Home Made ChiaBerry Jam

Confession: I never have jam at my house. We are not a Pb&J family. We are more like a Nutella family (I blame my German upbringing). So whenever my dad comes to visit and wants some jam, I buy a store bought jar and he is literally the only person that ever eats it. So it sits in the door of my fridge for God knows how long. Does jam expire? Heck if I know but fast forward to last weekend when he came to visit and I was out of jam… uhooo

I recently saw a recipe about berries and chia seeds and thought it would be a perfect opportunity to try it! Check out this super simple recipe below and adjust the quantities based on what you need. I made a very small batch since only one person needed jam, but if you are a PB&J lovin’ family and don’t want all the added preservatives and sugars from store bought jam, check this out below!

Ingredients:

• 8oz of fresh or frozen fruit (Chopped up)
• 1 tablespoon of chia seeds
• 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of lemon juice
• 1-3 tablepoons of honey or agave (optional)

Instructions:

• Place the fresh or frozen fruit in a medium saucepan and cook for 5 minutes on medium high heat.
• Take a potato masher and smash fruit into smaller chunks while the fruit is heating up and slightly thicker
• If you don’t like larger chunks in your jam, you can get an immersion blender and make it super smooth!
• Remove from heat and stir in your chia seeds.
• Add your lemon juice and taste. Depending on what fruit you used, you may want a little more lemon juice to offset the sweetness
• If you have a sweet tooth, feel free to add the honey or agave as needed. A little goes a long way so add one tablespoon at a time.
• I use small glass containers to store mine in but feel free to use whatever container you’d like.
• It is good for a week or so in the fridge and you can also freeze it for up to 3 months. Just thaw in the fridge the night before you want to use it.

I used a mixed fruit frozen bag to make mine and my dad highly approved of my concoction! Feel free to try it with whatever your favorite jam combination is. The juicier the fruit, the more chia seeds you may have to add *(I.e Peaches etc) Enjoy!