Homemade Gummy Vitamins That Kids Love

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Wellness Mama » Blog » Natural Remedies » Homemade Gummy Vitamins That Kids Love

I get a lot of questions about how I get my kids to take vitamins. While mine will just take their fish oil, probiotics, and magnesium without a problem … it got me thinking.

I combined one of their favorite natural snacks (homemade gummy bears) with vitamins. The result are these healthy, gut-boosting, and kid-friendly multivitamin gummies.

Why We Need Vitamins

Decades ago we only had to eat a well-rounded diet low in processed foods and added sugar to get the nutrients we needed. Now, things are a little more complicated. Unless you’re growing everything you eat in really nutrient-dense soil (or buying from someone who does), food just doesn’t have the essential nutrients it used to.

In fact, fruits and veggies have less than 50% of the essential vitamins and minerals they used to. And even then there are certain nutrients no longer in the American food supply. We need these nutrients to help our immune system, to protect against heart disease, and for overall wellness.

As a mom, I’m more targeted in my approach to nutrition with my kids. We get vitamin D from the sun and vitamin A from fish oil. My kids also like taking healthy, non-GMO, and gluten-free vitamin supplements (without added sugar!) like this one. Adding an extra nutrient boost from homemade gummy vitamins is a fun way to pack more nutrition into their day!

Gut Soothing Gelatin

These rely on gelatin for their texture. Not only is it a good source of collagen, but it helps with healthier hair, skin, and nails. Gelatin is also a big plus when it comes to our gut health. As Hippocrates reportedly claimed many years ago “All disease begins in the gut.” Science is continuing to confirm how important our gut health is for overall health!

A healthy gut has health benefits that include immune support and better mental health.

One caution: If your kids aren’t regularly drinking bone broth (they should be!) then start slow and only give them a few of these at a time. Their guts may need time to adjust or they could have a little loose stool. Gelatin has a soothing effect on the digestive system.

Customize Your Gummy Vitamins

You can add different vitamins and nutrients here depending on your preference. Keep in mind that these won’t have a full spectrum of nutrients like premade dietary supplements or prenatal vitamins though. Certain oil-based vitamins, like vitamin E and fish oil also won’t mix in very well.

Making your own chewable vitamins means you can skip the sugar alcohols, additives, and corn syrup sweeteners found in many gummy supplements.

I can think of endless uses for these, but these are the ones I’ve tried so far. You can make different fruit flavors by changing out the juice.

  • Adding vitamin C Powder and using lemon juice to make sour vitamin C gummies for immune health.
  • Adding probiotics with a fresh juice base to make GAPS friendly gummy vitamins
  • Using homemade elderberry syrup as a base to make flu-busting chewable vitamins
  • Adding Natural Calm for chewable magnesium vitamins
  • Just making regular flavors and putting them in cute molds to make gummy snacks. They’re nut-free and sometimes approved for school activities.

You can also try adding some calcium powder (along with magnesium and vitamin D). A B complex vitamin with vitamin B6, vitamin B12, biotin, and folate (not folic acid), is also a good option.

I use probiotics from Just Thrive because they’re proven to make it to the gut (unlike many others). In general, if your probiotics need refrigerated and can’t stand any heat, they won’t make it past your stomach acid. They even have a kid’s probiotic gummy that my kids love!

Choosing Your Juice

Most store-bought juices have a shocking amount of added grams of sugar. They’re often flavored sugar water concoctions. Fresh pressed is the best option, but if you need a store-bought option look for something that’s just organic juice. No added sugars, flavors, or dyes.

Pineapple juice doesn’t work in these because it has bromelain, a digestive enzyme that breaks down protein. Great for digestion, but not so great when you’re trying to make gelatin gel. I’ve found it gives them a weird slimy texture and doesn’t work. Papaya has the same problem here.

Our favorite fresh juice combinations are mango/orange, lemon/lime (sour), or elderberry syrup as the base. They’re full of antioxidants and vitamin C, and taste delicious!

If you’re short on time or can’t make chewable vitamins, Hiya would be my next choice. They have clean ingredients and a wide variety of what kids need.

gummy vitamins

How to Make Gummy Vitamins

Homemade chewable gummy vitamins are a great way to give kids some extra protein and make their vitamins delicious and easy to take!
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cooling Time 2 hours
Total Time 2 hours 5 minutes
Calories 19kcal
Author Katie Wells

Servings

16 servings

Equipment

Ingredients

  • 8 tsp gelatin
  • 1 cup juice
  • 2 TBSP  honey (optional)
  • 2 tsp vitamins of choice (vitamin C, probiotics, magnesium, etc.)

Instructions

  • Combine the juice, vitamins or probiotics, and honey in a small saucepan.
  • Sprinkle the gelatin over the top and allow it to bloom for about 1 minute.
  • Heat slightly over low heat until gelatin is completely dissolved, about 2 minutes. It will be thick and somewhat syrup-like.
  • Quickly pour the mixture into molds or a small glass dish lightly oiled with coconut oil.
  • Place the molds in the fridge for several hours or until firm. The exact time depends on the size of your molds.
  • Remove and pop out of molds. Cut into squares if needed.

Nutrition

Nutrition Facts
How to Make Gummy Vitamins
Amount Per Serving (1 gummy)
Calories 19
% Daily Value*
Fat 0.02g0%
Saturated Fat 0.004g0%
Polyunsaturated Fat 0.01g
Monounsaturated Fat 0.002g
Sodium 5mg0%
Potassium 17mg0%
Carbohydrates 3g1%
Fiber 0.04g0%
Sugar 3g3%
Protein 2g4%
Vitamin A 0.2IU0%
Vitamin C 0.1mg0%
Calcium 2mg0%
Iron 0.05mg0%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Notes

If your gummies aren’t coming out of the molds easily, pop them in the freezer for a few minutes first. Don’t leave them in for too long though or it will ruin the texture.
Nutrition data doesn’t include added supplements.

Like this recipe? Check out my new cookbook, or get all my recipes (over 500!) in a personalized weekly meal planner here!

Figuring Out Dose

Since these are more like food, I’m not too concerned with the exact dosage. If you want to know how much your kids are getting, here’s an easy way to figure it out. Take the mg or mcg of the vitamin you used and divide by the number of servings.

For example, say you added 400% DV vitamin C. If you used fun gummy molds and ended up with 20 vitamin gummies, divide 400 by 20. This ends up being 20% DV vitamin C per gummy. An even easier way is to make these in a square glass dish and cut the gummies into squares. You can do this calculation for each vitamin added.

Ever made your own vitamins or supplements? What combinations would you add? Let me know below!

DIY chewable vitamins are a wonderful natural alternative to store bough versions. Easy to make and you can customize to your child's needs.
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Katie Wells Avatar

About Katie Wells

Katie Wells, CTNC, MCHC, Founder of Wellness Mama and Co-founder of Wellnesse, has a background in research, journalism, and nutrition. As a mom of six, she turned to research and took health into her own hands to find answers to her health problems. WellnessMama.com is the culmination of her thousands of hours of research and all posts are medically reviewed and verified by the Wellness Mama research team. Katie is also the author of the bestselling books The Wellness Mama Cookbook and The Wellness Mama 5-Step Lifestyle Detox.

Comments

302 responses to “Homemade Gummy Vitamins That Kids Love”

  1. Dani Avatar

    Can you use baobab powder for an immune boosting gummy? And also can we sub a fruit purée instead of juice?

  2. Andrea Avatar

    How would you make these using fish oil for omega-3 gummies? I definitely want to make my own, but I’m not sure how the oil would mix in.

  3. Sarah Avatar

    I am curious why it says no pineapple juice (not that I like it much). Is that because of the sugar content?

  4. Sandi Avatar

    Making your exact recipe with 2 tsp of vitamin c powdered form how much vitamin c is in each gummy? I’m trying to wrap my head around how much to give my kids per day.?
    Thanks in advance

  5. Sandi Avatar

    Thank you for your recipe! Cannot wait to try it out for my kids! If using vitamin C powder I saw you said to add 2 teaspoons per batch so my question if using 2 teaspoons per batch would that include two gummy’s per day or one for kids?

  6. lilly Avatar

    I’ve tried this recipe with Vital Proteins and Great Lakes Gelatin and found better results with Great Lakes Gelatin. I contacted GLG company and they answered all my questions in regards to quality and their cattle (Pastured-Raised and Grass-Fed). The price with GLG is definitely more affordable and you get more for your money. Also, this company has been around since 1922 and they are a family owned company. Vital Proteins is more marketing than actually quality to me. I trust a company that has been around more than any new company that is focused more on pushing their products with marketing tools.

    1. Katie Wells Avatar

      I’ve tried and used both for years. While Great Lakes is an excellent company, I’ve found Vital Proteins and Primal Kitchen to work better in most recipes…

  7. Katie Avatar

    Hi! I am going to try these recipes! How do I know how much powdered vitamin/probiotics to use in the recipe for toddlers? I have adult vitamin capsules I sometimes break open in smoothie and share three ways as a guess. Thought I’d ask in case there was a better way than guessing! Haha thank you for sharing the recipe and idea 🙂

    1. Sandi Cormier Avatar
      Sandi Cormier

      Because pineapple does not gel well. I think that’s the reason
      Wellness mama?

  8. Catherine Avatar

    I want to make Mg gummies for my kids before bed. How do you determine proper dosage?

  9. Melody Avatar

    I used this base to make iron gummies with elemental liquid iron and powdered vitamin C in Apple juice (our LO is a little low on iron and she wouldn’t take the iron orally because it looks funny, tastes fine). She loves them!!! Thank you!!!

  10. Stephanie Avatar

    Hi Katie 🙂 Wondering if you could please help me? I’m wanting to know at what age did you start supplementing your babies with vitamin c? I have a 9 month old (still breastfeeding) who takes 1/2tsp of elderberry syrup a day but would it be beneficial for me to give her some additional vitamin c powder as well? What age would you typically start supplementing? Thank you so much.

  11. Jaime Ortiz Avatar
    Jaime Ortiz

    5 stars
    Hi! I want to try and make the magnesium vitamins. How much magnesium would I add to this recipe? Thanks.

  12. Juli Avatar

    5 stars
    These look amazing, but I was wondering how to alter it to tailor fit my children’s needs? We live in the PNW and some of us are deficient in vitamin D and iron. They also need magnesium. I have both vitamin D drops and ionic iron drops. What would you suggest?

  13. Joanna Avatar

    I’m planning to make the vitamin gummies but I’m not sure how much vit C or magnesium to put on it??

  14. Joanna Avatar

    I’m planning to make the vitamin gummies but I’m not sure how much vit C or magnesium to put on it??

  15. Vee Avatar

    This is a great idea! But Im just wondering if the heat will damage probiotics?

  16. Carmela Avatar
    Carmela

    Hi there. Why won’t pineapple juice work? I was planning on using an orange pineapple and I’m curious why thisnwont work.

    1. Cath Avatar

      Hi, not sure how old this thread is, but some fruits won’t gel because of their enzymes. This includes pineapple, papaya and (I think) kiwi fruit. Yeah, I tried to make papaya jello once and it didn’t set!

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