No-Guilt Super-Quick Fresh Raspberry Jam

Who doesn’t want a taste of summer when all you see outside is gray clouds and raindrops?  Lots of raindrops.  Falling sideways, thanks to the wind.  I am a NW gal, born and bred—love me some green trees, green grass and (bountiful) green moss—but even I have limits of what I can tolerate…and late February is about my breaking point.  So I have devised ways to cope.  Seven layers of clothing at once?  Instant Bahamas!  Darkness getting to you?  Turn on ANOTHER lamp (dear husband groans)!  Want to jazz up your tastebuddies?  Invent a new low calorie/zero sugar/super quick and easy fresh Raspberry Jam that is ready in about 3 minutes flat!

Here’s how to make the jam:

1.  Frozen Raspberries are perfect for this (don’t waste the fresh ones unless they are just about to grow fuzz and you have no other ideas of how to save them)…you will want about a cup.  Put them into a microwave safe bowl or Pyrex glass measuring cup (2-cup capacity, at least).  Zap-a-roony the berries in the micro for about a minute.  If they still look frozey, then zap them for another 20-30 seconds.  Then take the back of a spoon and smash them down and stir them around until they are mostly liquid—if they are not very juicy, you can add a little bit of water to get them into a nice mashed state. (BTW, 1 cup of raspberries = 60 calories and lots of natural fiber)

2.  In a small pinch bowl (or ramekin) measure 1 tablespoon of cornstarch (1 tbsp = 30 calories) and then 1 tablespoon of COLD water (warm/hot water activates the thickening process, and you don’t want that to happen yet…) and mix well, until there are no clumps at all in the mixture.  It will look milky.

 

3.  Add the cornstarch slurry in a thin stream into the heated raspberry smash.  Stir well.  (It will look like you added milk to the raspberries). You can go ahead and add your preferred sweetener at this point…I like to add a couple of stevia packets along with a Xylitol (sugar alcohol granules that actually promote good dental health and the re-mineralizing of tooth enamel) packet, and mix that in as well.  The stevia adds no calories, and the Xylitol adds 10 calories for a 4 gram packet.  A few drops of lemon juice is a nice “brightening” flavor also, if you so desire.

4. Back into the microwave for about 40 seconds, or until it looks less watery and more solid.  If it is still milky looking, try another 20 seconds...when you are done, the edges will look a little dodgy/dark, but just give the whole thing a good stir and you are done!  Hot jam!

5.  Now make the toast and enjoy your bite of summer! 

This lasts for about 3 days in the fridge, covered.  If you eat about ¼ of your batch, you have given yourself a nice boost of fruit and only about 25 calories.  A no-guilt splurge!

You can do basically the same thing with frozen strawberries & blueberries.  I like to add the “jam” to plain yogurt, vanilla ice cream, and to spread it on pancakes …you can even add more water in the in the final microwave step, and that will give you a less thickened texture and more syrup-y, perfect for pouring.  Speaking of pouring, yes, it is still raining sideways.  Only 132 days until July 4^th; stay strong Seattleites!