Today is the first day of middle school for Eliza! I am really excited for her, but there is a part of me that keeps fighting back tears, it's ridiculous. We have spent the last week of summer cramming in every possible fun activity that we could and I spent some time adding a few more quick fix breakfasts for school days to my arsenal. Last weekend I made jam for the first time in YEARS, not just any jam though, I took the advice of a few blogger friends of mine and made a quick and easy chia jam that only took about five minutes to prep. After the jam set up in the fridge I sat down with Eliza and shared some of my fondest middle school memories, motherly advice for avoiding middle school drama, and we ate chia jam on homemade gluten-free brioche.
Here are a few reasons that I love including chia seeds into our diet whenever I can:
- Chia seeds are rich in omega-3 fatty acids: The omega-3s in chia seeds can help reduce inflammation, enhance cognitive performance and reduce high cholesterol.
- Chia seeds are an excellent source of fiber: Just 2 tablespoons packs a whopping 10 grams of fiber that equals one-third of the daily recommended intake of fiber per day, pretty impressive if you ask me!
- Chia seeds are loaded with antioxidants: The antioxidants in chia seeds help protect the body from free radicals, aging, and cancer. The high antioxidant profile also helps chia seeds have a long shelf life. They can last almost two years without refrigeration!
- Chia seeds are packed with calcium, phosphorus, and manganese: A serving of chia seeds has 18% of the recommended daily intake for calcium, is packed with 30% of your recommended intake of manganese, and 27 % of phosphorus which are all great for your bones and teeth.
On a side note, I have been testing lots and lots of gluten-free bread recipes over the past few months and this loaf of brioche was hands down my families favorites! I will be posting my own bread recipes in the Fall here on B&B after a little more tweaking, but I can safely say that I have baked my way through the Gluten Free on a Shoestring cookbook and have loved every single bread recipe including this brioche.
Peach & Strawberry Chia Jam
Fresh peaches and strawberries mingle together with chia seeds to make a delectable jam that is so easy to make it will have you wondering why you didn't try it sooner.
- Prep Time: 5
- Total Time: 35
- Yield: 1 1x
Ingredients
- 1 cup organic yellow peaches, diced small
- ½ cup organic strawberries, diced small
- 1 Tbsp. chia seeds, white or black
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice
- 1-2 Tbsp. of natural sweetener, optional. (maple syrup, agave, raw honey)
Instructions
- Combine the diced peaches and strawberries into a blender or food processor and blend until almost smooth with a few chunks remaining. Place the pureed mixture into a canning jar and add the chia seeds, lemon juice, and sweetener if using. Stir to combine and place in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes for the chia seeds to activate.
- This jam will keep in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Hungry for more easy school day breakfast ideas? Click on the images below for the recipes.
Dana Schwartz says
Wow, middle school is huge! Good luck to Eliza (and you, too!) I love the idea of throwing together a quick and super healthy jam, and then chatting it up with your daughter. Awesome 🙂 Can't wait to try some of these breakfast recipes, by the way. That's one of my biggest challenges, um, besides making lunch. Every day. Which starts for my daughter (kindergarten!) in just a few days...
-Dana
Meg says
Hey Dana,
Thank you and yes, middle school is BIG! There has been a lot of nervous energy floating around our house about it, but thankfully she is loving it so far. Kindergarten was equally huge for us too, it is a whole life change so I wish you good luck too. I hope you like the recipes and I know you will have fun coming up with creative lunches for your daughter. 🙂
Gina @ So Lets Hang Out says
Well... isn't this just the EASIEST jam recipe ever! Love that! Plus... CHIA! Um, yes. Also, I wish you could see how many times I just got your Captcha code thing-a-ma-jig WRONG. I am officially going to go ring my optometrist. 😉
Meg says
Thanks Gina! Well, if it makes you feel any better I can't get captcha code thing-a-ma-jigs on other sites right either. The spam bots just became relentless so we had to do something. 😉
Beth @ Tasty Yummies says
Yum, this looks amazing. I just adore chia jams sooooo much! Love the fun combo of peaches and strawberries. And yeh, great minds must think alike. I love that we both posted jams recipes 🙂
Meg says
Thanks Beth, we should have a jam session soon! HA!