What kid doesn’t love gummy snacks? This version features health boosting elderberry syrup, perfect for cold and flu season. Elderberry syrup is a staple in our home this time of year. Turning it into gummies is a fun (and less messy!) way for kids to enjoy elderberry.
These combine the immune boosting benefits of elderberry syrup with the gut benefits of gelatin. It’s a healthy and delicious way to beat the flu.
Elderberry Gummies Recipe
My kids love these! I had a hard time getting a nice picture at first since little hands kept touching them. While my kids love snacking on fruit gummies by the handful, keep in mind that these are more concentrated. Little ones only need a few at a time.
To make the recipe you’ll first need elderberry syrup. You can make your own or use store-bought. Some farmer’s markets now sell elderberry syrup too. My homemade version is different than most others and thinner because it uses raw honey instead of sugar. If you’re using store-bought that’s thick and syrupy you might want to dilute it 50/50 first with juice.
Health Benefits of Elderberry
Elderberry has recently become more of a household name and even celebrities have started mentioning it. However, elderberry has long been used to help ward off illness. More recently science has confirmed what traditional healers have known for thousands of years.
Most people use elderberry as a preventative, but it can help once you have a cold or flu too. Several meta-analyses have concluded elderberry can significantly reduce upper respiratory symptoms. Researchers also noted elderberry shows some anti-inflammatory effects. Plus, it can help shorten the duration and severity of colds and flus.
Here’s how to make homemade elderberry gummies that kids (and adults!) will love.
Elderberry Gummies Recipe
Servings
Equipment
- Gummy bear molds (or any other silicone mold)
Ingredients
- 1 tsp coconut oil
- 1 cup elderberry syrup
- ¼ cup gelatin powder
- ½ cup hot water (not boiling)
Instructions
- Grease molds or glass pan with coconut oil to prevent sticking.
- Place ¼ cup of cooled elderberry syrup in a 2 cup measuring cup and quickly whisk in the gelatin powder.
- Add the ½ cup of hot (not boiling) water and stir quickly until smooth.
- Add the rest of the elderberry syrup and stir or whisk until completely smooth.
- Pour into molds and refrigerate for 2 hours or until completely firm.
- Pop out of the molds and store in an airtight container with parchment paper between layers.
Nutrition
Notes
- Take daily as needed to potentially avoid viral illness. Take every few hours to help beat viral illness faster.
- These will last up to a week in the fridge in an airtight container. They could last longer, but I haven’t tried it since they never last that long at my house!
Serving Size and Dosage
How much you take really depends on which size molds you use. And since this is a food based remedy there’s much more margin for error with dosing (compared to OTC and prescription meds).
Every 1 Tablespoon and 2 and ¼ teaspoons of gummy liquid is equal to 1 Tablespoon of elderberry syrup. If you use gummy bear molds where each gummy bear is 4ml, that translates to roughly 6-7 gummy bears.
- Kids could take 1-2 gummy bears as needed
- Adults could take 3-6 gummy bears as needed
This is just an example though. If your molds are significantly larger, then eat less per serving. If they’re smaller, then eat a few more. Either way, they’re delicious!
What are some of your favorite ways to use elderberry? Leave a comment and let us know!
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