A delicious refined sugar-free berry chia jam that has all the natural sweetness without the sugar highs!

This Refined Sugar-free Berry Chia Jam is so simple and quick to make and it isn’t loaded with added sugar.

In fact, the sweetness comes from the berries themselves. In many of the jams on the supermarket shelves, sugar is the first ingredient and some contain as much as 66% sugar (combined natural and added). Even the products with no added sugar tend to contain grape or juice concentrates to boost the sweetness.

Our Refined Sugar-free Berry Chia Jam has been created to be not overwhelmingly sweet. When children consume sweet foods, they develop a taste for it and lose an appreciation for savoury or minimally sweetened foods. Remember, sweet foods containing sugar alert the reward senses and cause us to crave more. This is why when introducing first foods, I encourage parents to focus on vegetables over a high intake of fruit.

If your child is use to consuming conventional jam, they may find this Refined Sugar-free Berry Chia Jam a little tart. At the bottom of the recipe, you’ll find notes on how to overcome this with additions such as orange juice.

For those children with a sugar addition, I recommend you either add a natural sweetener to the recipe following my notes or combine some of the conventional jam with the healthier alternative. You can reduce this bit by bit to alter their taste preferences until you only serve the reduced sugar jam. It’s a process that may require patience and persistence!

How can you use this Refined Sugar-free Berry Jam?

On toast or pancakes for a breakfast treat
Mixed in with some Greek Yoghurt
Drizzled on top of a bircher or granola
In baking of healthier biscuits and slices

This Refined Sugar-free Berry Chia Jam recipe only makes a small jar which can be stored in the fridge. While the addition of the lemon juice will help prevent the growth of bacteria, it will only lasts up to 1.5 weeks. You can however, place it in the freezer for up to 3 months. The lemon juice will also help extract the natural pectin from the berries and along with the chia seeds will create a thicker jam.

If you try this Refined Sugar-free Berry Chia Jam recipe please let me know!

Leave a comment, send this post to a friend, pin it, or take a photo of your jam creations and tag me on Instagram!

HAPPY COOKING!

Sugar-free Berry Chia Jam

Prep time: 2 mins | Cooking time: 5 mins | Setting time: 10 mins

Makes: 1 small jar (about 1 cup)

Ingredients:

1 heaped cup frozen mixed berries

2 tbsp water

2 tbsp white chia seeds

juice of one small lemon

1 vanilla pod

Instructions:

Place the berries and water into a small pot oven low heat.

Allow to come to a simmer before mashing them with a spoon or potato masher to a chunky texture.

While bubbling, add the chia seeds, lemon juice and vanilla. Stir well until combined before removing from the heat.

Clean down the sides well and allow to cool.

Using a bamix, blend until you have the desired texture (I find kids perfer a smooth rather than chunky textured jam, but find what suits your family's perferences).

Place in a sterilised jar and store in the fridge for up to 1.5 weeks or freeze for up to 3 months.

Note:

This is not an overly sweet jam. If you would like to add more sweetness, try a tbsp of orange juice or you could add 1-2 tbsps of raw honey.

You can use any berries or even try stone fruits such as plums or apricots. You may need to play around with the sweetness as some fruit will be sweeter than others. You can also use fresh fruit when its season. It's a great way to use unloved fruit before they turn.