It’s no surprise to any of you my love for Vital Proteins. I am a big believer in collagen and have been a believer in it before the awesome and super cool brand VP was even on the market. (So for everyone who has commented on how annoying it is that another person is writing about the “hot” ingredient collagen…..I was writing, preaching and using it almost 8 years ago!).

Now, Vital Proteins is very good to me and sends me lots of product to play with and talk about. They sent me some of their grass fed beef gelatin a few months back and it’s just been hanging in my cupboard. I open the cabinet and see it and for week’s I have said to myself, every time I open that specific cabinet, “I should really do something with this.” Well, now’s the time! I had a client ask if we could make her a cleaner gummy bear and I said, “YES!!”

So I opened that giant container of gelatin and have been playing with gummy bear ingredients and flavors with my chefs for the past couple weeks now. It is definitely an experiment, sometimes the texture is too grainy, the flavor is lacking, it won’t gel, etc. But I think we are finally honing in on some of our favorite flavors.

The beauty of this is that it couldn’t be easier. It’s super clean with typically only 3 maybe 4 ingredients. Made with nutritious ingredients like honey and tea and sweetened with pure fruit juice these little babies are absolutely a better option than the store bought version!

Note: I love the recipe below, but if you want a stronger fruit or tea flavor simply steep more tea for a concentrated flavor and/or simmer the juice down slightly.

Happy Food is the Best Food!

xo, Kendra

Pomegranate Hibiscus Gummies

Ingredients are free from the top-14 allergens

gelatin is certified gluten and dairy free

• 1/2 c. pomegranate juice
• 1/4 c. hibiscus tea
• 3 T. honey, preferably raw and local
• 3 T. Vital Proteins Grass Fed Beef Gelatin*
• special equipment: silicone gummy molds

Directions

1. Place your silicone molds on a small, flat tray that will fit in your refrigerator.
2. Warm the pomegranate juice and hibiscus tea until simmering.
3. Whisk in the honey until completely melted.
4. Remove from heat and vigorously whisk in the gelatin until completely dissolved.
5. Pour into silicone molds and place in the refrigerator to chill about 30 minutes until totally set.
6. Pop out into a glass storage container and enjoy!

**the Vital Proteins gelatin is certified gluten and dairy free. The facility is free from peanuts and soy. They do process fish for their marine collagen and coconut for their creamer but clean and test equipment between.