One of the things a lot of us (regardless of age) have a soft spot for is a yummy Peanut Butter & Jam Sandwich. My daughter loves PB&J for a snack and every once in a while requests it for her school lunch box. Over the last couple years, I have consciously started to eliminate refined sugar and processed foods that we would occasionally buy at the supermarket , which meant having to give up Jam :(
You might wonder what made me stop buying store-bought jam, here is why - the list of ingredients.
Corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup and fruit syrup are among the first four ingredients listed on the label. That is an insane amount of refined and processed sugars. Some brands also add artificial colours to enhance the colour of their product.
After doing a bit of research and experimentation I finally have settled on this recipe because it has yielded the most consistent results + it is vegan (no gelatin) + has my favourite superfood (chia seeds) + is actually healthy AND is made using only THREE ingredients! Hooray!
It is so delicious and immensely satisfying, that I use the exact same recipe for making blueberry or raspberry jam too! Seriously, try it and I absolutely guarantee you will never look at store bought jam ever again :)
Ingredients:
- 2 cups diced fresh strawberries
- 1.5 to 2 tbsp Chia seeds
- 1 to 2 tbsp Coconut flower nectar / or / Honey
Method:
1.) Place the chopped strawberries and coconut flower nectar in a saucepan and cook over a gentle heat till the fruit releases its natural juices and softens. Mash the fruit gently using a wooden spoon and continue cooking over gentle heat till the mixture is slightly thickened.
2.) Add the chia seeds to saucepan and give everything a good mix. Switch off the heat and transfer the jam into a bottle / mason jar and leave it on a counter to cool down to room temperature. The jam will thicken as the chia seeds absorb the juices.
3.) Once the bottle has cooled down, pop it into the fridge to chill. The jam will continue to thicken over the next few hours.
Done! Once the jam has thickened to your liking, slather it on to some warm toast or on delicious home-made pancakes and enjoy!
Tip for kids who might not like "chunky" jam:
Puree the chopped strawberries along with honey/ coconut flower nectar prior to cooking. Use 3 to 3.5 tbsp of chia seeds as the fruit puree has a higher liquid content. The rest of the cooking process remains the same :)
