Strawberry Chia – Jam

Strawberry Chia Jam

The very thought of making jams or jellies brings thoughts of grandmas in aprons, hours spent in the kitchen, and cups upon cups of sugar ready to be added. But this recipe challenges all those old thoughts because it will take you 10 minutes to prep and only 20 minutes to set. AND there is zero added sugar!

I served this last night at a social gathering for my local Fit Chix gals with popovers and cheesecake.  It was a huge hit, and of course, folks wanted the recipe. So here it goes! 

The original recipe comes from Abby’s kitchen. I added a couple tweaks for personal preference and to make it compliant with the lowest sugar way to enjoy it possible!

  • Cook Time6 min
  • Ready in25

    Ingredients

    • 3 cups strawberries (fresh or frozen)
    • 2 T lemon juice
    • 2-3 T granulated monkfruit
    • 3 T chia seeds

    Directions

    1

    Slice strawberries into small pieces and place into medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat. When they begin to get syrupy, mash them until they are no longer big lumps of berries.

    2

    Turn off the heat and add monkfruit and lemon.

    3

    Transfer to a container and add the chia seeds and let sit for 20 minutes.

    4

    Enjoy warm or refrigerate for later use.

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    Cookies & Buttercream Frosting

    Cookies and Buttercream Frosting

    I just love sugar cookies! The soft, sweet dough with just the right kind of frosting can take me back to my childhood faster than hearing my first and middle name together! But for so many obvious reasons, that old favorite done the same old way is just not on the radar anymore.

    So I set out this holiday season to make something truly decadent and something that NO ONE would even consider at a party was a healthy option. Some of the most amazing memories for me are when I spend time in the kitchen working with my girls. This memory will go down as one of the best ever because as we were trying to come up with various frosting options to test, we failed terribly at one of them. It was HORRIBLE! And we laughed and laughed as we spit it out! Turns out we were using an expired (by 4 years…gulp) ingredient without realizing it so, thankfully, our bonding didn’t continue in the hospital.

    We went back to the first frosting we made which we loved, improved upon it a bit more, and came out with something we are so proud of doing together and it seriously is friggin’ delicous! And the cookie, so soft and sweet! This is one for the family recipe books for sure!

    Note:

    You can sub almond flour for the Tigernut if you don’t have it but Tigernut is, by nature, a bit sweet on its own so you may want to increase your sweetener just a bit if using almond flour. Getcha some Tigernut…you won’t be sorry!

      Ingredients

      • 1.5 cups Tigernut flour
      • 1/3 cup Kerrygold butter (melted)
      • 1/3 cup coconut butter (melted)
      • 1/4 tsp baking soda
      • 1/4 tsp salt
      • 1/8 cup Lakanto Maple flavored monkfruit syrup or other syrup (*note, if not using tigernut flour, increase the syrup to 1/4 cup. tigernut flour is naturally a bit sweeter so you need less syrup for tigernut)
      • 1/2 tsp almond extract

      For Buttercream frosting:

      • 8 T Kerrygold butter
      • 2 tsp vanilla extract
      • 3 T powdered sweetener of choice (I love Lankanto Monkfruit and I grind it to make it powdered. Swerve also works well)
      • 1-2 pinches of salt to taste

      Directions

      1

       Heat oven to 350.

      2

       Mix all dry ingredients.

      3

      Mix all wet ingredients.

      4

       Slowly mix the wet into the dry (I use a food processor for this…easy peasy!)

      5

      Form in a ball and roll to about 1/4 inch between 2 pieces of parchment paper.

      6

      Flatten small pieces with hand to make round cookies or use cookie cutters.

      7

      Bake at 350 for 7 minutes.

      8

      Cool completely before moving so they don’t crumble.

      9

      While cooling, mix frosting ingredients together. Spread on cookies and serve!

      10

      Enjoy as a Christmas cookie, or any time of year!

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      Blackberry and Banana Ice Cream

      Blackberry and Banana Ice Cream-

        Ingredients

        • 1/2 cup frozen blackberries
        • 1 1/2 cups frozen bananas

        Directions

        1

        Put all fruit in a food processor or blender and blend until creamy. Add a bit of unfrozen fruit or milk of choice if it won’t cream.

        2

        Enjoy right away or freeze for 20 minutes for a slightly more firm consistency.

        3

        Store left overs in an airtight glass container and freeze. 

        4

        Leave on the counter for 10 minutes to thaw a bit and dig in!

        Recipe adapted from @miss_gruenkern

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        Keto Walnut Chocolate Chip Brownies

        Keto Walnut Chocolate Chip Brownies

        • Cook Time30 min

          Ingredients

          • 12 T unsalted grassfed butter (we love Kerrygold)
          • 2 ounces 90% dark organic dark chocolate
          • 3 large eggs
          • 1/2 tsp almond extract
          • 1/2 cup Monk Fruit (also good with Swerve, but off the charts with Lakanto granulated Monkfruit)
          • Pinch of salt
          • 1/4 cup cacao powder
          • 2 T coconut flour
          • 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
          • 1/4 cup Lily’s chocolate chips

          Directions

          1

          Preheat oven to 325 F.

          2

          Melt chocolate and butter in a sauce pan on medium low heat.

          3

          While that’s melting, combine salt, cacao powder and coconut flour in a small bowl and set aside.

          4

          Blend eggs, almond extract, and monk fruit in a bowl for about 3 minutes or until it triples in size.

          5

          With a spatula, blend chocolate/butter mixture into the egg mixture, then fold in flour mixture. 

          6

          Pour into an 8×8 pan and cook for 30 minutes. 

          7

          If you’re alone, they won’t even make it to a plate, so at least grab a fork for goodness sake!

          8

          Enjoy warm on it’s own or  top with a scoop vanilla Halo Top ice cream.

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          Tuna Salad Nori Wraps

          Tuna Salad Nori Wraps

          • YieldMakes 16 wraps
          • Serving Size4

            Ingredients

            • 4 (5-ounce can) (Wild Planet Tuna Recommended)
            • 4 T canned coconut milk
            • 16-24 nori seaweed sheets
            • 6 small carrots, thinly sliced
            • 3 cucumber thinly sliced
            • 1 avocado
            • 3 T approved oil
            • 2 tsp lemon juice, fresh squeezed
            • 1 tsp salt

            Directions

            1

            In a medium bowl stir together tuna, approved oil, coconut milk, lemon juice, cumin and salt. Note: Refrigerate tuna can before preparing tuna salad if you prefer it colder than room temperature.

            2

            Spoon mixture over nori wraps, top with veggies and roll into cone shaped wraps. 

            3

            Serve immediately.

            Recipe adapted from: www.platingpixels.com

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            Popovers

            Popovers

            • Serving Size6

              Ingredients

              • 3 T arrowroot flour
              • 2 T coconut flour
              • ¼ tsp salt
              • 4 large eggs, room temperature
              • ½ cup full-fat coconut milk
              • 1 T grass-fed butter, for greasing pan

              Directions

              1

              Preheat oven to 450 F.

              2

              In a small bowl, combine the flours and salt. In a medium-sized bowl, lightly beat the eggs just to loosen them up, then whisk in the coconut milk, and flour mixture. Continue whisking till just smooth.

              3

              Scoop about ¼ tsp to a scant ½ tsp of the grass-fed butter into each well of the popover pan (or muffin pan), then place the greased pan in the preheated oven for about 5 minutes, just till the fat starts to smoke. Carefully remove the pan from the oven and quickly pour ¼ cup of the batter into each well.

              4

              Bake for 15 minutes, then turn the oven temperature down to 350 F and bake for another 15 minutes or till the popovers are golden and puffed. Times will vary based on the pan.

              Recipe adapted from: The Tasty Page

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              Chipotle Chicken Tacos

              Chipotle Chicken Tacos

              • Serving Size3

                Ingredients

                • 12 oz of skinless chicken breast cut into fairly thin strips
                • 2 T approved oil
                • 1 red onion, finely sliced
                • 1 large tomato (for the sauce)
                • 1 T of finely chopped chipotle in adobo sauce (or substitute a pinch of dried chili flakes)
                • 1/2 tsp cumin
                • Salt and pepper, to taste
                • Lettuce leaves to make your tacos (butter lettuce works great)
                • ¾ avocado (1/4 per serving)

                For the Rustic salsa:

                • 2 cups quartered cherry tomatoes
                • ½ sliced red onions or scallions
                • Toss with ½ tsp salt and ½ tsp pepper

                Directions

                1

                Heat the oil in a pan and quickly fry your chicken pieces until they turn golden. Set aside.

                2

                In the same pan, add another T of oil and sauté your onion until it softens.

                3

                Add your tomatoes, cumin, and chipotle and simmer for around 15 – 25 minutes until the tomato sauce starts to thicken around the edges of the pan. Add a bit of water if it gets too thick.

                4

                Add the chicken back into the sauce and allow to cook for about 5 minutes.

                5

                Divide into 3rds and serve.

                Recipe adapted from: drizzleanddip

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                Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Truffles

                Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Truffles

                  Ingredients

                  • 2 1/2 cups blanched almond flour
                  • ¼ tsp baking soda
                  • ¼ tsp salt
                  • ¼ c Lakanto maple flavored syrup
                  • 10 T Kerrygold butter, softened
                  • 2 tsp almond or vanilla extract (but almond ROCKS!)
                  • 2-3 dropperfulls of SweetLeaf Liquid stevia
                  • 1/4-1/2 cup Lily’s chocolate chips for dough (optional)
                  • 1 cup Lily’s chocolate chips
                  • 1-2 tsp coconut oil

                  Directions

                  1

                  Mix dry ingredients.

                  2

                  Mix wet ingredients well, then slowly add the dry ingredients. Add chocolate chips to batter if you choose. Roll cookie dough into ½ -1” balls and put in freezer until firm. Melt about 1 cup chocolate chips with coconut oil until melted. Roll balls in chocolate until covered and place back in freezer on parchment paper to firm up for a few minutes! Enjoy!

                  Recipe from: Lisa Arendell

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                  Cilantro Lime Chicken Salad

                  Cilantro Lime Chicken Salad

                  • Serving Size4

                    Ingredients

                    For the marinade/dressing:

                    • 3 T approved oil
                    • 4 T freshly squeezed lime juice
                    • ½ c fresh chopped cilantro (coriander)
                    • 4 garlic cloves, crushed
                    • 5 Drops SweetLeaf liquid stevia
                    • 1 tsp ground cumin
                    • 1¼ tsp salt

                    For the salad

                    • 4 chicken boneless, skinless pastured chicken thighs
                    • 5 c Romaine lettuce leaves, washed and dried
                    • 1 red pepper (capsicum), deseeded and sliced

                    For the avocado salsa:

                    • 1 avocado, diced
                    • 1 green onion (shallot), peeled and thinly sliced
                    • Red chili flakes, to garnish

                    Directions

                    1

                    Whisk marinade ingredients together to combine. Pour a third of the marinade into a shallow dish to marinade the chicken fillets for at least 15 minutes (ideally one to two hours if you have the time). Refrigerate the reserved untouched marinade to use as a dressing.

                    2

                    Heat about 1 tsp of oil in a grill pan or skillet over medium-high heat and grill chicken fillets on each side until golden, crispy and cooked through. (Grill in batches of two to prevent excess water being released.) Once chicken is cooked, set aside and allow to rest.

                    3

                    Wipe pan over with paper towel; drizzle with another teaspoon of oil and sauté peppers and until cooked to your liking.

                    4

                    While peppers are cooking, prepare the salsa. Combine the  avocado and green onion in a bowl. Add in 2 T of the reserved dressing to the salsa. Set aside.

                    5

                    Slice chicken into strips and prepare salad with leaves, sliced peppers and salsa. Top with the chicken strips. Drizzle with remaining dressing and serve. 

                    Recipe adapted from: Cafedelites

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                    Cilantro Lime Chicken Sliders

                    Cilantro Lime Chicken Sliders

                    • Serving Size3

                      Ingredients

                      For the chicken:

                      • 6 chicken thighs, skinless, boneless, cut in half (you will have 12 pieces)
                      • ¼ c chopped fresh cilantro
                      • 1 lime, juiced
                      • 3 T approved oil
                      • ½ tsp salt

                      For the guacamole:

                      • 1¼ c chopped tomatoes (about 3 plum tomatoes)
                      • 2 avocados
                      • 1 T finely chopped white onion
                      • 2 T finely chopped fresh cilantro
                      • 2-3 T fresh lime juice
                      • ¼ tsp garlic salt
                      • ¼ tsp sea salt
                      • Fresh ground black pepper, to taste

                      Directions

                      1

                      Prepare the chicken marinade by whisking together cilantro, lime juice, approved oil, and salt until combined. Add chicken pieces to a medium bowl and pour the marinade over the chicken, coating all around. Cover the bowl and marinate for 30 minutes, refrigerated.

                      2

                      While the chicken is marinating, prepare the guacamole by combining tomatoes, avocado pulp, onion, cilantro, lime juice, garlic salt, and sea salt in a medium bowl. With a fork or potato masher, mash everything together until chunky consistency. Season with fresh black pepper to taste. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

                      3

                      Preheat the grill on medium high and grill the chicken for 3 minutes per side or until no longer pink on the inside.

                      4

                      Serve immediately. Serves 3 as main dish.

                      Recipe adapted from: littlebroken.com

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