Plus fruit gummies and other variations. Suitable for Paleo, GAPS, Clean Eating, low sugar
We first started making this protein slice a few years ago, as a way to make cod liver oil a more palatable supplement. One of our customers came up with the prototype recipe, and I’ve tweaked it a few ways since.
If you leave the cod liver oil out, it becomes a yummy, high protein snack bar.
It’s a firm jelly texture, so a bit more interesting than your usual protein bar.
One of its beneficial ingredients is coconut oil – the healthy fat component. If you’ve tried my healthy chocolate recipe, or experimented yourself with coconut based snack bars, you’ll know that a major disadvantage is that it melts if you try and carry it about. But in this combo, it’s more stable.
The protein comes from beef or pork gelatin. If you’re strict vegetarian, you’ll have to wait for some of my other snack bars. But if you’re not, I prefer gelatin as a protein source to many of the processed protein powders.
The added benefit of gelatin is that is helps to heal the gut.
Chocolate Gelatin Protein Bars
• 1 cup water
• 3 Tbs Great Lakes beef or pork gelatin (red or orange cans) *
• About ½ cup honey, maple syrup, or other natural sweetener (or reduce quantity for your taste)
• 4 Tbs / ¼ cup / 50 gm coconut oil
• ½ cup / 50gm raw cacao (or cocoa) powder
Put the water in a medium sized pan. Sprinkle the gelatin over the top, bit by bit, letting it absorb into the water. If any stays dry, mix it in with a whisk. When it has softened and gone thick, heat the water gently, stirring till the gelatin has dissolved. Take off the heat and add the honey and coconut oil, stirring till dissolved. Whisk in the cacao. Put into a tray lined with baking paper and refrigerate. When set, cut into squares. Keeps in the fridge, in a lidded container, for at least a week.
* You can use any other brand of gelatin, but the quantity required may be different.
Carob Protein Bars (sugar free option)
• Replace the cacao with 50gm carob powder.
• Carob is naturally sweet, so you can reduce (or even eliminate) the sweetener
• Optional – 25gm of mesquite powder makes it a bit caramelly
Pimp Your Gelatin Slice
If you’re on a restricted diet, and want a portable dessert-like snack to take to functions where you might not be able to eat much, one of the first two versions might be best for you.
But there are lots of ways to make it more exciting. Try adding one or more of:
• Orange or lemon zest or extract
• Peppermint essence
• Dried fruit
• Freeze dried fruit – cherries or raspberries would be particularly nice
The gelatin bar in the photo is carob with ¼ cup currants stirred in, & crushed freeze dried raspberries on top
Fortify Your Gelatin Slice
If you take liquid supplements of any kind, they can be hidden, or at least diluted by adding them to this slice.
Here are some suggestions for incorporating either Green Pasture or NutraPro cod or skate liver oil (the ones we use) into a gelatin slice. But the same process can be used for any other brands of cod liver oil, fish oils, liquid vitamins (we often add liquid B vitamins), liquid minerals or any other liquid supplement.
• Make either the chocolate or carob basic recipe
• Let it cool down in the pan to about body temperature, but not so cool that it’s set.
• Whisk in 4-8 Tbs cod or skate liver oil (depending on how strong you can handle it) before pouring into the prepared tray. Suggested flavours:
o For Jaffa, use either Green Pasture CLO Oslo Orange OR Skate Spicy Orange
o For Choc Cinnamon, use Green Pasture CLO Cinnamon
o For Choc Orange Cinnamon, use ½ Cinnamon and ½ Skate Spicy Orange, to get the benefits of both oils
o For Choco Mint, use NutraPro Lemon/Peppermint
• When set, cut into 24-48 pieces, which will each have 1/2 tsp of oil
Gummy Citrus Stars
• 1/3 cup lemon juice (about 3 large lemons) – you could actually use any citrus juice
• 3 Tbs gelatin
• 3 Tbs honey
Put the lemon juice in a small pan and sprinkle the gelatin on top. When it’s softened add the honey, and stir all together over a low heat till the gelatin is dissolved.
You can pour it into a glass dish, put in the fridge till set, then cut it up into squares.
Or you can use chocolate moulds. Put them in the freezer for a while, then into the fridge. I use the pointy end of a sharp knife to prise a corner out, and then peeled each one out. This amount made about 24 gummies.
Other Gummies
A New Zealand blogger recently posted these great variations, different fruit flavours, plus a coconut milk variation – a rainbow of gummy bears
Marshmallow
And for even more marshmallowy variation, here’s a recipe from another NZ website
Thanks for reading, and enjoy!
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Some of my previous posts:
RECIPES AND KITCHEN TIPS: Choc Blackcurrant Smoothie ~ Paleo Cottage Pie ~ Feijoa Pear Smoothie ~ Grain free, dairy free Pumpkin & Cashew Bread ~ Tip for storing ginger & tumeric ~ Grain Free Banana Cashew muffins ~ Warming winter soup ~ Healthy Chocolate & Fudge ~ Jerky with vegetables ~ BREAKFAST ideas ~ For MORE RECIPES and my 15 step Whole Food cooking course, see my recipe website.
HEALTH AND NUTRITION: The wide variety of healthy diets out and what they have in common ~ The travels of Weston A Price and his discoveries about healthy diets ~ Good fats vs bad fats ~ DNA testing for better health & Fitness ~ DNA testing part 2: How Well Do I Digest Carbs? ~ DNA testing Part 3: I can’t eat Carbs & How to Manage that ~ About the Gut & Psychology syndrome (GAPS) diet Part 1 ~ GAPS diet Part 2: Foods we can’t have ~ GAPS diet Part 3: Foods we CAN have ~ GAPS diet Part 4: What if I can’t eat some animal foods ~ Salicylate intolerances ~ Thoughts about Breast Health ~ I’ve got a cold & how to handle it ~ Sleep like a kitten Part 1 – 3 tips ~ Sleep Well Part 2 – What’s your sleeping style? ~ Sleep Well Part 3 – Resetting your body clock
THOUGHTS ABOUT LIFE: My Intro ~ Are there kiwis in the house? ~ Benefits of joining a community choir ~ My grandmother’s legacy ~ Steemit in downtown Wellington ~ Overcoming my fears ~ Observations from a bus ~ The brandy snap maker ~ Wearable Arts Award Show