Raspberry Chia Jam – the most delicious and healthiest jam ever!

The credit for this delicious natural homemade jam really goes to my daughter.

The other day when we were picking fresh raspberries from our bushes in the side of the house, picking some to go to the basket, some to go into the mouth… all the while talking about unicorns and fairies (you know, the usual stuff moms and their 5 year-old-daughters talk about)… In between all that important stuff, she looked down into her little basket and exclaimed that we have so much! Yes, I said, what should we do with them?

“Mommy, can we make jam?” with a big smile she asked.

How can you say no to that little request that is so simple, delicious and precious all at the same time… So we went off to our kitchen – and we made Jam!

Here’s the thing, I don’t really make jam. I don’t do preserves for the main reason that to make preserves successful you need tons of sugar. I don’t like to mess with perfect sweet ripe berries which are already perfectly sweet. So we didn’t make a traditional jam. We made a healthier better and more delicious homemade jam – A Raspberry Chia Jam!

So you’re wondering : How to make a Chia Jam? Well, it’s very simple – if making jam or preserves scares you – this is a great recipe anyone can do and it turns out amazing!!! ;)

Raspberry Chia Jam

{no refined sugar, no artificial anything}

Ingredients :

2-3 cups fresh organic raspberries
2 tablespoons of chia seeds (optionally, 1 T chia powder + 1 T chia seeds)
2 tablespoons of raw cane sugar (or more*) or other sweetener such as raw honey

Directions:

Rinse and strain the raspberries and puree with sugar in a blender. Move into a small mixing bowl, add chia seeds and mix until well combined. Cover and refrigerate for 4-6 hours or best overnight until chia seeds plump up and the texture becomes thicker resembling jam.

*The sweetness level really depends on your taste preference – but it’s worth to consider that all fruits already have natural sugars in them so a little goes a long way. Sure you could add more but it’s really not necessary.

This jam will keep well in the fridge for about 5 days (if it lasts that long). Frozen fruit could work well too. (great to do in the winter months). This will not keep well as a preserve or canned jam – it’s meant to be eaten while fresh! ;)

Serve over anything you desire! We loved our Raspberry Chia Jam over some homemade gluten-free and vegan crepes! ;)

Yes, this really was the best thing in the world! This was an incredible treat I ended up making to go with our all-natural healthy Raspberry Chia Jam!

If you’re new to Chia seeds, please note that they are one of the top super-foods in the world!

Chia seeds are an excellent source of protein, fibre, antioxidants, calcium, omega-3, and great source of pure energy!

The texture of the chia seeds also worked great with the raspberries in this jam recipe, it would also work great with other seasonal soft fruit like blackberries or strawberries, I’m thinking ;)