Pineapple Pepper Raw Chia Jam

Chia makes it so easy to make jam, it’s ridiculous! No cooking, not a bunch of pots to clean gooey messes off of – barely any labor expressed on your part in any way, shape or form. And for barely lifting a finger, you get one hell of a delicious jam!

Now, we used ground chia seeds to make this because they really seem to thicken better but the grey color of the seeds does mute the vibrancy of the fruit a bit. OK. More than a bit. It bothered us at first. Melissa was trying to figure out how to make it more yellow naturally. Turmeric seemed like the wrong solution. But the taste was so wonderful we were able to overcome our misgivings.

So, it’s not as photgenic. Are we taking pictures of it or eating it?

However if you want a brighter jam the chia can just go in there whole and you’ve eliminated the most ‘arduous’ task in the recipe: The Grinding of the Chia!

Or you could add a little turmeric….

RAW VEGAN RECIPE: Pineapple Pepper Raw Chia Jam

1 cup cored mashed pineapple with juice

1/2 lime, juiced

1/2 cup mashed fresh mango with juice

4 small, fresh basil leaves, julienned

1 small red Thai pepper, deseeded and sliced very thin

3 Tbspns. ground chia seeds

Pineapple and mango can be easily ‘mashed’ by giving them a whir in the food processor. Easy!

Stir all ingredients well and let sit for 4-6 hours to thicken. Refrigerate.

NOTE: We use this jam to make the dresssing for a fantastic salad! Check it out!