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3 Ingredient Strawberry Chia Jam (healthy & vegan)

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It is the perfect combination of sweet, creamy and tangy. But instead of a lot of white sugar we are using whole food sweeteners, fresh fruits and seeds to achieve the best taste, texture and color. An essential staple in my household. It pairs perfectly with literally anything from yoghurt bowls, to bread and rice cakes.

An Austrian Tradition

In Austria, where I am from, it is very common to eat jam. And lots of jam with bread and butter. It is an Austrian tradition I guess, and both of my grandmothers have taught me how to make the classic. You will find it on every single typical Austrian breakfast table or in any breakfast restaurant. We love it. Most of the time it is paired with a Semmel (a white bread) and some butter. The go-to breakfast.

Why is jam not healthy?

And because it is so typical and popular I decided to make it a little healthier. But what actually is not healthy in it? I mean there is fruit in it! – That is right. There is fruit in it. But because we cook it, a lot of vitamins get to loss. Not all of them but many. Additionally, when we add lots of sugar and gelatine this is not healthy either. We all know that sugar is not the best friend of a healthy diet, especially not white and refined one. To make it healthier I recommend using a healthy sweetener such as raw honey, pure maple syrup or coconut sugar. These still contain sugar but also other nutrients, such as antioxidants and fibre which helps control the sugar rush in your blood.

Is jam vegan or vegetarian?

The answer might surprise or shock you: no it is not. At least most you can find in a supermarket are not. The reason for this is that they contain gelatine in some form. Either pure gelatine or mixed into the sugar. And gelatine is made from animal bones. This means that it is neither vegetarian nor vegan. When you want to buy one that is vegetarian or vegan you have to carefully study the labels and check that it doesn’t contain any gelatine. What is used in most places is called agar-agar or agartine.

How to make homemade jam:

This actually is really simple. Probably easier than you think. And it does not differ much from regular jam. As a first step you add your raspberries to a pot. They can be fresh or frozen, whatever you have on hand. Depending on ho sweet your berries are and how sweet you like your jam to be, you add as much or as little sweetener as you like. If you want, and it makes it really tasty, you can now add a squeeze of lemon juice. It adds some freshness and brings out the flavours even more. Then we let everything simmer for a little while until the strawberries have softened up a lot. Now it is time to transfer it to a blender. If you really do not like the texture of chia seeds in your jam, add them now but adding them later really adds a nice texture to it! So we are blending it up, adding it back to the pot and bringing it to a boil again. Then we let it cool a bit and you will immediately see how it starts to thicken up. After cooling, transfer it to a jar and store in the fridge for a few weeks.

Does it only work with strawberries?

NO! Definitely not. You can make this jam with any fruit of your preference. I also find it to be super tasty with raspberries, apricots, pineapple or orange. Do it with whatever sounds good to you!

How to best eat it:

So, this really is up to an individual! I personally like it most with a rice cracker and some cream cheese. This combination is just out of this world and makes a great snack or dessert. But in a yoghurt bowl, on a toasted slice of sourdough bread or with some brownies it tastes amazing too! Even with cake it works well! Just use it for whatever you would use normal jam too.

I hope that you like this recipe and that you will try it out soon!
Stay healthy & have fun cooking!
Love,
Katie // Une Petite Cuisinière

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Strawberry Chia Jam (healthy & vegan)

A healthy version of the classic. Quick, simple and so good! Crazily addicting, perfect addition to any sweet meal!

Course Breakfast, Dessert, Snack
Prep Time 5 Minuten
Cook Time 15 Minuten
Total Time 20 Minuten
Servings 15 servings à 2 tablespoons
Calories 83 kcal

What you will need

  • 750 g strawberries
  • 150 g chia seeds
  • 100-200 g pure maple syrup or honey or cocnut sugar (a healthy sweetener of choice)
  • juice of 1 lemon (optional)

How to

  1. Remove the green leaves from the strawberries and then cut them in half or in quarters. Add them to a pot along with the maple syrup and the lemon juice.

  2. Bring to a boil and let them boil until they are soft and mushy, for about 5 to 10 minutes. If you have one that is heat safe, transfer it to a blender or a food processor, otherwise purée it with a hand blender.*

  3. Pour it back into the pot and add the chia seeds. Bring to a boil again and then take it off the heat and let it cool for about 5 minutes. You will immediately see how it starts to thicken.

    Transfer to jars and store in the fridge for up to 5 weeks.

Notes

* you can add the chia seeds before blending if you want a smoother consistency. But adding them after makes it really interesting!

Vegan Coconut Mango Panna Cotta

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Take a creamy panna cotta but image it being healthy and with a twist of coconut and mango. And there you go! This incredibly flavourful dessert is what you should make next! The layers are just THE BEST!

Why is Panna Cotta not healthy?

Panna Cotta is, besides Tiramisu, my favourite dessert. I love the creaminess, the consistency and the taste. It just is so good. But, unfortunately, it is not very healthy. IT contains a lot of cream and sugar which really make it a treat but it is not very good for you.

What is this „Panna Cotta“ like?

But as I still want to get that amazing creamy consistency and that sweet taste, I decided to make one that is healthy and a little different. It still has a rich and creamy consistency but also a nice gel-ly like layer of mango, which is so refreshing and sweet.

How to make it healthier:

To make it healthier we need to substitute a few ingredients. Instead of heavy cream we use coconut milk or coconut yoghurt. To cut out the processed sugars, we do not use white one but we use maple syrup or honey. I would not recommend using fresh dates because that would ruin the nice whitish colour. Contrary to maple white sugar, maple syrup and honey also do have some other vitamins and fibre which makes them easier to digest and they are absorbed slower into your blood.

How can you make it vegan?

Since we are wanting to make it vegan, we are of course not using gelantine. If you are not that strict on using vegan products you can also use it. But in this recipe we are going to use agar agar, also known as plant based gelatine. This helps to bind everything together and achieve the pan cotta consistency. We will use this both, for the coconut and the mango layer.

The mango layer:

The mango layer also is super simple. We blend, either fresh or frozen and thawed mango up so it gets saucy. If you like to have a few chunks left, you can blend it a little less. Depending on how sweet your mango is, and how sweet you want it to be, you can add a little sweetener here too.

How to serve them?

I like to poor them in really small jars or bowls so you can have one (or probably more) as a small snack or a dessert. I love how cute they look when serving them and they also have a nice serving size. If you do not have such on hand, you can just pour it into a large dish and scoop a bit out whenever you want to enjoy it.

Final important words:

As already mentioned, it works great as a snack or dessert! Half an hour before serving it, take it out of the fridge. This is an important step. If you serve it cold, it has way less flavour, which would be sad because it tastes really amazing when served at room temperature! The fresh flavours make it a really nice thing to have during hot days in spring and summer!

I hope that you like this recipe and it gives you some inspiration to cook healthy!

Happy cooking,
Enjoy,
Katie // Une Petite Cuisinière

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Vegan Mango Coconut Panna Cotta

A healthy and vegan version of the italian classic! WIth an exotic twist, it is just an amazing snack or dessert!

Course Dessert, Snack
Cuisine Italian
Prep Time 10 Minuten
Cooling time 1 Stunde
Total Time 1 Stunde 10 Minuten
Servings 6 servings
Calories 164 kcal

What you will need

  • 450 g coconut yogurt alternatively: Coconut milk
  • 4 g Agar Agar or 2 pieces of gelatine
  • 50 g maple syrup
  • 450 g mango (can be frozen and thawed)
  • 50 ml water
  • some shredded coconut

How to

  1. In a small pan add the agar agar and the water and heat it up.

    Meanwhile pure the mango so it has a sauce consistency.

    Bring the agar agar mixture to a boil. Once boiling, reduce to a simmer and cook for 1 minute, stirring continuesly. Take off the heat and divide it into 2 bowls. In one bowl mix in about 1/3 of the coconut yoghurt or milk and stir through until well combined. Then add the agar agar coconut mixture to the remaining coconut yoghurt/ milk and combine.

    Repeat his process with the mango.

    Into small jars or a large dish add the coconut layer first and make it even. Then add the mango layer on top and put it into the refridgerator for at least an hour.

    Half an hour before serving, take it out and sprinkle with some shredded coconut.

    Serve (at room temperature) and enjoy!

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread (healthy & vegan)

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Quarantine = Bakingtime, so here we are again with a different baking recipe. And this is one of my favourites: banana bread. If you ever have some brown bananas and are shortly before throwing them away, do not ever consider that again – just make (healthy & vegan) banana bread!

I think the first time I had that was in the US and it was heavenly (but not healthy at all hahaha) and then again in Lisbon. Since then I am obsessed with it. It just is so incredibly good and moist and sweet, plus it is so easy to make it healthy.

Brown Bananas?

The great thing about banana bread is that it is a use-up dessert and treat. Whenever we have overripe bananas I ether freeze them for smoothie bowls, or I make banana bread out of them. That way you save food that would otherwise go to waste.

Why Vegan?

Because why not? It is not always easy to bake something vegan but in this case it is. You do not need any butter, because the banana is taking the place the butter would usually do, and instead of eggs we are using a mix of vinegar and baking powder as well as chia eggs. Of course, you can substitute them out for eggs if you prefer that or if you do not have these things on hand.

Is it difficult?

It is everything else than difficult. You can actually throw everything into a food processor and mix and bake. If you do not have or want to use one, mash the bananas by hand and mix the other ingredients in by hand. Without a mixer or blender. Transform to a baking dish and voilà – you have it.

Is it versatile?

It is! If you are vegan make it vegan. If you want some chocolate – add some chocolate chips to it. If you feel like something fresh, add blueberries. Want a crunch? Add in some nuts. Want to make it healthier? Use wholegrain flour? Not a fan of wholegrain? – no problem just use plain. If you cannot do baking without butter, use it instead of the coconut oil! So really in the end it is up to you how you make it. Depending on what you like you can add a personal twist to it.

Breakfast, Snack, Dessert – when and how?

This can honestly be enjoyed as any of those three meal. It can be a healthy breakfast (because of the protein, fibre and carbohydrate content), a delish and filling snack or a satisfying dessert.

Maybe you ask yourself how to eat it! I can tell you: the best way is to spread some almond butter on top, some freshly sliced banana and a drizzle of maple syrup or brown sugar. That is the best. But you can also crumble it into a yoghurt (heavenly) or on top of ice cream.

A winner for families!

Want to know why? I can tell you! Because 1) it is so easy to make, so literally everyone in the family can help. 2) it is sweet so it will taste good but it is not an unhealthy dessert because the sugar content is not as high and it is high in fiber. 3) everyone can enjoy it the way the want to. No matter if it is with whipped cream, almond butter, vanilla ice cream or in their breakfast bowl. It is good.

I hope that you will like this recipe and it will become a staple in your house just as much as it is in ours!

Have fun baking,
Enjoy,
Katie // Une Petite Cuisinière

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(Healthy & vegan) Banana Bread

A healthy version of the all time favorite – banana bread. Moist, sweet, just good. Super easy and perfect for families.

Course Breakfast, brunch, Dessert, Snack
Cuisine American
Prep Time 10 Minuten
Cook Time 50 Minuten
Total Time 1 Stunde
Servings 1 loaf (12 slices)
Calories 187 kcal

What you will need

  • 4 bananas the browner, the better (the sweeter)
  • 75 g coconut oil
  • 30 g Honey (use about 75g if your bananas are only a little bit brown)
  • 1 tbsp vinegar white wine or apple cider vinegar
  • 1 tsp natron (baking soda)
  • 1 tbsp chia seeds (can be substituted for 1 egg)
  • 4-5 tbsp water
  • 250 g (whole)wheat flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • chocolate chips, berries, nuts or other optional add-ins
  • 1 banana for garnish

How to

  1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.

    In a small bowl combine the chia seeds with the water and let sit for about 5 minute to make the "chia egg". In another bowl combine the vinegar with natron.

    Take a bowl or a food processor and mash or blend the bananas until very mushy. Add in the molten coconut oil, the chia egg, honey or agave, and apple cider vinegar mix. Blend/ mix again until all combined.

    Mix the flour with the cinnamon and baking powder. Fold it under the banana mash mixture. If you have any add-ins (e.g. chocolate chips, nuts, berries) fold them in now.

    Transfer the mixture to a loafpan lined with parchment paper. Cut the extra banana in half, lengthwise and add it on top. Sprinkle with some cinnamon and/ or brown sugar and bake in the oven for 45-50 minutes. After the baking time piek through with a toothpick. If nother sticks to it, the bread is done. If there still is some dough sticking to it, it needs more time in the oven.

    Take it out, let it cool down and cut into 12 slices. Serve each slices with some almond butter, fresh banana, and a drizzle of maple syrup or a sprinkle of brown sugar

Black Bean Brownies (vegan option)

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Brownies have never been that healthy, simple and delicious. Packed with protein and fiber they are super fudgy and chocolate-y. You do not taste the beans but they are still hidden in and sneak in nutrients. My new favourite brownie recipe! Healthy, vegan option and so fudge.

I am actually not a huge chocolate cake fn but brownies are something different. I do not know what it is, maybe because they are fudgier?! I don’t know, but they are good. But since brownies are not always the healthiest choice, I decided to switch some things out and sneak some healthy stuff in, to make them nourishing but still super delicious.

So the secret ingredients in this recipe are the black beans. Originally I wanted to try out sweet potato brownies, and I did, but they were a massive fail. When they were warm and straight out of the oven they were good but as soon as they cooled down, they did not taste like anything anymore and were just not good. But I was so excited to share a healthy brownie recipe so I continued trying out different versions ad that is how I came up with this black bean brownie recipe.

The great thing is that they are really easy to make. You do not need anything else than a fork but if you have a food processor it makes it easier. You need some black beans to mash, some eggs, or some flax or chia eggs for a vegan substitution (to make one „vegan egg“ combine 1 tbsp of either chia or flax seeds with 3 tbsp water and let sit for 5 minutes), milk or plant based milk, whole wheat flour, baking powder, cocoa powder and dark chocolate.

As for the sweetener you have two options. You can use dates to sweeten things up, which is my preferred choice, or coconut, brown or normal sugar. I prefer dates because in comparison with the alternatives, they have way more other nutrients. Dates are high in fiber, protein, and other vitamins and minerals whereas conventional sugar do not have any of those. But I know that not everyone is a fan of dates so I have got two recipes for you. They are pretty much the same, just differ a little because of the different textures of the sweeteners. Honestly, I would recommend to make the date version, because you cannot taste the dates and it is slightly healthier.

You might think, chocolate, that isn’t healthy? Actually it can be! Do not get me wrong and now think that every chocolate is super healthy, gosh no! What you need to be aware of are 2 main things; first, the darker, aka the higher the percentage of cocoa in it, the healthier it is. This is because cocoa is loaded with antioxidants and protein and actually is healthy in its pure form. The flavour of dark chocolate might not be everyone’s favourite but in this recipe it really works because you have other sweeteners. The second thing you should be aware of is the sugar added. If sugar is the first or second ingredient on the ingredients list, maybe this is not the best chocolate, because that means that there is a lot of added sugar. And also it depends on which sugar is added. Nowadays, you can find hundreds of chocolates at supermarkets or organic shops and there are some great healthy choices. I always put it that way: if you can pronounce every ingredient on the ingredients list and there is not a ton of sugar added, it is pretty save to say that it is healthy.

So that was a lot of information on chocolate now but who couldn’t talk about chocolate for hours? Anyway, I love making this recipe because it is really simple and my entire family likes it. Even my brother (!!) who is not the best friend of experimental, healthy or vegan things. BUT he liked it, because you could not taste any of those aspects.

The brownies taste best with a scoop of ice cream or coconut yoghurt and last for about a week in an air tight container or covered with foil outside the fridge. I do not recommend to store them in the fridge because they will loose some of their flavour.

I hope that you like them as well and will enjoy making them!
Happy cooking,
Kathi // Une Petite Cuisinière

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Black Bean Brownies (w/ dates)

A super fudgy, decadent and healthy version of regular brownies. Paces with protein and fiber (and of course chocolate) they make the ideal snack or dessert!

Course Dessert, Snack
Prep Time 10 Minuten
Cook Time 25 Minuten
Total Time 35 Minuten
Servings 12 brownies
Calories 149 kcal

What you will need

  • 4 eggs can be substituted for chia or flax egg (to substitute 1 egg, mix 1 tbsp of chia or groung flax seeds with 3 tbsp of water and let sit for 5 minutes), this makes a vegan version
  • 180 g kidney beans
  • 200 g dates soaked in hot water for 10 minutes to soften them up
  • 1 tbsp maple syrup
  • 50 ml oat milk or any other milk or plant based milk
  • 60 g dark chocolate the darker, the better
  • 50 g unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 50 g wholewheat flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • some chocoalte chips

How to

  1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.

    Place the beans in a food processor and plse until it forms a smooth paste. You can also mash them down with a fork. Add the eggs and mix or blend until everything is combined.

    Blend the dates until smooth. Add them along with the oat milk, maple syrup and molten chocolate to the bean mixture.

    In another bowl combine the flour, cacao powder and baking powder and mix until combined. Gently fold the flour mixture under the other ingredients.

    Pour in a baking tray, which is filled with parchment paper. Sprinkle it with chocolate chips and bake for 20-25 minutes.

    Peak into the brownies with a toothpic or a fork. When it comes out without any dough sticking on it, the brownies are done.

    Take them out and let them cool out. Enjoy with some icecream.

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Black Bean Brownies (with normal sugar)

A delicious, fudgy, chocolate-y and healthy twist on the regular bronies. Packed with Protein and fiber ( and of course chocolate) but healthier.

Course Dessert, Snack
Servings 12 servings
Calories 140 kcal

What you will need

  • 3 eggs ca be substituted for chia or flax egg (to substitute 1 egg, combine 1 tbsp of chia or ground flax seeds with 3 tbsp of water and let sit for 5 minutes), for a vegan option
  • 180 g black beans (from the can)
  • 160 g coconut sugar can be substituted for brown or normal sugar
  • 60 g dark chocolate the darker the better
  • 70 g flour
  • 50 g cocoa powder
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • some chocolate chips

How to

  1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.

    Place the beans in a food processor and plse until it forms a smooth paste. You can also mash them down with a fork. Add the eggs and mix or blend until everything is combined. Add the sugar and molten chocolate to the bean mixture. 

    In another bowl combine the flour, cacao powder and baking powder and mix until combined. Gently fold the flour mixture under the other ingredients.

    Pour in a baking tray, which is filled with parchment paper. Sprinkle it with chocolate chips and bake for 20-25 minutes. 

    Peak into the brownies with a toothpic or a fork. When it comes out without any dough sticking on it, the brownies are done. 

    Take them out and let them cool out. Enjoy with some icecream.