Easy Peasy Strawberry Chia Jam

June has arrived, and so has strawberry season!  I love strawberries - always have and always will. But more than eating strawberries, I enjoy picking them. I tried to grow them in my backyard a few years ago, and they definitely grew, but they took up half my garden, so I removed them and placed them in planters.  However, they sadly didn't survive in the planters, and they died through the winter months.  I may try again, but in the meantime, I'll find a local organic farm and pick some with my kiddies. When we go strawberry picking, we pick a fair amount, and there's only so many you can eat, so I thought I'd share a few recipes to help you figure out what to do with all the strawberry goodness if you happen to go picking.  This was the first recipe that came to mind.  Actually, I have to confess that this is the first time I made the recipe myself.  I'm not really a jam lover, but my youngest LOVES strawberry jam, so I thought why not give this chia jam a try.  I've made regular jam in the past, but it calls for way too much sugar and what I love most about this recipe is that you don't even need to add sugar! I added 1 tablespoon of monk fruit to please my daughter's palate, but honestly, this can be skipped altogether because the strawberries are sweet enough once you cook them down.   I'm familiar with making jam, and I'm very familiar with chia seeds, so I improvised and came up with this quick recipe.  All you need is some strawberries, chia seeds, lemon juice, and sweetener of choice.  We also added vanilla because we love vanilla around here, and it definitely adds a nice touch to the jam.

To make the jam, wash, de-stem, and slice strawberries in half.  Place all ingredients outside of chia seeds, including strawberries, monk fruit, vanilla, and lemon juice, in a small stainless steel pot over medium heat. You may want to add a couple of tablespoons of water if needed until the strawberries release their juices.  Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and allow to simmer for 5-10 minutes until the mixture thickens and begins to bubble. Once the desired thickness is achieved, stir in the chia seeds. Allow the chia seeds to thicken the mixture, allowing it to rest for a minimum of two hours. Serve immediately or place in an airtight jar and refrigerate once cooled. This keeps well in the fridge, up to two weeks.

I hope you give this a try and enjoy it as much as we do!

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Easy Peasy Strawberry Chia Jam

Yield: 1 cup

Author: Lara

Prep time: 5 MinCook time: 10 MinTotal time: 15 Min

Strawberry jam ready in under ten minutes! Yummy and healthy.

Ingredients

• 2 cups of fresh or frozen strawberries
• 1 Tbsp monk fruit (or sweetener of choice)
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 1 1/2 Tbsp chia seeds

Instructions

1. If using fresh strawberries, wash, de-stem, and slice into two. Place all ingredients outside of chia seeds in a small stainless steel pot over medium heat. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 5-10 minutes until the mixture thickens and begins to bubble. Once the desired thickness is achieved, stir in the chia seeds. Allow the chia seeds to thicken the mixture, allowing it to rest for a minimum of two hours. Serve immediately or place in an airtight jar and refrigerate once cooled.
2. This keeps well in the fridge, up to 2 weeks.

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