My kids love the classic peanut butter and jelly combination, but I found myself struggling to find jelly at the store that didn't have added sugars (and wasn't super expensive). I decided to try something a little different and my first attempt turned out great! It was naturally sweet and I even got a little protein into something that's usually just sugar. The chia seeds provide a small dose of protein (2 grams of protein in 2 tablespoons), and are the key to the gelatin-like texture that makes it "jam." All you need in addition to chia seeds is your choice of fruit! Once you realize how simple this recipe is, you'll never buy jelly from the store again!
I shared the recipe for these delicious peanut butter & jelly bars with my good friends Scott and Whitney Carlson from He And She Eat Clean. We teamed up to make a healthy eating e-cookbook for baby and kid's food! The peanut butter & jelly bars are one of the many healthy and tasty recipes you can find in the book. Besides using this jam for making pb&j bars or sandwiches, we use it for sweetening greek yogurt and topping protein pancakes. Next time you're making a cake you could use this as the filling... mmm, raspberry & chocolate cake... *heavy breathing*
Prep time: 5 minutes | Total time: 8 hours 5 minutes | Yields: 1 jar of jelly
Ingredients
- 16 oz organic frozen fruit
- 4 TBSP chia seeds
Method
- Blend the fruit in a blender until smooth.
- Stir the chia seeds into the pureed fruit until combined. (do not blend- just use a spoon)
- Pour the jam into an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours. That's it! The jam will be ready to serve after that.
Notes
- Store in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.
- Use for peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, topping pancakes, sweetening greek yogurt, or these peanut butter and jelly bars.
- For this recipe we used frozen strawberries, but have also tried frozen mixed berries. Both were great!
