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{Note from Jessica: Today’s post is shared by my sweet friend, Raia, author of Raia’s Recipes. Raia is a homeschooling, stay-at-home mom of five crazy kids. After the birth of her third child, she was diagnosed with celiac disease. This discovery turned her bread and pasta-filled life upside down and set her on a mission to find out what healthy meant for her family. Aspiring to encourage other moms, she started her blog filled with simple, easy, healthy dishes. Stop by Raia’s Recipes to get plenty of real food, gluten-free recipes and much more!}

There are few things my four crazy kids enjoy snacking on more than fruit snacks, and I’m guessing that’s pretty normal. But a quick look at the back of those boxes at the grocery store shows a slew of unhealthy (or at least “controversial”) ingredients that I don’t want anywhere near my kids’ mouths!

Let’s just take a look at what Kellogg’s divulges as the ingredients in their Nemo and Cars fruit snacks:

“Corn syrup, sugar, apple puree concentrate, water, modified corn starch, gelatin, citric acid, vitamin C (ascorbic acid), natural and artificial flavors, yellow 5, red 40, sodium citrate, blue 1.” (1)

For those of you who don’t understand what all that really is (I know I didn’t), the interpretation goes as follows:

“Sugar made from corn, sugar made from GMO sugarcane or beets (2), pureed apple parts & synthetic vitamins (3), water, corn, gelatin, synthetic vitamins (4), some undisclosed chemical flavorings, coal tar derivative (5), round bug juice (6), fermented corn sugar & hydrolyzed corn starch (7, 8), more coal tar (9).”

Mmmm! Sounds like a great snack all children should be enjoying, eh?

Fortunately for me (and all you other moms) fruit snacks are super easy to make at home. Not only can you cut out all the sugar, corn, coal tar, and bug guts, you can add in wonderfully nutritious ingredients! Ever since I made this discovery last year, my kids have been happily munching on homemade fruit snacks in flavors ranging from strawberry to pumpkin pie! And I’m a-ok with it!

Honey Orange Fruit Snacks

Now when they see the little packs of “fruit” snacks at the grocery store, they frown and discuss among themselves the dangers of food coloring and sugar (happy sigh – it makes a mommy proud!).

So, what are you waiting for? Go make your kids some fruit snacks! Or make them for yourself – after all, they are healthy… 😉

Delicious Obsessions Trusted Product Recommendations for Honey Orange Fruit Snacks

I am always asked about my favorite ingredients and what I use in my own kitchen. I have linked to the products from my affiliate partners that I personally use and recommend. And now, here are the special coupon offers that select affiliate partners are currently offering:

  • Thrive Market: If you sign up through this link, you will get 15% OFF your first order.
  • Amazon, of course, has everything you need for this recipe. Their prices are often very good, though I love to shop around and sometimes find that Thrive Market has better deals. If you like saving money, it’s good to shop around! 🙂

Important Note On Gelatin Types 

When it comes to gelatin, you don’t want any old gelatin off the supermarket shelves. You want to look for 100% grass-fed gelatin from healthy animals. Just like other animal products, quality is important.

That is why I recommend Vital Proteins Grass-Fed Gelatin products and Perfect Supplements products exclusively. I have compared these brand with other brands on the market and the quality far surpasses anything else I’ve tried. I am thrilled to be one of their affiliate partners and support such great products and companies.

Perfect Supplements offers a grass-fed hydrolyzed collagen (cold-soluble) right now and has a gelatin (hot-soluble) in the works for 2016. Read my review of their product here or watch the video below. You can order their own products via their own site here or on Amazon here.

Vital Proteins offers two types of gelatin. The green top (Collagen Protein) is what you need for this recipe and for recipes where you are making gummies, “jello”, etc. The blue top (Collagen Peptides) is cold water soluble and does not thicken or gel like gelatin does. Both are very nutritious, but can’t be used interchangeably. You can order their own products via their own site here or on Amazon here.

 

Honey Orange Fruit Snacks :: Grain and Gluten Free, Paleo/Primal // deliciousobsessions.com

Honey Orange Fruit Snacks :: Gluten-Free, Grain-Free, Dairy-Free, Refined Sugar-Free

Yield: 20 gummies

Kids, big and little, will fall in love with these delicious orange fruit snacks. No need to worry about artificial colors, flavors, and refined sugars. This recipe uses nothing but real food ingredients.

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. In a blender, mix the orange with the water kefir. Strain out pulp, if desired.
  2. Pour into a saucepan and sprinkle with gelatin. When the gelatin is soaked (about 5 minutes), turn heat to medium-low and dissolve gelatin.
  3. Stir in honey until melted.
  4. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla, if using.
  5. Pour into a 9x13 inch baking dish, 2 8x8 inch baking dishes, or fun silicone molds.
  6. Refrigerate until set - about 2 hours. Cut into little squares.
  7. Store in the fridge for up to a week.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 20 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 3Total Fat: 0gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 0mgCarbohydrates: 1gFiber: 0gSugar: 1gProtein: 0g

This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered from Nutritionix and we often find their calculations to be slightly inaccurate based on the whole food ingredients we use on this site. Nutrition information can vary for a recipe based on many factors. We strive to keep the information as accurate as possible, but make no warranties regarding its accuracy. We encourage readers to make their own calculations based on the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.

Want EVEN MORE Info on Gelatin?

Then I simply have to recommend this book from my friend and affiliate partner, Sylvie of The Hollywood Homestead — The Gelatin Secret: The Surprising Superfood that Transforms Your Health and Beauty.

Sylvie dives into all of the benefits of gelatin, how it improves our health (especially bone, joint, brain, skin, dental, and gut health), plus she offers a ton of tasty recipes too!

Gelatin-Secret-ebook

 Learn More and Download Your Copy Here

Want to learn more about gelatin and get even more recipes? Check out this post!

10 Health Benefits of Gelatin, plus 80 Ways to Eat More of It // deliciousobsessions.com #realfood #gelatin

Here are some of my newest recipes using gelatin that are not included above:

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