Life has a way of bringing us where we need to be, subtly, gently, slowly, but surely.
I say this because I’ve seen it in one particularly important aspect of my life – cooking.
When I first made my new year resolutions in early 2014, proclaiming that I wanted to go wheat-free and gluten-free, I had just finished reading Wheat Belly back-to-back three times.
I remember that I’d read it on our vacation on Brazil’s gorgeous northern shores, and there I was sunbathing by the beach, my sunglasses on, and my kindle propped up in front of me. Every fifteen minutes or so, I’d turn to Juan and quote him from the Dr William Davis’ book, telling him about all the harm that wheat and gluten could cause – which went far beyond a the protruding wheat belly.
Get delicious GLUTEN-FREE recipes each week!
During the rest of 2014, I found myself exploring a whole new world of grain-free and gluten-free recipes.
Now, I’m talking about the kind that never would have crossed my mind nor entered my kitchen if not for my conviction in Wheat Belly and it’s powerful statements against gluten, a protein that is found in many grains, which we mainly consume in the form of wheat.
I experimented with new types of flours, like tapioca flour, almond meal, hazelnut meal, and cashew meal, among others, but every once in a while, we’d still cook with wheat flour, eat pasta, pizza and other wheat products. While I’m not coeliac, and don’t have any allergic reactions to gluten, I did realize that re-introduction of foods containing gluten caused me to have gases in my stomach and some kind of subtle bloating, but it was nothing that truly affected me. I also noticed that when I stopped eating gluten-containing foods, the gases went away with the gluten. 
Towards the end of last year, as it came to resolution-writing time again, I wrote down in my notebook – for the second year in a row – that I wanted to eliminate gluten from my diet.
This was in early January, and I’d crossed my fingers that I’d be able to kick gluten out of my life, once and for all. In mid-January, Juan started feeling really bloated in his stomach, and it evenutally got so uncomfortable to the point that he decided to consult a doctor, who later advised him to run a blood test to test for coeliac disease, an autoimmune disorder of the small intestine, as a result of a negative reaction to gliadin, a gluten protein.
The test came back strongly positive for coeliac disease.
The doctor sent Juan to take another test, one to see if he has the Coeliac disease gene, and the test showed that he has the gene present in his body. Coeliac disease is supposedly a 100% genetic disease, and apparently, if you’ve inherited the gene, it is probable that you may be diagnosed with Coeliac disease at some point in your life. It seems to be a condition that is more and more common with time, particularly in Western countries where wheat forms a large part of people’s normal diet.
While it does sound scary and terrible, it is a condition that actually has a cure – a cure that comes not through popping pills, but a natural remedy – adopting a life-long gluten-free diet.
So, I now have a strong motivation to stick to my gluten-free new year resolution – keeping Juan healthy.
Since we found out about Juan’s allergy to gluten, we’ve had to be extremely cautious about the food products we buy and eat, because it appears that any exposure to gluten, no matter how small, sets off a reaction in Juan – whether it’s the bloating of his stomach, rashes, or something else. It can be quite a pain in the neck to always have to check first, but it’s better to be safe than sorry.
We’re getting pretty good at checking ingredient lists on the back of prepackaged foods, and have started learning to ask waiters what goes into the food that restaurants serve. When in doubt, we prefer to skip.
One thing that our new ingredient-list checking hobby has taught us is this – most pre-packaged foods come with a list of ingredients that are so long, with more than half of them being ingredients that we don’t even know how to pronounce.
Since gluten is found in so many baked goods and pre-packaged sauces, we’ve had to say no to many snacks that previously we wouldn’t have thought twice about. Even when a product doesn’t specifically state that it contains gluten, there are just way too many weird-sounding ingredients that make us wonder.
As such, we’ve been trying to eat in as much as possible, and make as many foods from scratch as we can. It’s definitely a lot more work (and often times costlier) than buying ready-made food, but at least we know what goes into what we cook.
One of my cooking experiments resulted in this strawberry chia seed jam.
I’m not saying that store-bought jam has gluten; it’s just that some times the long ingredient list at the back of a jar scares us off, and as I said before – it’s better to be safe than sorry! Since the recipe from Oh My Veggies looked extremely managable, I decided to make it for Juan – so he could enjoy strawberry jam without any fears of gluten exposure.
To my delight, Juan loved the jam – he has strict standards for gluten-free foods, and food in general (some of my other experiments have failed by his standards) – so I was surprised that he truly enjoyed the jam.
This is a ridiculously easy jam that takes no more than 30 minutes from start to finish.
Plus, I really like the fact that it uses a fairly little amount of sugar (compared to most other jam recipes), and is full of healthy chia seeds! We ate it spread on top of toasted grain-free coconut cashew bread. It was deliciously sweet, refreshing and completely safe for Juan to eat!
Two thumbs up!
If anyone of you is Coeliac, or has experience with loved ones being diagnosed with Coeliac disease, I’d love to hear from you.
Comment and tell me about the difficulties and challenges you’ve faced, as well as how you’ve succeeded in going gluten-free.
Let’s fight gluten together!
Strawberry Chia Seed Jam
- Total Time: 30 mins
- Yield: 1 medium jar 1x
Description
Deliciously sweet and refreshing strawberry chia seed jam that takes just 30 minutes to make from start to finish!
Ingredients
- 1/2 kg fresh strawberries (or blueberries, raspberries, blackberries)
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 2 tablespoons chia seeds
Instructions
- Remove the stalks and leaves from the strawberries, and cut the strawberries into quarters (If using other berries, skip this step)
- Place the strawberries in a medium saucepan over medium heat, and sprinkle sugar over, mixing them slightly
- Heat the strawberries for about 10 to 15 minutes until it starts to liquidfy and bubble slightly
- Allow the strawberries to come to a boil and break down – at this point, you may use a fork or a potato ricer to mash the strawberries into smaller pieces.
- Once strawberries have been mashed to your desired consistency, taste for sweetness. Add a bit more sugar if necessary (this will depend on how sweet your strawberries naturally are)
- Stir in the chia seeds and let it cook for another minute.
- Stir again, remove the saucepan from heat, and let the jam cool until thick (about 10 minutes). Note that the jam will get thicker as it cools.
- When jam is completely cool, place in medium-sized sterilized glass jar.
- Serve jam with toasted bread or crackers.
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Cook Time: 25 mins
- Category: Snacks
- Cuisine: Gluten-free
how much is a 1/2 kg of fruit ??? like how many cups thank you
Hi Melanie, 1/2 kg is around 1.1 pounds of fruit!
I saw a recipe where it was written that you use deforsted berries and a few little spoons of coconut sugar, mix it, add chia seeds, some water and put it in a glass, close it and put it in the fridge. After a few hours chia seeds make the fruit into jelly and it is ready to eat. You store it in the fridge for max 2 weeks. You could try this “raw” version if you want 🙂 my question for your recipe is: where do you store your jam and how long does it last till it goes bad? thanks! 😉 ah, another thing,,, you could use coconut sugar instead of honey. Coconut sugar has low glycemic index, honey has high. I read that honey is supposed to be used as a spice not as a sugar substitute. Of course honey is still better than table sugar but even though if you are concerned about too much sugar in blood, like I am because of insulin resistance, you might want to go even deeper in making changes 🙂
Hi Mina! Thanks so much for the suggestion to use coconut sugar. To be honest, I’ve never tried coconut sugar because I haven’t seen it in Buenos Aires, but I think I might head to Chinatown where they have all sorts of things to check it out. My mum is diabetic, and I’m trying to eat as much low-glycemic index foods as possible so I don’t follow in that path (in case it’s hereditary).
Regarding your question, I store my jam in an airtight glass jar in the fridge – it can keep for up to 2-3 weeks, that’s provided you don’t finish eating it before that!
Your jam and photos are divine! What a clever woman you are.
I am curious as to where you got those beautiful jars!?
Thanks and keep up the good work.
Ciao.
Jill
★★★★★
Hi Jill! Thanks for dropping by and your encouragement! Glad you like the photos! I bought the jar that you see in the photo in a shop that sells all sorts of kitchen items here in Buenos Aires! But I’m pretty sure you should be able to find something similar online on Amazon or Ebay!
I like the idea of using chia seeds with strawberries! Gluten free is great to start eating healthier, I’ve been trying to cut on lactose too, and find it quite easy with almond milk, but I’m not allergic to it so it’s easier to manage. I read the book since you told me about it, and it makes you want to clean your kitchen and start again! Gorgeous pics btw!
Thanks Paula!! Trust me, after trying to eat consciously gluten-free for the past one year, I honestly believe my health and immune system has improved (even though I’m not Coeliac like Juan is). I fall sick less often (large difference compared to before when I would get sore throats and cough easily). So at least I know it’s worth it to give up gluten (at least most of the time!) I do indulge in a pizza or normal wheat bread every once in a while, but it’s the exception rather than the norm.
This looks so fresh and yum! I have once made blueberry chia jam, but it was way too runny, so I added a little more chia and it all of a sudden went way too solid and lumpy. Chia seeds are tricky! Looks like you’re the boss of them here though!
★★★★★
Hey Amrita, thanks for stopping by! I´ve been over at your blog once and I love how funny and humourous you both are! I´ve never tried making blueberry chia seed jam…. but maybe the berries might make a difference! I do know that when I was first cooking the strawberry chia seed jam, the jam actually looked pretty runny too, but after a while of letting the jam cool, the chia seeds started to absorb more of the water and the jam firmed up a little bit! Could be that all you needed to do with your jam was to just wait for it to cool!
Please can you sell me some!!??
Fer!! Te la hago un día cuando es estación de frutillas de vuelta (ahora están carissimas!!)
Flea! Like your mom I can’t wait to try out the jam 🙂 just bought 3 boxes of blueberries from Fairprice for 6.99 and they are oh so sweet! Think they will make a glorious blueberry / raspberry jam!
I am in agreement re: the bloating that gluten results in. Am inspired and am making an effort to cut down/ reduce my intake!
Much much love 🙂
Hey Jin!! Yes, the berries sound like they will make a glorious jam! 🙂 And you are definitely right about the bloating/gas! I ate some wheat the other day and ended up with so much bloatedness the next!!
Wow – the preparation of this jam is so simple and only takes 30 minutes !
Thanks Felicia 🙂 This is one jam I must prepare to go with my gluten and grain-free bread that I started to bake in my kitchen. I can also try using varieties of berries as well right? – like raspberries and black berries so that I can have mixed berry jam.
I look forward to seeing the different variations of gluten and grain-free breads that you will be baking these days. I am so glad that I am a beneficiary of all your hard work of searching out and experienting in your kitchen for healthy food recipes 🙂
Love you lots !!!
Mum
★★★★★
Mummy, i hope you’ll like this jam! Yep definitely you can use different varieties of berries too. Remember that you have to eat it sparingly because jam is much sweeter than the fruit itself!
Can I use another sweetener other than sugar ?
Hi Maureen, you could try honey! But bear in mind that honey is twice as sweet as table sugar, so you might cup the amount to half that of the amount specified by the recipe for sugar.
I guess you could use sugar from coconut nectar, which has GI 35.