Strawberry-Rhubarb Chia Seed Jam

In addition to sharing this delicious, nutrient-packed jam, I have other exciting news to share…

I’m now a homeowner!!

My boyfriend and I have purchased our first house in Bowmanville, Ontario. We couldn’t be more excited. The only thing is we have to wait about 1.5 years for our house to be built – but hey, more time to save and acquire furniture! I cannot wait to do up the kitchen…did I mention our kitchen will have a beautiful little island? <3

In other news: I have to say OH MY, we are finally experiencing the hot weather we wished for. I can’t say I’ve been able to spend as much time at the beach as I’ve wanted to – although this weekend I did venture over to Sugar Beach in Toronto. Sugar Beach is literally about 300 metres from a sugar factory – a city beach at it’s finest. I can’t say I hated the smell of burning sugar as I sunbathed though…

Now it’s time to talk more about sugar. It’s hard to cut it out of our diets completely. Without feeling deprived and potentially leading to a binge eating cycle, that is. So, why not enjoy sugar in the right way? From whole, naturally occurring sources, of which the nutrition is still in-tact. Despite the ‘health halo’ that your favourite fruit jams might be creating with using worlds like ‘pure’ and ‘real’ on the packaging, the first ingredient is usually some sort of sugar. This is maybe followed by some fruit and then a number of preservatives.

This jam uses 4 ingredients – real strawberries, real rhubarb, agave nectar/honey and chia seeds. That’s it! The chia seeds will provide an extra nutrient punch – did you know that one serving of this jam provides about 10% of your daily calcium needs? Chia seeds don’t get enough credit for this!

Compared to store-bought jams, this This Strawberry-Rhubarb Chia Seed Jam has:

1. less calories
2. less sugar
3. no additives
4. more fibre
5. more phytochemicals & antioxidents
6. more omega-3 fatty acids
7. more calcium
8. more protein
9. real ingredients
10. IT TASTES BETTER
11. See # 10

    I love using this jam to add some natural sweetness to my favourite plain Greek yogurt! The end result will still provide less sugar than your store-bought fruit-flavoured Greek yogurt.

Strawberry-Rhubarb Chia Seed Jam

• Servings: 15-18
• Time: 15mins
• Difficulty: Very Easy
• Print

A great way to replace your sugar-laden jam with a real fruit, omega-3 punch!

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup chia seeds
• 1/2 cup water
• 5 cups frozen strawberries
• 5 cups frozen rhubarb
• 1/3 cup agave nectar or honey

Directions

• Soak chia seeds in water in a small bowl and place aside for about 5 minute. Mixture should have a jelly-like texture.
• Combine, strawberries, rhubarb and agave nectar in a large saucepan. Heat over medium heat, until berries are soft (about 15 minutes), while crushing berries with a fork.
• Once berry mixture is soft, remove from heat and combine with chia seed mixture. Store in a mason jar and keep in fridge.

Nutrition (per 1/18 serving): Calories: 38 Fat: 0.8 g Carbs: 8 g Sugar: 5 g Protein: 1 g