Psyllium Husk Gummies

When trying to get more fiber in my diet without adding a lot of calories, I stumbled upon psyllium husk powder, which has 30 calories and 7g of fiber per tablespoon. It does not dissolve well in water, and I thought it might be possible to dissolve it in boiling water, only to find that when you put it in boiling water it pretty quickly forms a thick gelatin-like substance, which is actually edible. By putting some flavorings in it, I’ve found it makes a decent snack (and a reasonable way to deliver creatine, which dissolves much better in hot water than it cold water).

Green psyllium husk gummies
A batch of psyllium husk gummies dyed green with a dark gel food coloring. More recent batches have come out with a smoother consistency than this.

Ingredients Link to heading

  • 2-3 tbsp Psyllium Husk Powder
  • 1 ⅓ cup water
  • Water flavor enhancer
  • Food coloring (optional)
  • Parchament paper (optional)
  • Gallon freezer bag (optional)

Directions Link to heading

  1. Boiling / warm water methods Start a kettle of water boiling.

  2. Spread out the psyllium husk powder in a smooth medium-to-large bowl. Mix in any optional powdered flavorings like powdered sweeteners or spices as desired.

  3. In a large mug, mix any flavorings together with 1⅓ cup water. If you want the gummies to be a specific color, add the food coloring now. There are at least 3 methods for this:

    1. The easiest way to go is to use 1⅓ cups boiling water, but this may cause your gummies to “set” too quickly, leading to an undesirably lumpy consistency.

    2. If you want to add something that dissolves well in boiling water and not cold water (e.g. creatine monohydrate), but you are having trouble with lumpiness, add ⅔ cup boiling water and dissolve anything that needs dissolving, then add ⅓ cup cold or ice water, and possibly 1-2 ice cubes to cool the mixture down (remove any ice cubes that are not melted before moving on to the next step).

    3. If all your flavorings and additives are easily water soluble in cold water, simply use 1⅓ cups of cold water.

  4. Caution: This step can happen very fast, so be prepared.

    When your water mixture has been prepared, quickly and vigorously pour it into the psyllium husk mixture. Especially when using boiling water, the mixture can “set” very quickly, and once it starts to thicken it will become nearly impossible to homogenize any undissolved psyllium husk, so you should focus on getting as much dried psyllium husk incorporated into the water as possible before that happens. It will happen much more slowly with cold water, but when cold water is used the method to make the gummies is a bit more elaborate.

  5. Cold / warm water methods If what you have isn’t a thick gelatin-like substance (which will likely be the case with cold and warm water), take the bowl and place it in the microwave for 45-60 seconds to thicken it. It will likely not come out amazingly thick.

  6. Cold / warm water methods (optional with boiling water method) To further thicken the gummies, place the mixture into a gallon freezer bag and flatten it out into a thin layer, then place the bag in the freezer for 3-5 minutes. If the gummy mixture feels “sticky” after the previous step (adhering to utensils, etc), you should do this step until that is no longer really the case.

  7. Remove the mixture from the bag and place on a cutting board. Cut into desired shape for consumption (I usually cut it into ~ 1"×1" squares).

  8. (Optional) Place the gummies on sheets of parchment paper and stack in a tupperware container. Store in refrigerator.

Notes Link to heading

I usually prepare 3 days’ worth of gummies at a time — it’s somewhat time consuming to do so, but once I’m in the swing of things I can turn them out pretty quickly. I would not advise doing a single huge batch for multiple days for the following reasons:

  1. The homogenization step is difficult enough, and I find that this ratio of ingredients is about at the limit of the amount of stuff I can mix together by hand before the mixture sets.

  2. It would be difficult (though not impossible) to add food coloring after the gummies have been prepared, and I like to store 2-3 days’ worth of gummies in a single container — if I make each day’s gummies a different color, I know when I’ve finished a whole day’s worth of fiber.

I would definitely prefer to make larger batches if I could solve these challenges.