Home Made Gummies #HomemadeConvenience

For the first installment of the home made convenience foods that I promised last week, I figured we could start with the snacky type stuff and work our way up to the foods eventually. Convenience snacks, especially those for kids, are a huge money hole. Even with coupons they are generally much more expensive that the kind you can make yourself and they don't contain all the nastiness that the store bought ones do. Plus, you can get your kid involved in making them with you and they might learn a little something themselves.

I will say this though, don't go crazy making huge batches of this type of thing. It is different with the foods that you can freeze and keep fresh but if you make a gazillion pounds of home made gummies, and your kids don't eat them withing a month, you have to throw them out and you've wasted money. These are quick and easy, you should be able to make them every other week.

Now, I have said before I am crazy about ingredients but we are not vegetarians. So if you are, this recipe may not work for you. If you are vegan, it definitely won't work. Why? Because of the gelatin required to make these set. I did do a little Google- ing though and found this vegan recipe that looks almost as easy and uses no animal by-products.

Ok, time to gather your ingredients. If you are thrify like me, you should be able to get this stuff for pennies. Even if you aren't into the coupon thing, its maybe a couple of dollars. Here is a pretty good place to stock up like I was talking about.

What you'll need:

1/3c Frozen 100% juice concentrate
2-3 .5 oz envelopes of unflavored gelatin (found in the canning or jelly aisle)
Silicone mold

I usually buy variety of flavors and make two flavors at a time. I also almost always buy the Old Orchard brand because it has a lid that you can reseal. 1/3c is only about 2.5 oz and the juice is sold in 11 oz cans so being able to reseal it or transfer it to another container to keep in the freezer is a must. You could always just make juice with whats left too.

Your mold can be any size you wish your gummies to be but I tend to prefer smaller ones. You can usually find them in bakery stores or Walmart pretty easy.

Once you gathered your ingredients, get out a pot, put your juice concentrate in it, and then sprinkle the gelatin over the cold concentrate. Let it sit for a few minutes before you turn on the heat. I'm not sure why this makes a difference but it totally does. Science!

After it has sat for a few minutes, put the pot over medium heat and stir until the gelatin has completely dissolved. Then, pour or spoon it into your molds. I have heard of people pouring the liquid into a measuring cup with a spout to make this easier but I am too lazy to dirty another dish for gummies so I use a spoon and it works great.

Let them cool and set on the counter until they release from the mold easily and enjoy! I portion them out in to tiny plastic Ziploc bags (get them in the jewelry section) so they are more convenient to carry and portion out.

Personally, the boys and I like these a lot more than the store bought gummies. They have more flavor and a better texture. I think your kids will find the same and you will have saved money and made their snack a little healthier! Next time, I'll share my fruit leather recipe. Its a similar snack but a little more labor intensive.  A very little.

Let me know if you try these and what your favorite flavor is!