Tasty Thursday: Homemade gummy fruit snacks for toddlers (and all kids at heart)

Jul 5, 2012 by christaallard

(Hi readers! I may look a lot like our usual Tasty Thursday blogger, but it’s me, Christa Allard, filling in this week!)

I made all of Nora’s baby food when she started on solids. I’d lovingly steam, purée and serve her fresh fruits and veggies, enjoying the simplicity of the process and the cuisine. I did this less out of a concern of feeding her processed foods and more because of economics – one sweet potato could feed even my voracious babe for an entire week. Skipping the jarred purées was a no brainier.

I then came to appreciate the fact that I knew exactly what was in Nora’s food. Don’t get me wrong; she’ll enjoy her fair share of toddler treats and sleepover junk food in due time, now that her palate is expanding. But my husband and I cook meals for ourselves every day (we rarely eat out), so why wouldn’t I make Nora’s food, too?

Thanks to a mom’s best friend, Pinterest, I’ve found numerous ideas for homemade foods and treats that I’d like to try my hand at for Nora’s meals, now that she’s well past purées. One of my latest experiments was homemade fruit snacks. I mean, seriously, why would I not try this??

Gummy Fruit Snacks

Here’s what you need:

1 cup mixed berries (I used raspberries and blueberries because they were in season and on sale)
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup applesauce (Nora’s unsweetened version is what we had on hand)
1/2 cup fruit juice (I chose a 100% juice pomegranate/cranberry/blueberry blend)
2 envelopes gelatin (1 envelope = 2 1/2 tsp)

Here’s what to do:

In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the berries and water.  Bring to a boil and cook until berries are soft, about 5 minutes.

Transfer to a blender or use an immersion blender to purée berries until smooth.  Return to pot.  Add applesauce and return to a boil, then remove from heat; cover and set aside.

In a large bowl, sprinkle gelatin over fruit juice and let stand one minute.  Add hot fruit mixture and stir until gelatin completely dissolves, 3 to 5 minutes.

Pour into 8 x 8 inch glass or ceramic baking dish.  Refrigerate until firm, about 3 hours.

Cut into blocks or shapes.

These fruity treats weren’t like the fruit snacks you’d get out of a box, but instead had the consistency of canned cranberry sauce. This was because of the gelatin, but that was okay by me. I thought they were yummy! But, did Nora?

She gave it a try…

…did she like it?

… You betcha!

Read what this recipe’s original blogger had to say about her trial run here. 

• Bio
• Latest Posts

christaallard

First-time mom Christa lives in Wethersfield with her husband Ryan and daughter, Nora, born May 10, 2011. As if the newness of motherhood wasn’t enough of a challenge, Christa left her job when her daughter was born to follow a dream and accepted a position as cheerleading coach for Rocky Hill High School. She also continues her work in communications, specializing in online and social media, and is a steering committee member of the Young Women’s Leadership Program, a project of the state’s Permanent Commission on the Status of Women. Christa is excited to explore the ways she can contribute to her family and the community in this new role as working mother.

Latest posts by christaallard (see all)

• Parents: An anthropological study - May 17, 2013
• Home is where Mom is - May 10, 2013
• Lost and found - May 3, 2013
• When the time is right - April 26, 2013
• Hitting my mommy stride - April 19, 2013

Be Sociable, Share This!

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
•