Strawberry Lemon Drop Gummy Bears + How I Stay Vital in 2018

I really have no idea how we are already in the year 2018. It seems like just a few years ago was when we partied like it's 1999 and freaked out about Y2K. Well we made it... 18 YEARS LATER! So crazy.

I wanted to share with you a few of my intentions for 2018. While I do have some big goals (and I am working on them), I also have small weekly goals that I want to focus on. This year, every month, my hubby and I will sit down and fill out this intentions worksheet together. While we have different goals, strengths and things in mind, through it all, we can encourage each other during the process and be an accountability partner to each other

You can download this FREE printable PDF Intentions Worksheet, here.

(Must download from a computer. If you would like this PDF, send me an email.)

Some of my daily goals include: reading every day, daily devotions, working out (even if it's just weights at home), spending less time on my phone (mindless digging-a-hole-on-Instagram-30-profiles-deep kinda thing) and working on my big goals - even for 30 minutes a day. (My main big goal is a secret for now, so I can't give away too much on that one!)

My weekly goals include: working out at least 3-4 times a week at Meraki Barre, a weekly date night, visiting Disneyland more (don't you roll your eyes at me!) and less food waste.

I have financial goals (as we all should) and one is to go debt free. I have work goals with building up my blog and the work that I do for my blog.

One thing that is important to me is to acknowledge achievements, small or large, and celebrate them. Something I chose to put in this worksheet is "3 Achievements from last month" and "3 Things I can do better," because we shouldn't only focus on who we are not or the goals that we have not yet obtained.

I wrote down 3 things that I achieved last month and will share two of them with you now. First, I won a big influencer contest with a major brand, and I am way proud of that! The second thing I am proud of is all of the recipes that I created in the month of December: five (including this one) were for Vital Proteins, one of my most favorite companies!

1) Blackberry Dark Hot Chocolate

2) No Bake Gingerbread Balls with Maple Drizzle

3) Gingerbread “Shortbread” Men Cookies

4) Chocolate Chip Gingerbread Muffins

and these Strawberry Lemon Drop Gummy Bears

Of course, I have more than three things that I can do better, but the three that I am working on the month of January are: Going to bed and waking up on time. I struggle with this like no other as I am a night owl and not a morning person. I want to organize my work schedule more effectively and rest and schedule more "me time" - massages, chilling on the couch with my hubby, game night, face masks, etc.

How do I plan to keep these intentions for 2018?

Honestly we are only on Day 7 of the year, and I have been sick, so most of my goals and intentions have been pushed aside... sleeping in, not working out, no schedule, no reading, no date night, no Disneyland, etc. The 2017 me would be upset and frustrated with myself and force myself to push through it all and get it done. The 2018 me is practicing to not be so hard on myself. Working on my goals and intentions will start when I am done with this cold and in my normal routine, hopefully sometime next week!

The best way to sum up how I will stay vital in 2018 is to really focus on my health and wellness as a whole. I think that encompasses working out, getting a good night's sleep, reading, devotions, date night, me time, etc.

Here's a good article from Delicious Living about how sleep can help you thrive.

Enough about me, let's talk about YOU! You and your need for these tasty gummy bears!

Strawberry Lemon Drop Collagen Gummy Bears are where it's at! I should start by saying that these are booze-free... I used Sweet Leaf Stevia's Lemon Drop liquid stevia drops, hence the "Strawberry Lemon Drop" title. The strawberry flavors comes from two of my favorite things: Zevia Strawberry Soda and Vital Proteins Strawberry Lemon Beauty Water.

Let me also say that you can freeze these gummy bears and make a cute festive drink, whether you have company over, date night, a Valentine's Day party or perhaps next New Year's Eve (don't worry, I will remind you) - this is a festive and fun drink for the whole entire family!

Add a small handful, maybe 10 frozen gummy bears to a glass, pour Zevia's Strawberry Soda on top and garnish with a strawberry and lemon peel. You could also do this with bubble water or perhaps a real Lemon Drop, if you like.

Here are the ingredients and why I used them for my Strawberry Lemon Drop Collagen Gummy Bears:

Strawberry Lemon Beauty Water - Whether you are looking to add more collagen into your routine or simply drink more water, this is a good place to start. I just add it to water and sometimes add a few Sweet Leaf Stevia Lemon Drop or Berry drops for some sweetness. This is my favorite of all the beauty waters, although I do like them all. Collagen is the most abundant protein in the human body. Our hair, skin, nails, bones, joints are all made up of collagen that our body naturally produces. You can read more about Collagen benefits, here.

Vital Proteins Beef Gelatin - This pasture-raised, grass-fed bovine hide gelatin powder has health, 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.

Zevia Strawberry Soda - This is the best soda in the whole wide world! It is sweetened with stevia, there is no sugar, bad-for-you colorings, or added fillers. They have an alternative to all of the popular sodas that everyone loves: Dr. Zevia, Mountain Zevia, Cherry Cola, Ginger Ale, Ginger Root Beer, Grape Soda, Strawberry Soda, Lemon Lime, Grapefruit Soda and more. I used the Strawberry Soda instead of water for this recipe to add some strawberry flavor to my gummy bears, and it worked beautifully!

Sweet Leaf Stevia Liquid Lemon Drop - I have loved this company 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 amount of the liquid Lemon Drop 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 it, 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 vegan, gluten-free 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 pink packet to make these red gummy bears.

With just a handful of ingredients, all gluten-free and dairy-free, an actually healthy red gummy bear was born.

__________ INGREDIENTS 1 can Zevia Strawberry Soda

3 scoops Vital Proteins Strawberry Beauty Water 1/4 cup Vital Proteins Beef Gelatin 1 1/2 TB Dolcedi* 10-20 drops Sweet Leaf Lemon Drop** 1 packet Color Kitchen Foods Red Natural Food Coloring*** THIS Gummy Bear Mold that comes with Dropper *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 berries turmeric water is somewhat sweet... but the stevia really makes it "gummy bear sweet." ***As I stated above, you can leave out the food coloring, but, in my opinion, they aren't as fun unless they are bright red. Directions: In a small sauce pan, pour your Zevia, Dolcedi and Sweet Leaf Lemon Drop Stevia and stir on low heat. Add in your food coloring packet and stir. Turn your sauce pan on medium 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 the 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. To ensure bear molds are completely filled to the top, you can get down eye level and look at it from the side. You will be able to see which bears need more mixture. Once your molds are filled with liquid, let them sit for 10 minutes before you transfer them to the freezer for 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 in 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 refrigerating, 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 red 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.

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.

Follow me on Instagram. I make recipes like this one on my stories, step-by-step each week. You might even catch me making these red gummy bears sometime soon!