup (you could use honey)
8 tsp powdered gelatin (preferably grass fed beef gelatin)
Vitamins of your choice (herbal extracts, probiotics, cod liver oil, vitamin c)
  • Mix the juice, rice malt syrup and gelatin together in a saucepan
  • Whisk over a low heat just until the gelatin has dissolved
  • Remove from heat and whisk in the herbs/vitamins while cool (esp important if you're using probiotics!)
  • Carefully pour into silicone molds or silicone ice cube trays 
  • Place in the freezer for 10 - 15 minutes
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12 comments:

  1. This is wonderful Julie! My kids love their gummi vitamins. This will hopefully save me some $$. Can't wait to give it a go. Thanks a million. xoxo P

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    1. Yes, it would be much cheaper! The only costly ingredient was the gelatin, but you use such a small amount, it will last for ages!
      Glad you liked the post, I hope your kids enjoy them (it's so easy, they could even help you make them)

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  2. I hadn't even thought of doing this homemade before. Great idea!

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  3. What a clever mother you are. This is such a great way to get kids having their vitamins. I really love how you involved your little girl in the making process too.

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  4. Such a clever idea..my girls baulk at anything that tastes different, especially herbal remedies as they are usually bitter but i am going to give this a go...thanks so much for sharing!!

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  5. What a great way to help the "medicine" go down and to involve your little one in the process!

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  6. I would never have thought to make my own vitamins!! What a great idea.

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  7. Oh wow, I too would never have ever thought to make them either hah. Thanks for sharing :)

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  8. This is so clever, I've never considered cooking up vitamins.
    Thanks for sharing such an awesome idea
    Nae

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  9. It is an awesome idea! Fortunately my son has some nice chewable ones which he rather likes, but there have been other times when he would clamp his mouth shut too :)

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  10. I would have never thought of making our won gummi vitamins. So glad you shared this. So much cheaper too!

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  11. Thank you so much for sharing, I did some and they taste great! The only thing: do I keep it in the refregirator or in the freezer ? And how much time can I keep it before it goes bad ?

    Thank you:)

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