I often get asked how I convince my kids to take their vitamins. Luckily, mine have no issue with taking their fish oil, probiotics, and magnesium. But it got me thinking of a fun way to combine their favorite snack—homemade gummy bears—with their vitamins. This is how I came up with these healthy multivitamin gummies that are great for gut health and perfect for kids.
In the past, just eating a balanced diet with minimal processed foods and sugar was enough to get all the nutrients we needed. Nowadays, unless you’re growing your food in rich soil, it’s tough to get the full range of essential nutrients. Fruits and veggies today have less than half of the vitamins and minerals they used to. Some nutrients are even missing from the typical American diet. These are crucial for a strong immune system, heart health, and overall wellness.
As a mom, I focus on specific nutrients for my kids. We get vitamin D from the sun, and vitamin A through fish oil, and we like taking vitamin supplements that are healthy, non-GMO, and gluten-free without added sugar. These homemade gummy vitamins are a fun way to boost their daily nutrition!
These gummies use gelatin for texture, which is not only a great source of collagen but also promotes healthier hair, skin, and nails. Gelatin is also beneficial for gut health. As Hippocrates reportedly said, “All disease begins in the gut,” and modern science is recognizing the importance of gut health for overall wellness. A healthy gut can support immunity and improve mental health.
If your kids aren’t used to drinking bone broth, start them with a small number of gummies at a time. Their digestive system might need some time to adjust to the gelatin, which has a calming effect.
You can add different vitamins to these gummies based on what you prefer. Just remember, these won’t cover as broad a nutrient spectrum as some pre-made supplements or prenatal vitamins. Oil-based vitamins like vitamin E and fish oil don’t mix well in these gummies.
Making your own gummies means you can avoid the sugar alcohols, additives, and corn syrup found in many commercial gummies. You can experiment with various fruit flavors by switching up the juice. You might also consider adding calcium powder, magnesium, and vitamin D, or even a B complex vitamin with B6, B12, biotin, and folate.
I prefer using Just Thrive probiotics because they’re effective at reaching the gut, unlike many that require refrigeration and don’t survive stomach acid. They even have a kid-friendly probiotic gummy that my children enjoy!
Be cautious with store-bought juices, as they often contain high levels of added sugars and are merely flavored sugar water. Fresh-pressed juice is best, but if you need to buy juice, opt for something that’s just organic juice without any added sugars, flavors, or dyes. Pineapple juice isn’t suitable for this recipe since it contains bromelain, an enzyme that interferes with gelatin. Papaya has a similar issue.
Our favorite fresh juice combinations are mango/orange, lemon/lime (for a sour kick), or elderberry syrup as the base, which are packed with antioxidants and vitamin C, and taste amazing!
If you’re pressed for time and can’t make these gummies, Hiya vitamins are a solid alternative with clean ingredients covering a range of kids’ needs.
If you like this idea, you might enjoy my new cookbook, or explore my collection of over 500 recipes with a personalized weekly meal planner!
Since these gummies are more like food, I don’t stress about precise dosing. To get an idea of how much your kids are consuming, take the total mg or mcg of the vitamin you used, and divide it by the number of servings. For example, if you used 400% of the Daily Value for vitamin C and made 20 gummies, divide 400 by 20 to get 20% DV of vitamin C per gummy. Or, make the gummies in a square glass dish and cut them into chunks to do this math for each added vitamin.
Have you ever tried making your own vitamins or supplements? What flavors would you try? Let me know!
