Hey Momma!
Surprisingly in this day and age it is still difficult to find snacks for our little ones without added refined sugar. Unless you make it, you may not feel one hundred percent comfortable with what is in those products. I always tell my mom, when she is buying snacks for my little lady, that if she cannot understand what something is in the product, don’t get it. She finds that very difficult as it is very rare for packaged snacks. I find this hard to comprehend because the world knows how bad refined sugar is for our health, why would we want our babies eating it when they literally do not need it. Don’t get me wrong, we should not vilify sugar to our children. Creating a healthy relationship and balance with sugar is vital for our children to be able to enjoy it but not binge on it later in life. We know that they will encounter it one day, so creating that balance is important. With that all being said, before the age of 2, it is unnecessary to have refined sugar integrated in their diet. Yet, there are so many snacks with sugar. Organic or not, it doesn’t matter, it is still sugar.
Part of my goal with these posts are to share various recipes I utilize in order to create healthier versions of snacks and dishes we love. I am not a nutritionist but I like to find ways to enjoy food with a bit less concern about which ingredients are in them. To be honest, if I ate peanut butter and jelly every single day, and my little girl ate organic, whole foods, I’d be a happy camper. Hopefully, that is not the case, but I feel that when she cannot make her own decisions about what she is eating, it is important that I help make the best ones for her. That being said, baby girl loves the odd slice of pizza. I’m not going to completely deprive her because I want her to have a healthy relationship with food and it begins with integrating all of the veggies and fruits, and mixing in some of the guilty pleasure foods.
I know, that was the biggest lead up to a jam recipe in the history of time. However, I felt that I wanted to discuss this further a bit, because it is a topic I’ve been thinking about often. It doesn’t end with snacks, it also includes all of the dips and condiments that we use to make food taste better, but is filled with additives that we just do not need to consume.
I started to modify jam recipes a few years ago as a means of adding them to healthier desserts but when my baby girl started to eat toast or when I wanted to add to her yogurt bowl or granola bars, I found it difficult to make them tasty AND healthy. Jam was the perfect option. Now the best part about this recipe is that it is SUPER easy and it can be made even tastier for the adults in the house.. and it can be made in many different fruit flavours… strawberry, blueberry, raspberry… go nuts!
Enjoy Momma xo
Blueberry Chia Jam
- 3 cups fresh blueberries or frozen (Organic, if possible)
- 2 tbsp chia seeds
- 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- Two options:
No added sweetener: 2 Tbsp Water
Added sweetener: 3 Tbsp pure maple syrup
1. On medium heat, place the blueberries in a medium-sized pot. If you’re not using maple syrup, stir in a tablespoon of water and bring the blueberries to a low boil. If you’re using maple syrup, omit water and stir in maple syrup, and bring to a low boil.
2. Reduce heat to low/medium and simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Lightly mash the blueberries with a fork.
3. Combine the chia seeds throughly into the blueberry mixture and cook until it thickens, approx. 15 minutes. Be sure to stir frequently.
4. Once the jam has thickened to your liking, remove it from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract. If you’d like it to be sweeter, add more maple syrup.
5. Place in the fridge, uncovered, for a few hours for it to continue to thicken. You can also place it in the freezer for 2-3 hours.
6. Store jam in an air-tight container in the fridge. It should keep for at least a week.
