Monday, January 30, 2012

Strawberry Chia Jam (sugar free)


I woke up this morning and decided to have have scrambled egg whites with assorted vegetables, (onions, mushrooms, tomatoes, zuchini, and bell peppers) with a slice of sprouted grain bread. I toasted the bread and when it came out of the toaster I thought, what am I going to put on my toast, butter, peanut butter and jam were all out, they are no no's in the primary phase of P.I.N.K So I set out to make a quick strawberry jam. I ended up just smashing a couple strawberries with a bit of stevia and spreading it on my toast. It tasted good but that "jam" was a little watery.


As I ate my toast, I kept thinking about ways in which I could thicken the strawberries to make it more jam like. I remembered reading about chia seeds a while back and how they were a natural thickener that were considered a super food, 1 tbsp contains 1/4 of your daily fiber, and they are jam packed with omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids. What is odd about them is that they absorb 7 to 8 times their weight in water and the seeds turn sort of gelatinous when they soak in water for about 30 minutes. I thought it might be the perfect thickening agent for my "jam" and while doing my grocery shopping today I picked some up and was pleased with the outcome of my jam. By the way, one of the main ways people used this seed is added to smoothies or mixed into oatmeal, I may try adding some to my PINK drink tomorrow because they are so packed with fiber, it should help me feel fuller longer. We will see and I will let you know what I think.

Strawberry Chia Jam
1 cup strawberries
1/2 cup water
stevia (optional, to taste)
1 to 2 tbsps. of chia seeds

Preparation




Put the strawberries, water, and stevia into a blender and puree but leave some chunks, this is a jam after all, not a jelly. I pureed mine a little to much.


Sprinkle the chia seeds onto the strawberry puree and stir to combine.


Let the strawberry and chia seed mixture sit for about 30 minutes so that they seeds absorb some of the liquid and thicken.


Store the "jam" in a container in the refrigerator for up to 7 days.


Enjoy!!  

2 comments:

  1. Awsome. I will try that on toast once I'm in primary. Thank you for posting recipes; it is very helpful.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Samantha,

      You are welcome...I hope you enjoy it!

      Delete

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