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These were so fun to make and will be your new favorite treat to include in the kiddo’s back to school lunches!
How are these fruit snacks healthier than the store bought kind?
There are several reasons why these are so much better for you than the store-bought fruit snacks.
To start, there is no processed goop or sugars in these homemade fruit snacks. They are made with real fruit, real fruit juice and monkfruit sugar.
Next, the gelatin. It’s actually insanely good for you! Who knew?!
Gelatin is a protein derived from Collagen. Good for your bones, joints, skin and hair. It’s a great way to improve many areas of your overall health and you can read more detail on all it’s health benefits in this article: What is Gelatin? A big takeaway for me was that it could also help in weight loss as it is very low in calories and studies have shown it to reduce appetite, while increasing the feeling of fullness. Making it a great little snack for anyone looking to curb unhealthy snacking!
Here’s the gelatin I used in this recipe. After some research, I was pointed to the Vital Farms brand of Beef Gelatin as the best option.
Now, when you first try one of these, I will say that the texture is different than what you would expect from a store-bought fruit snack. They have more of the texture of Jell-O than a chewy fruit snack due to the fact that there is not a ton of added sugars or syrups in these fruit snacks.
I store these in the fridge once they are all done because they taste really great as a cold little treat. Especially if your 36 weeks pregnant and craving FRUIT all the time! They are a great alternative to scarfing down a bunch of sugar in fruit.
The fun in these is developing new flavors! I feel like the possibilities are ENDLESS and you can use whatever you have on hand or whatever is seasonal.
Some of the fruit flavor combos I made and loved are:
Here are the combos of fruit that I have tested and loved. Some combos definitely needed more sugar, so I have noted that below. Typically you would just start off with 1 Tbls. sugar and add more if you prefer. All of these will still also incorporate the apple juice and gelatin measurements noted in the ingredients below.
- Strawberry Lemonade: 1 cup chopped strawberries, 1/4 cup fresh lemon (pulp & all), 2 Tbls. Monkfruit Sugar
- Mango Peach: 1 cup chopped mango (make sure it is very ripe), 1/4 cup fresh chopped peaches (peel off the skin)
- Triple Berry: 1/2 cup strawberries, 1/2 cup blueberries, 1/4 cup blackberries
- White Grape: 1 cup green grapes, 1/4 cup fresh spinach
- Mojito: 1 cup green grapes, 1/4 cup fresh lime (pulp & all), 1 Tbls. fresh mint, 2 Tbls. Monkfruit sugar
- Sparkling Strawberry: 1 cup chopped strawberries, 1/4 cup raspberries, 1/2 cup sparkling white wine (like prosecco), 3 Tbls. Monkfruit sugar
I used these silicone molds and they were super easy to order from Amazon. I also used Vital Proteins Beef Gelatin, which you can also order from Amazon!
Once you have decided which flavor combos you're going to make from my above suggestions (or maybe you're getting creative on your own!) go ahead and give your fruit a rough chop and set it out to easily grab. Then you should set out the rest of your ingredients and equipment to have ready.
You'll need a Vitamix or blender, small saucepan, the silicone molds, droppers and a whisk.
Be sure to place your molds on a cookie sheet or something that allows for easy transfer to the fridge!
In your Vitamix (this is preferred because it blends things up so well, but other blending methods can be used), add in all the fruit, apple juice, vanilla extract and Monkfruit sugar. Blend everything up until it is a liquid, then dip your spatula or a spoon in and give it a taste test. If you prefer it to be a little sweeter, add in another Tbls. of monkfruit sugar. Blend it up a bit more and then you're ready to heat it up in the saucepan.
On the stove over low-medium heat in a small saucepan, dump in your blended fruit mix. Mix in 3 Tbls. of gelatin and whisk into the fruit until it's completely dissolved. Should take about 2minutes. Don't allow the mixture to boil!
Now, remove the fruit mix from the heat and begin to use the dropper to add in the mix to the molds! Once they are filled, you will place the molds in the fridge for 2 hours to set up. Then you're ready to pop them out and ENJOY!
Pro Tip: you may have more mix than what fits into one of the molds. So add any extra you may have into a glass bowl and let it set on the counter. Once your first batch has cooled and you've popped them out of the mold, then you can reheat the fruit mix slightly (takes only 15 seconds or less in the microwave) and make another batch! If you have multiple molds, then you won't need to worry about this step!
xoxo Ashley
Ingredients
Directions
Once you have decided which flavor combos you're going to make from my above suggestions (or maybe you're getting creative on your own!) go ahead and give your fruit a rough chop and set it out to easily grab. Then you should set out the rest of your ingredients and equipment to have ready.
You'll need a Vitamix or blender, small saucepan, the silicone molds, droppers and a whisk.
Be sure to place your molds on a cookie sheet or something that allows for easy transfer to the fridge!
In your Vitamix (this is preferred because it blends things up so well, but other blending methods can be used), add in all the fruit, apple juice, vanilla extract and Monkfruit sugar. Blend everything up until it is a liquid, then dip your spatula or a spoon in and give it a taste test. If you prefer it to be a little sweeter, add in another Tbls. of monkfruit sugar. Blend it up a bit more and then you're ready to heat it up in the saucepan.
On the stove over low-medium heat in a small saucepan, dump in your blended fruit mix. Mix in 3 Tbls. of gelatin and whisk into the fruit until it's completely dissolved. Should take about 2minutes. Don't allow the mixture to boil!
Now, remove the fruit mix from the heat and begin to use the dropper to add in the mix to the molds! Once they are filled, you will place the molds in the fridge for 2 hours to set up. Then you're ready to pop them out and ENJOY!
Pro Tip: you may have more mix than what fits into one of the molds. So add any extra you may have into a glass bowl and let it set on the counter. Once your first batch has cooled and you've popped them out of the mold, then you can reheat the fruit mix slightly (takes only 15 seconds or less in the microwave) and make another batch! If you have multiple molds, then you won't need to worry about this step!