You know what’s the total pits? Insomnia. Especially the kind caused by stressing out about not being able to sleep. It’s its own form of cruel and unusual punishment. But whenever sleeplessness rears its ugly head, I turn to my natural medicine cabinet for relief.
Recently I’ve been having the best luck with melatonin, and when I saw melatonin gummies at the store, I knew they were onto something. No tea to brew, tinctures to swallow or pills to pop? Sign me up. And just like our tummy-soothing charcoal gummies and immune-boosting gummies, they’re fun to eat in addition to being functional.
Just eat a few of these cherry gummies at bedtime and you’re ready to catch some zzz’s. Oh, and the best part? You control the dosage and ingredients.
Melatonin Gummies
I have tried practically every insomnia remedy under the sun. My go-to used to be sleepy time tea because, guys, that stuff works. But between boiling the water, steeping the tea, letting it cool then waiting for it to kick in, I could never time it quite right. I was either falling asleep at 7 pm or midnight, neither of which were my goal. And melatonin capsules are great but the standard dose is 3mg and I don’t always want to take that much. A dab will do, so they say.
That’s what makes these single-dose gummies so perfect. They contain just enough melatonin to help you drift off to sleep, along with some sea salt for minerals and raw honey for a touch of sweetness. And you can choose any fruit juice you like for flavoring. Personally, I’m a fan of tart cherry juice because it’s rumored to have sleep-inducing properties. Plus, it’s super low in sugar so you don’t have to worry about getting a sugar high right before bed.
For my gummies, I worked out that 1 ounce of liquid melatonin would make about 100 gummies with 1 mg each. But your calculations might be different depending on the size of your molds and the brand of melatonin you buy. If you’re not exactly sure how much is in each gummy, always err on the safe side by using less melatonin.
Once made, it’s best to store these babies in an airtight container in the fridge. If properly refrigerated (and not stored on the kitchen counter) they should keep for two weeks. If you can’t possibly go through 100 gummies in that time, try halving or even quartering the recipe to make smaller batches.
Melatonin Gummies
Yield 100 gummies
Please note, the measurements used here are for a standard gummy bear sized mold and makes approximately 100 gummies. If you use a mold with larger cavities, you will need to adjust the amount of melatonin used to ensure that the 1mg/gummy dosage remains the same.
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups tart cherry juice
- ½ cup water
- 1/4 cup gelatin powder
- 3 tablespoons raw honey
- Pinch of sea salt
- 1 ounce liquid melatonin (I used Now Foods Liquid Melatonin which contains 3 mg melatonin for every 1/2 dropperful. Yours might be different.)
- Silicone gummy mold (each cavity should be about .7” x .5” or the size of a standard gummy bear mold to ensure proper dosage)
Instructions
- Mix juice and water in a small saucepan.
- Slowly mix the gelatin powder into the juice. Then add the honey and salt.
- Turn on low heat and gently whisk for 2-3 minutes until gelatin has dissolved.
- Remove from heat and add your melatonin.
- Pour into silicon molds and place in the refrigerator for 2 hours to harden.
- Remove from molds. Store in an air tight container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
- Adults should take 2-3 gummies and kids should take 1 gummy at bedtime.
19
what a fun way to get a sleep aid, or even other liquid vitamins or supplements, thank you for this very creative dose of medicine