Green Gummy Bears
Yummy, yummy, I made some green gummy bears! There is a lot of talk about green gummy bears on Instagram, and you may have seen them go viral over the last week. It kinda makes me sad because I don't really think these gummy bears are that good for you, but that is just my opinion. Compared to many conventional gummy bears and ones you find in big box stores, these trendy green gummy bears are definitely a healthier option. Though, these Green Gummies Gone Viral have 17g of sugar and 30g carbs in just one serving (14 green bears). While these green gummy bears are fat-free, non-GMO and gluten free, they do contain a lot of sugar and fillers. I am allergic to cane sugar so these gummies aren't even an option for me.
This company is marketing this candy as "healthy" and made with greens, yet there doesn't appear to be much green in it besides spinach concentrate. I really wished they would have used their delicious and organic green juice, which they are so famous for, to infuse these bears with, rather than the ingredients that were chosen.
I am all for indulgence, but one serving of these bears have a third of the sugar you should have in a day. Not worth it!
I was really excited about these bears when I first heard about them, to be honest. I thought it was going to be this magical gummy bear that was sweetened with only fruit juices (hmmm, might be a little far-fetched thinking since it's from a juice place) and good quality ingredients. However, I was super let down when they launched.
A day or two after these bears launched, we were at this juice bar for a treat that my husband and I eat a lot of (you might know what I am talking about since I always talk about it on my Instagram story), and they had samples on the counter. I don't have any self control, so I ate a few bears. I wanted to know what the big deal was. I wanted to know if they tasted GREEN like their green drinks. I wanted to know if they were anything special and if they tasted healthy.
MAJOR LET DOWN!
That night, we got home late and I decided to take matters into my own hands and make my own. I didn't even have a gummy bear mold or know what the heck I was doing, but I whipped out some ingredients and got to work. I used a cake round to pour the mixture in and let it cool in the fridge and let me tell you... I was on to something!
I got in bed that night and ordered a gummy bear mold from Amazon that came with a dropper (very important, I learned) and was so grateful that the one I found was eligible for Amazon Prime shipping! WINNING! Take that "juice chain"!
Then the weekend happened and I was out of town, yet dreaming of green gummy bears that were made without cane sugar and good-for-you ingredients. Monday came and let's just say that it was a GREAT day!
Let me tell you about a few of these ingredients that I used:
Vital Proteins Beef Gelatin - This pasture-raised, grass-fed bovine hide gelatin powder has healthy, fitness and beauty benefits. Collagen protein is used to promote digestive health. It is the most abundant protein in the body and is great for hair, skin, nails, bones, tendons, joints and even cartilage. I use their collagen peptides or marine collagen in my smoothies every single day, and put it in my coffee, hot chocolate and more. I even travel with their single-serving packets to make sure I can get good protein on-the-go.
MOCU Health Superfood Oomph Drink Mix - This organic drink mix is made with vitamins, probiotics and has no added sugar. It's bright green because it's actually filled with green veggies and herbs. Some of the ingredients include (all organic): Spirulina, Chlorella, Wheat Grass, Barley Grass, Spinach Leaf, Parsley, Basil and various fruits and superfoods. It's sweetened with stevia and tastes like a fruity lemonade. I love MOCU and the wonderful drink mixes that they make. They make my favorite kombucha on the planet, a tasty Matcha Green Tea Powder (that you can make yummy cookies from: recipe here) and so much more! You can even buy their drink mixes in travel-sized to-go packets! Use KRYSTENSKITCHEN on their website for 25% off at checkout and enjoy some organic, vegan and healthy products from the healthy line of superfoods and drink mixes. (This Superfood Oomph Drink Mix will launch very soon.)
Sweet Leaf Stevia Berry Liquid Drops - I have loved this stuff for a long time. When I first found out that I had PCOS and that I had to do a major cleanse/detox (eliminating cane sugar, wheat, corn, dairy, soy and everything else I was eating), I panicked until I found this awesome company that makes flavored liquid stevia drops. I love the lemon, berry or grape in my iced tea, to sweeten water or in these gummy bears. I decided to make these bears a little sweeter by adding a small number of drops to the mixture and it worked beautifully! You can use these drops for anything!
Rigoni Di Asiago Dolcedi Sweetener - This is a great alternative to honey if you are vegan or don't like the taste of honey. I am not vegan, and I do like the taste of honey, but I am obsessed with this sweetener as it is made of 100% organic apples. That is the only ingredient. It takes 10lbs of apples to make one bottle of this organic, low-glycemic sweetener. I honestly tried to make these gummy bears without them but the texture was off. I wanted to add something that wouldn't add a ton of calories or carbs and this was my immediate thought. It's thick and syrupy and great for baking or drizzling on everything.
Color Kitchen Foods Natural Food Coloring - These fabulous powdered food colors are made from turmeric, spirulina and beets. I have used these amazing food colors in frosting, to make pink Mickey Mouse Rice Krispee treats, in cakes and more. They are beautifully vibrant and using the color theory you can make all sorts of colors. I used one yellow and one blue packet to make some beautiful green gummy bears in this recipe.
With just a handful of ingredients, all gluten-free and dairy-free, the actually healthy green gummy bear was born. Although it took a few batches to get it right (we even got take-out dinner so that I could keep perfecting this recipe), it all ended up fabulous in the end. I am beyond thrilled to present my Green Gummy Bears!
There are a few optional ingredients, but having made these gummies a few different ways, every ingredient is used purposely. The only thing you could leave out that will not alter the texture or taste is the coloring, but that's more than half the fun.
Every ingredient is used on purpose. There are no fillers or ingredients added just for the fun of it. I would say this recipe is easy to make, but a little time consuming, yet totally worth it. I highly recommend you read all of the directions below before you start. It will help you.
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INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 cup water
1.5 TB Mocu Health Superfood Oomph Drink Mix (see notes)
1/4 cup Vital Proteins Beef Gelatin
1 1/2 TB Dolcedi*
6-10 drops SweetLeaf Berry Stevia**
1 packet Color Kitchen Foods Yellow Natural Food Coloring***
1 packet Color Kitchen Foods Blue Natural Food Coloring***
*I don't recommend that you leave this ingredient out. If you can't have this sweetener or are allergic, you could try to use honey, but I don't know the outcome of the gummy bears. I suppose it would work, but I have not tried it.
**I initially made these without any stevia drops and they weren't sweet. The drink mix is sweet when you make it to drink, but when you heat it up and add all the other ingredients, it's not sweet anymore... especially for a gummy!
***As I stated above, you can leave out the food coloring but, in my opinion, they aren't as fun unless they are bright green.
If you don't have this particular drink mix, use 1 1/2 cup of your fav drink: coconut water, watermelon juice or something that isn't too thick.
Directions:
In a small sauce pan, pour your water, Mocu Health Drink Mix, Dolcedi and Berry Stevia liquid drops and stir on medium heat. Add in your food coloring packets and stir. Note - If your food coloring won't combine, turn off the heat and pour mixture into your blender. I have had to do this once, and it was't as big of a pain as it seemed. Blend on low speed just until the blue and yellow are not visible anymore.
Turn your sauce pan on medium-high and just before it starts to boil, carefully pour your gelatin powder a little tiny bit at a time while whisking. This takes patience, as you don't want any of the gelatin to clump. Pour mixture into a silicone measuring cup or tall glass cup (be careful that you don't burn yourself). Note - If it does leave a few clumps, no worries. This is how you fix it: 1) use a spoon to scoop out the big pieces of gelatin or 2) pour mixture through a small strainer over a measuring up. One of those options will be easy for you. I tried both and they worked great. Keep in mind, you need to pour mixture into a cup or glass anyway for the next step.
Using the dropper, carefully pour some liquid in each gummy bear mold to the top. If you don't pour enough then your gummy with have super tiny faces. You will get the hang of it after a few bears. Once your molds are filled with liquid, let them sit for 10 minutes before you transfer them to the freezer for 17-20 minutes. Note - These molds are flimsy which help to remove the bears when they harden, but you definitely don't want to spill any of the liquid that you just carefully poured in. Make sure you let them sit out on the counter for at least 10 minutes before placing them into the freezer.
Carefully take the molds out of the freezer. The gummies should be hard. If they have a little ice on or around it, that's fine. Pop each gummy out onto a plate and allow to "thaw" before eating them. I have tried freezing and refrigeration and the best way to ensure that each gummy bear releases from the mold without missing any bear body parts is by freezing them in the mold for 20 minutes.
Store green gummy bears in a jar or container in the fridge for better texture. Keep them up to 7 days, if you think they will last that long, anyway.
While I am unsure of all the nutritional information, I do know that if you ate 25 green gummy bears, it would be roughly 2g sugar and 3g carbs. That is a lot of bears and not a lot of sugar or carbs especially when you compare it to the carbs and sugar in those green bears on viral!
I will be making this recipe again and again. I am so thrilled at how they turned out and hope you love them as much as we do.
