Who doesn’t like a jelly sandwich? It’s sweet and combined with a hot croissant/bread slice or a bun, it’s pretty darn delicious and we don’t have to be 4 years old to enjoy it! I used to love the grape jam (jelly and jam are such interchangeable terms in my opinion and am not googling now) and the occasional sandwiches I grew up on. My kids however still enjoy a good PBJ sandwich when the mood strikes regardless of breakfast or lunch time.
With knowledge comes that guilt that what we once loved and enjoyed is now slightly off limits coz it upsets your body in ways that you cannot afford anymore. That’s when you start looking at alternatives, to find substitutes and most of the time we don’t even have to look too hard, coz the internet is such a lovely sharing space.
I made some blueberry jelly this afternoon while I was setting the table for lunch. It took all of 20 minutes from start to finish which also included trying to get the lemon to look like pacman 😉
RECIPE FOR SUGAR-FREE JELLY
I chose blueberry coz I had just bought a pack, but I suppose you could use strawberry or blackberries or even raspberries. I haven’t tried with the last two, but you could alter the recipe just a bit with the sweet content to suit the fruit of your choice.
Berries are low in sugar and so obviously keto-friendly and even if we did use a less keto-friendly sugar, the amount that goes into making it is so little that it’s practically negligible. You’ll see!
This is what I used.
1 cup of blueberries
1 tbsp of butter
2 tsp of sweetener (I used coconut sugar, you could use Stevia or Erythritol if you prefer)
1/2 tsp of cinnamon (to balance that sugar)
1 tsp of chia seeds (or xantham gum – this is to thicken the jelly)
1 pinch of salt and a squeeze of lemon.
This recipe and cooking require you to stay still near the stove so plan for it.
In a pan, I melted butter and added in the blueberries. You could add a tbsp of water if you prefer, I didn’t. Within a few minutes, the berries break down and start to become a mush. Add a dash of lemon (if you like some tart, blueberries are already on the tart side) and salt here. Once enough liquid comes out, add your sweetener, and let it break down further (another couple of minutes). At this point, you may want to cool and blend if you’d like, but I like mine slightly chunky, so I let it be. If you do blend, return to pan and continue further.
Next, add the chia seeds into the pan. No need to soak, it mixes well. Add your cinnamon and keep stirring throughout. Once it looks like a jelly and comes together within 5 minutes, cool.
Taste and you’ll be blown with how perfect the jelly is. It is tart and with the right amount of sweet and is very tasty as a spread.
The wrinkling-at-keto-food daughter said it was great! So there you go.
Done!
Here’s something that I realized along the way. This sugar-free jelly is keto and low carb and is diabetic friendly for sure, but this does not mean that folks who are eating “normal” and aren’t following that way of life should not be having this. This is just a way to eliminate needless sugar from our body and a teaspoon goes a long way when you spread it on your toast and there is no need to compromise on your taste.
Let me know if you made it and how it worked for you! 🙂
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This is part of the #AtoZchallenge where I am posting a recipe a day mostly related to Keto and/or the low carb diet. If you are new and here the first time, these are the earlier posts:
I – I Scream For Ice Cream
G – Glorious Gourds: Zoodle in Creamy Yogurt
A – Grilled Asparagus with Lemon Butter
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