This weekend, Neil and I went to a local pick-your-own strawberry farm. The season is usually wrapping up during this time of year, but because we’ve been getting so much rain lately the berries were still plentiful. This particular farm was really inexpensive and the berries were delicious! It was so much fun picking them, despite the semi-scowl I have in the above picture. The sun was in my eyes and I wasn’t sure if he was taking a picture or not. I promise, it was fun!
We picked just over 15 pounds of berries for $15. The farmer proudly displays signs that read “no pesticides or herbicides used”, so I was excited to get fresh, healthy berries for that cheap. We had to pick them in a hurry though, there was a dark storm cloud lingering over us threatening to dump at any moment. The field was already soaked from the rain earlier in the day, but we didn’t care. I rolled up my jeans and got my feet wet. And like Momma always said, a little dirt never hurt.
When we got home, we washed the berries and cleaned them up a bit. We froze 3/4 of them and kept a 1/4 out to munch on and make some jam. Neil has been dying to make homemade strawberry jam, and since I found a recipe that is refined-sugar free, we had no excuse not to. This recipe is so easy that it won’t seem legit. But, trust me it is. 
If you are using store-bought berries, I suggest buying organic if possible. As always, be sure to wash your berries thoroughly. You can also use other berries such as blueberries, raspberries or blackberries instead of strawberries.
Below is the amount needed to fill one, 8 oz. sized jar. We tripled the recipe to make more and put it in a larger jar.
This recipe is gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan and refined sugar-free.
INGREDIENTS
1 Cup fresh strawberries (use the best looking, ripest ones)
1 Tablespoon Chia seeds
1-2 Tablespoons of sweetener of your choice (raw honey, stevia, sugar, maple syrup, etc.)
1. Mash the strawberries using a potato masher or food processor. You can make the berry mash as “chunky” or smooth as you prefer. But, I’ve noticed the more blended the berries, the better the Chia works.
2. Add in the chia seeds and sweetener of your choice. We used SweetLeaf liquid Stevia drops that are calorie, carb and sugar-free. But, we really like raw, unprocessed honey from a local farmer too.
3. Place in jar and let sit in the fridge for at least an hour to “set up”. The chia seeds absorb the water and create a gel-like consistency. Because the strawberries already have seeds, you can barely notice the chia seeds. My husband doesn’t usually prefer a seedy jam, but he loved this one.
This jam is so delicious and healthy that it will be hard to keep in the fridge! This morning we put it on our gluten-free toast and had a cup of hazelnut coffee to go with it. So delicious!
Enjoy!