Spiced berry chia jam

When visiting grandparent’s as a child, dessert would either be fruit at my Italian grandparents house or on special occasions, Vienetta icecream, or at my other grandparents house we would get a traditional baked dessert (golden syrup dumplings, apple crumbles or rice pudding were common – Nan even used to leave the sultanas out to cater for my aversion to dried grapes) or – our favorite – sliced white bread slathered in jam and cream. I think this was viewed as not only a quicker, but slightly healthier dessert option. Arguably it may have been a tad healthier than some of the other baked treats, but sliced white supermarket bread smothered with generic cream and sugar-laden jam is hardly a “healthy” option. I’m guessing this view was related to the thinking of the time – something we’ll be discussing here in more detail over the coming weeks – a “healthy” diet back in the 80s included a lot of grains and cereals, and large quantities of added sugar in our diets was the norm. I’m guessing the cream and it’s high fat-content would have been the only issue back then.

Nowadays, the fat would probably be the least of my concerns (though admittedly I can’t remember the last time I ate dairy cream – coconut cream though is a whole other story!) – I try to limit my sugar and therefore traditionally made jam doesn’t feature highly – or at all – in my current diet, and at risk of sounding like a massive snob, there is no way I would eat overly-processed, nutritionally-devoid sliced white supermarket bread. Asides from the fact that there is nothing there to nourish my body, I fear it would do a lot more harm than good, and – lets be honest, it tastes pretty crap!

But let’s leave bread alone for today, and instead look at jam. Traditionally, jam is made through cooking down fruit with jam and a little lemon, however you may have noticed a much simpler and healthier way to make jam appearing throughout the internet over the past few months – chia seed jam. It is such an ingenious, and if you think about it – obvious – idea; chia seeds mixed with water create a gel-like texture, similar to jam. I am a huge chia seed fan and eat them daily – they are high in protein, fiber and loaded with antioxidants. This jam is just spices, berries and chia seeds – no added sugar, just wholesome, healthy ingredients, and loads of flavour!