Over the past couple of years using gelatin to make gummies has become increasingly popular as we know the benefits of consuming gelatin for our gut health (more on this soon). But using gelatin powder to make wobbly puddings, like jelly, has been around for generations - the difference now is that we use high quality, grass fed gelatin powder, and don’t pair it with toxic food colouring and copious amounts of sugar!

In fact, while I was doing the research for this blog, I decided to remind myself just exactly what was in the jelly that I had regularly as a child at birthday parties growing up. Upon finding the ingredients list of the jelly crystals box, I can’t decide if I’m glad I did this research or not! Knowledge is power and all we can do is change the choices we make going forward. The ingredients in the Strawberry Flavoured Greggs Jelly Crystals are Sugar, Gelatin (7%), Food Acid (330), Acidity Regulator (331), Flavour, Dextrose , Colours (124, 122).

Now firstly, we know that ingredients are listed on packets in order of highest quantity to lowest. So in this box of jelly, the ingredient that’s included in the largest quantity is, you guessed it - sugar, closely followed by a big old bunch of additives. The sugar quantity per serving is calculated on it being made following packet instructions, with 19.1g of sugar per serve of 1/2 cup of jelly - only one half of a cup! With four serves per pack (so 1/2 cup x 4 = two cups - enough for one birthday party?) there is 76.4g which is almost 20 teaspoons of sugar (1 tsp of sugar = 4 grams). Phew, that’s quite the intake!

When it comes to food additives, I’ve found this to be a topic that everyone knows about but no-one wants to know about. And I can understand why! Especially when we know that ‘Flavours’ like the ones listed on the ingredient panel above can include between 50-100 chemical ingredients made in a lab, ‘Colour (122)’ is made up from industrial chemicals such as coal tar, petroleum and antifreeze, and ‘Food Acid - Citric Acid’ which is produced from a type of mould. Yikes!

So, this is where gelatin gummies come in and save the day and nourish our children - and still allow us to make wobbly delicious jelly for birthday parties 😉 Gelatin gummies are made using gelatin powder which is a naturally occurring protein source, derived from the collagen-rich components of connective tissue in animals. To use the gelatin powder, you bloom it first with water (to avoid lumps) and then combine this bloomed gelatin with a liquid mixture to make either firm gummies, wobbly jelly, panna cotta and even marshmallows. We’ve come a long way with the way we source our gelatin, and now you are able purchase sustainably-sourced, grass-fed, quality gelatin powder. I especially like the quality of the NutraOrganics Natural Gelatin which you can buy here or locally at New World Three Parks Wanaka.

The reason using gelatin and collagen powders regularly are a new craze (gelatin is the cooked form of collagen) is because we’ve changed the cuts of meat we typically eat. Traditional cultures would consume large amounts of gelatin through the nose-to-tail eating that they practiced (and that we are constantly striving for as a family), meaning that they cooked and consumed the entire animal which included gelatinous cuts, such as collagen-rich organs, like tripe and tendon, chuck roasts, shanks and bone broths for example. In our modern society, we don’t all eat gelatinous cuts as often anymore and some choose to supplement with gelatin or collagen powders to get the benefits. Regularly consuming gelatin provides benefits for our connective tissue, such as our skin, ligaments, bones and cartilage, and helps to heal and seal our gut lining, particulartly helpful if you have ‘leaky gut’.

For our children, gelatin and collagen has incredible benefits too. In fact, Catherine Shanahan, M.D. talks about collagen-rich bone broth and says, “eating homemade bone stock in childhood has fantastic joint-strengthening and collagen fortifying effects that can last a lifetime.” And interestingly, in the early months of your child’s life they have openings in their intestinal lining, a normal state called open gut. This allows antibodies (protective proteins produced by the immune system) from mum’s milk to pass through their gut wall easily into their bloodstream, where they can protect your child (Erlich & Genzlinger, 2018). So by offering regular gelatin from 8 months, we are assisting our child’s gut lining to seal - incredible right? Finally, I must also mention one particular amino acid in gelatin, glycine, which has been shown to improve sleep quality - just in case you needed another reason to start incorporating it into your family’s diet!

Plus, there’s also the added bonus with these Gut Healing Strawberry and Cream Gummies, that the sugar in the fruit is balanced with the fat from the coconut cream, meaning the blood sugar response to the fructose can be slowed.

Now you’re armed with the knowledge, let’s dive into the fun part - the cooking and the eating!

Gut Healing Strawberry and Cream Gummies

Ingredients:

• 2 cups strawberries (cut in half and green top removed)

• 1 cup additive-free coconut cream (I love this brand)

• 1 teaspoon vanilla essence or 1/2 tsp vanilla powder (side note: once you start using vanilla powder, you’ll struggle to go back to vanilla essence - especially as it can be difficult to get pure essence or extract without additives. A little goes a long way so if you do purchase it’ll last you for ages for wholefood baking, we get at least 3 months from one packet).

• 4 tbsp grass-fed gelatin powder

Method:

• In a pot over a low heat, add the chopped strawberries, coconut cream and vanilla.

• While this is heating, bloom the gelatin by adding 8 tbsp of filtered water and mixing until a paste forms.

• Once the strawberries have stewed and are soft, take the mixture off the heat and whizz in a high speed blender or using a stick blender (careful not to burn yourself with the mixture if it spits!)

• Stir the bloomed gelatin into the strawberry cream mixture until it dissolves.

• Pour into moulds to set, or into a dish and cut them into squares or fingers once set. Eat and enjoy!

Notes:

• For babies just starting on gelatin (I recommend around 8 months), you can make the gummies into more panna cotta consistency by reducing the gelatin quantity to 2 tbsp. For older babies, you can use the firmer gummies consistency in the recipe.

• You can cut the set gummies into strips for a baby-led weaning approach.

• Gelatin is not vegan or vegetarian friendly, there is an alternative you can use Agar, which is found in seaweed and offers a different range of nutrients to gelatin including iron, calcium and magnesium with low sodium.

When I’m working with parents who are planning to start their baby on solid foods, or are looking for support with creating nourishing family times, gelatin gummies are usually on the list! In our consultations, I love showing families how to make these at home regularly and supplying my favourite family flavour combinations to get them started on this gut loving journey.

References:

Erlich, K. & Genzlinger, K. (2018). Super Nutrition for Babies. Quarto Publishing Group USA Inc.

Pie, J. (2021). Life Of Pie. Retrieved from https://www.reallifeofpie.com/blogindex