healthy homemade fruit snacks

Healthy Homemade Fruit Snacks

2/3 C fresh or frozen berries
2/3 C fresh lemon or orange juice
2-4 T honey, depending on your taste
5 T grass-fed beef gelatin

Directions:

1. Combine juice and berries in a medium sauce pan and cook over medium heat until the fruit begins to soften.
2. Add in the honey and stir until fully incorporated.
3. Take the mixture off of the heat and let it sit for a few minutes, then puree until smooth (I love my immersion blender so I can leave it right in the pot).
4. Slowly add in the gelatin while continuously stirring to avoid any clumps. If you do get some clumping put it back over low heat and stir until they are dissolved.
5. Once the gelatin is all incorporated and dissolved pour the mixture into a 9x9 baking dish and put it in the refrigerator to set for 1-2 hours.
6. Cut it into squares and enjoy!

Keep them refrigerated to last longer.

If you follow me on Instagram (@stacyhartsew) then you already know that we made some healthy homemade fruit snacks the other day. I shared the recipe there, but wanted to share it here as well to help spread the word since I know a lot of kids love fruit snacks while a lot of parents won't buy them because of the icky ingredients. I fall into that category so I was excited to come across this recipe and try it out.

One of the main reasons I wanted to make some for my kids wasn't necessarily to give them a store-bought fruit snack alternative, but to offer them a food packed with natural collagen, protein, and all of the other health benefits provided by gelatin (if you live in Utah I got my Great Lakes grass-fed beef gelatin at Real Foods Market, otherwise you can find it online here, but you can use regular gelatin as well).

The recipe was easy to make and my kids have been enjoying snacking on them throughout the week, even if at first it did catch them off guard that they didn't taste exactly like the super sweet sugary fruit snacks they expected (I used 2 T of honey, but in my opinion it could have used more).

After we made these I came across this recipe using different combinations of fruit and veggie juice which I think I'll try out next time. It also adds in vanilla which sounds so yummy! Have you ever made homemade fruit snacks? What is your favorite flavor combination? We made a batch of strawberry and a batch of blueberry. I find myself partial to the blueberry.