Raspberry Chia Seed Jam

Hey friends!

I made a new discovery: Chia seeds.
 

From my instagram @middlemuse

No, they're not bird feed, as my dad loves to joke, they're a super food! In the past I've been a little skeptical of so-called "super" foods: acai berries, anyone? The name itself is so pretentious. And, they don't even taste that nice! Blah, blah, blah...*end rant*

Anyways. Chia seeds are a pretty cool food. I read up on them on various blogs/websites but for the sake of credibility I found some good sources, like the USDA (I'll link all my sources at the bottom). According to my research *pushes glasses up nose*, these bad boys are a nutritional power house. Not only are they full of healthy omega-3 fatty acids, carbohydrates, antioxidants, fiber, and calcium, they're a complete protein, meaning that they have all nine of the essential amino acids, a vegan's dream. While I'm not actually a vegetarian or vegan, I'm definitely trying to eat more "clean" foods this year, and these are a great ingredient for that! I found mine at Target, but you can also find them online or at Whole Foods (correct me if I'm wrong).

Ok, on to the good stuff. How do I incorporate it into my diet? Another great aspect about Chia Seeds is that they don't really have a flavor, so you can really incorporate them into most foods and even drinks...you wouldn't believe all the ways they can be used in cooking and baking. Smoothies, pudding, muffins, oatmeal, salads, meat balls, and much more. So far I've only tried out two different recipes, but you can find more here. The one I'm writing about today is a crazy delicious raspberry jam. To be honest, I'm not usually a jam girl. Too sugary for my normal breakfast cravings, and waaay too sticky. But alas, I thought, why not? The results were not only healthy, but also very appetizing. Unfortunately, I totally failed on the picture front (unless you love low quality, off-center pics), but you can find the blog post that I found the recipe on (which incidentally has lots of amazing pictures of it) here!

The great thing about this recipe is that you could really mix it up and use any type of berry/berries that you wanted and still get a great result. The sky's the limit!

To make the jam, you'll need:

• 1 cup raspberries
• 1 tbsp chia seeds + 2 tbsp water
• 2 tbsp honey

Put the seeds and water in a small bowl to soak for 10 minutes. They will form a weird but awesome gelatinous texture which will bind together your jam.

While the seeds are soaking, put your raspberries and honey into the blender.

Once the 10 minutes are up, add the chia seeds and water mix and blend until everything is combined.

If you prefer a thicker texture, leave it in the fridge for a few hours and it'll thicken nicely.


And you're done! No added sugar or bad ingredients. I had it on my dad's homemade wheat bread. Yum! Enjoy your delicious jam and come back soon for some exciting news :)





*Sources here, here, here, here, and here
*Everything used was either bought by me or my lovely parental units and all opinions are my own.