Carbs in Traditional Jam

​According to the app I use, Cronometer, 1 tablespoon of store bought strawberry jam has 6 grams of carbs, which is quite a lot since who just eats 1 tablespoon right?

So 2 tablespoons is 12 grams of total carbs and that is too much for anyone on a ketogenic diet since most only have 20 carbs or less a day. 

Sugar Free Store-Bought Jams

​The carbs and sugar might be lower in store bought sugar free jam that you can find in most grocery stores, but that doesn’t mean the ingredients are good for anyone watching what you put in your body.

I don’t want artificial sweeteners or a ton of preservatives in my food. 

​According to Cronometer, Smucker’s seedless strawberry jam with Splenda has almost as many carbs as the regular kind with sugar, it has 5 grams of carbs so you’re not saving much in that area.

Not to mention the negative effects of ingesting Splenda which is known in may studies to spike blood sugar. 

​Carbs in our Sugar-Free Jam Recipe

​Our easy peasy healthy recipe for sugar free strawberry jam has just 2 grams of carbs for 2 tablespoons which is fantastic! It has a lovely jelly-like consistency because of the wonderful chia seeds.

This is the easiest jam to make with just a few simple ingredients and suitable for a keto & diabetic lifestyle. 

​All the nutritional data is on the printable recipe card at the bottom of this page. 

Keto Strawberry Jam Recipe

With the spring season officially here now and the weather warming up for us in New England, beautiful fresh strawberries are in season and require little effort to make your own jam at home to enjoy.

I couldn’t think of a better way to begin this season than bringing you a keto jam recipe that is perfect for either picking your own strawberries or buying them locally from a farm near you while in season.  

Can I use Frozen Strawberries?

You can make this when it isn’t berry season and use frozen berries instead of fresh real strawberries, thaw the frozen berries first then drain them well before continuing with this great recipe.

Spending less time in the kitchen and more time outside soaking in the fresh air and sunshine, and relaxing is what I crave!

This refrigerator jam is the way to bring fresh berry season in your home without the process of canning which can be a lot of time spent in the kitchen instead of outdoors.

Can I use other fresh fruit? 

Yes feel free to use other berries like blackberries, blueberries, raspberries or even cranberries to make a delicious chia jam recipe.

Can I change the low carb sweetener used?

If you don’t have liquid stevia you can use powdered stevia.

Here’s my Ultimate Sweetener Guide & Conversion Chart for you to swap another sweetener of choice.

Can I use maple syrup?

You could use maple syrup if you prefer but please note it will add a significant amount of carbs and it will change the carb count in the nutrition information that I have listed in the recipe card.

Health Benefits of Chia Seeds

Tiny but mighty! 

Chia seeds are packed with fiber, omega-3 fatty acids, and plant-based protein—making them a hormone-supporting powerhouse. They help balance blood sugar, reduce inflammation, and keep you feeling full longer.

Perfect for perimenopause and menopause support!

Keto Bread Recipes 

Keto Cottage Cheese Biscuits in a cast iron skillet

Air Fryer Keto Biscuit

Dairy Free Cloud Bread

Keto Cottage Cheese Cloud Bread

90 Second Keto Cottage Cheese English Muffin

More Chia Seed Easy Keto Recipes

Raspberry Chia Jam

Peanut Butter Chia Seed Pudding

Vanilla Chia Seed Pudding

Almond Joy Chia Seed Pudding

Chia Pudding with Roasted Strawberries

Print

Sugar-Free Strawberry Refrigerator Jam

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Servings 16 servings @ 2 tbsp

Calories 17kcal

Author Brenda Bennett | Sugar-Free Mom

Ingredients

• 2 cups strawberries fresh, hulled, sliced or see notes above for using frozen
• 3 tablespoons chia seeds
• 2 tablespoons Monk Fruit Allulose confectioners
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice or 1/2 lemon
• 1 tablespoon water
• pinch salt
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon liquid stevia optional

Instructions

• Process all ingredients together in a high powdered blender or food processor until desired consistency. I pulsed the berry mixture in my blender to still retain some bits of strawberries in the mixture.
• Taste and adjust sweetness as desired.
• Pour into a mason jar and refrigerate for an hour to gel or overnight.
• Makes 16 ounces after blending.

Notes

This recipe makes 16 ounces or 32 tablespoons. One serving is 2 tablespoons.

This recipe was first published in June 2014. 

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving @ 2 tbsp | Calories: 17kcal | Carbohydrates: 2g | Protein: 0.5g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 0.1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.1g | Trans Fat: 0.003g | Sodium: 1mg | Potassium: 38mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 3IU | Vitamin C: 11mg | Calcium: 17mg | Iron: 0.2mg

The post Sugar Free Low Carb Keto Strawberry Chia Seed Jam appeared first on Sugar-Free Mom.

Every so often I need to create a super duper round up post of all the excellent sugar-free and low carb recipes and collections I’m creating for the other sites I write for.

If you are a subscriber to my weekly Saturday newsletter, then you may have possibly seen some of these scrumptious creations all ready. Even if you have, it doesn’t hurt to remind you of these since you won’t be able to search for them here on my website.

Here’s to a new Spring season ahead and lots of yumminess coming your way!

Low Carb Banana Chia Pudding

Low Carb Banana Cream Pie Smoothie

Buffalo Chicken Salad Stuffed Avocado

Sugar-Free Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

Low Carb Banana Ricotta Mousse

27 Savory Low Carb Recipes Using Lemon

8 Low Carb Instant Pot Recipes

21 Sugar-Free Low Carb Truffle Recipes

17 No Bake Sugar-Free Low Carb Mousse Recipes

The post 5 Low Carb Sugar-Free Recipes & 4 Round Ups You Don’t Want To Miss! appeared first on Sugar-Free Mom.

If you’ve never enjoyed chia seeds, now’s the time to try them out! If you’re a coffee lover this will be a luscious, satisfying dessert that provides a little boost in your day. It has no added sugar so it won’t leave you crashing from a sugar rush like many other afternoon snacks can tend to do.

My friend Lauren from Lauren Kelly Nutrition, was in the hospital recently for a pretty severe illness and still in recovery. Although she lives in another state, I was anxious to help in some way.

Our mutual friend Carolyn from All Day I Dream About Food organized a guest post schedule and I’m happy to be helping in some way.

Print

Sugar-Free Cappuccino Chia pudding

This Cappuccino Chia pudding recipe is made with just 4 ingredients plus your favorite sweetener of choice so it's not only dairy free, but sugar-free, gluten free, low carb and easy as well!

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Servings 2

Calories 104kcal

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup strong brewed coffee  decaf or regular, chilled
• 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk or milk of choice
• 1/2 tsp coffee extract
• 1/4 cup chia seeds
• 2 tbsp sweetener of choice (I used vanilla liquid stevia and needed just ¼ tsp sugar-free Maple syrup)
• Optional toppings – dairy free whipped cream

Instructions

• Stir ingredients together and taste and adjust sweetener as needed.
• Allow to sit for a couple of minutes then evenly pour into two serving glasses.
• Refrigerate 10 minutes.
• Top with optional toppings if desired. Enjoy!
• To store, place in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 104kcal | Carbohydrates: 9g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.03g | Sodium: 5mg | Potassium: 116mg | Fiber: 7g | Vitamin A: 11IU | Vitamin C: 0.3mg | Calcium: 135mg | Iron: 2mg

The post Sugar-Free Cappuccino Chia pudding appeared first on Sugar-Free Mom.

The gentle wake up call like no other is the heavenly fragrance of freshly brewed coffee coaxing you out of bed, eyes partially closed, stumbling, fumbling, searching for a cup to get to that first hot sip awaiting you.

Most days are not gentle wake ups like this are they? It’s often an annoying alarm like someone poking at your shoulder that won’t stop until you’ve gotten up to mute that siren. I confess I am a lover of hot coffee in the morning so a smoothie  wouldn’t necessarily be helping me get out of bed, but combining it with coffee and I’m interested.

Coffee cake is a combo with a reputation.  Most people have heard of it and tried it and know it as: “sinfully delicious, how could it be called breakfast”. But today protein and smoothie are joining in for some fun to help convert coffee cake to a new healthier level.

Making healthy breakfasts that include coffee in some way are my cup of tea, pun intended. 🙂

One night we were all gathered over a friends house so the kids could play in their pool and the adults could enjoy a nice evening together. My friends teen daughter and I were chatting about her baking love and also being gluten free. Meaning she never tries all the goodies she makes for friends who ask. I encouraged her of course to give some fabulous gluten free flour from Bob’s Red Mill a chance. Experimenting with gluten free flours is challenging but not being able to enjoy her own creations is awfully sad in my opinion.  Soon enough we were discussing all kinds of new ideas and flavors from cupcakes to cakes to inevitably coffee cake! And that is how my spin on this recipe today came to be!

Since it’s summer time in the states, I’ve not felt the desire to turn the oven on to bake anything. Hence my use of the crock pot for the chocolate quinoa brownies, and the last few delicious no bake recipes like; Sugar Free Broccoli Salad, Peanut Butter & Jelly Overnight Refrigerator Oats,   Peanut Butter Cheesecake Mousse Pie,  Lightened Up Alfredo Sauce with Zucchini & Yellow Squash Noodles, and Chocolate Peanut Butter Chia Pudding Parfait!

But fear not because a really yummy, sugar free and gluten free coffee cake has been tackled and delivered in my upcoming cookbook being released in December!

Of course you see I did add a little bit of sugar free chocolate syrup too, which is completely optional but totally worth it! The syrup is the topping I used on my No Bake Peanut Butter Cheesecake Mousse Pie and since I had some left over from that, why not right?

Whether the thought of making this for breakfast will pull you out of bed like a good cup of coffee, I know not. But it will allow you to get in some super foods like chia and flax, to easily grab it and go and be filling enough to sustain you until lunch!

Brenda’s Notes:

• If you don’t have cinnamon stevia, you can use plain or vanilla liquid stevia. You could also use powdered here if desired. Here’s my conversion chart.
• You could sub the egg whites for a scoop of protein powder instead.
• When you subtract the total carbs from the fiber you have 12.6 net carbs. Not too high in carbs for breakfast!

Print

Sugar-Free Coffee Cake Protein Smoothie

Course Breakfast

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Total Time 5 minutes minutes

Servings 1

Calories 242kcal

Author Brenda Bennett | Sugar-Free Mom

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup chilled brewed coffee
• 1 cup ice
• 1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
• 1/4 cup pasteurized egg whites
• 3 tablespoons rolled oats
• 2 tablespoons flaxseed meal
• 1 tablespoon chia seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon liquid stevia
• Optional toppings: Dairy Free whipped cream
• Chocolate Syrup

Instructions

• Combine all ingredients into your blender and blend on high until smooth.
• Taste and adjust sweetener if needed.
• Pour over ice in a large glass, add additional toppings if desired and enjoy!

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 242kcal | Carbohydrates: 23.8g | Protein: 15.1g | Fat: 11.4g | Saturated Fat: 0.7g | Sodium: 141mg | Fiber: 11.2g | Sugar: 0.4g

The post Sugar-Free Coffee Cake Protein Smoothie appeared first on Sugar-Free Mom.

What do you get when you mix chia seeds, yogurt, peanut butter, cocoa powder, rolled oats and some stevia? THIS incredible NO BAKE, Delicious, Yummy, Fantastic, breakfast or snack or dessert!

I don’t know about you but a “no baking required and make ahead before I go to bed” recipe is a winner in my book! I really love the Chia Mango recipe I gave you a few days ago but nothing beats peanut butter and chocolate for breakfast.

Um…. let me think about that again…..yep, nothing. 🙂

Would you believe me if I told you in this tiny little jar there are 10 grams of fiber and 14 grams of protein? Yep, true!!

How could you not love this? To good to be true? Not at all! A bit high in fat, but once a week wouldn’t do any damage to your weight loss efforts.

The post No Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Chia Oats [No Sugar Added] appeared first on Sugar-Free Mom.

Who knew chia seeds would be so yummy and so versatile in so many recipes? Not I that’s for sure. But since I finally purchased a bottle, I’ve found many recipes to throw them into. I love how they gel up and moisten everything in contact once mixed with liquid.

I first saw this idea on Pinterest for refrigerator oats and was quite curious if I would enjoy a cold oatmeal in the morning. ‘Course I had to try it and was pleasantly surprised!

I changed up a few things and you can certainly add honey if your not crazy about stevia but your nutrition info will change as well. Super creamy, almost like a pudding as opposed to oatmeal in a bowl.

Full of protein and fiber and absolutely delicious!

adapted from The Yummy Life

NO Bake Overnight Chia Mango Oats

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup rolled oats
• 1 tablespoon chia seeds
• 1/3 cup almond milk
• 1/4 cup plain Greek Yogurt, nonfat
• 1/2 teaspoon SweetLeaf Liquid Stevia, Vanilla Creme
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 champagne mango, chopped (about1/2 cup)

Directions

In a small mason jar, pour in rolled oats, chia seed, milk, yogurt, vanilla and stevia. Cover and shake well. Use a spoon if necessary to stir until all combined. Add chopped mango. Cover and refrigerate overnight. That’s it! Grab a spoon and enjoy your no cooking breakfast!

Nutrition Info

Servings: 1* Calories: 243* Fat: 7g* Fiber: 9g* Carbs: 37g* Protein: 11g* Points+:4*

The post No Bake Overnight Chia Mango Oats {Naturally Sweetened} appeared first on Sugar-Free Mom.

Chocolate Cake for breakfast?

No….. its not REALLY cake, but it looks like it doesn’t it? With frosting on top!

Ok….. you already read the title so you know what it really is, BUT I must say for breakfast this is truly heavenly! I topped it with plain Greek yogurt sweetened with a bit of stevia….Incredible I tell ya!

Of course you could leave it plain and just add some fresh fruit on top and it will be just as yummy!

Give it a few minutes to cool before removing it from the ramekin and enjoy warm! Full of fiber and protein!

I’ve made it about 3 times before I was able to get the moistness it needed. My previous recipe “single serving egg white whole wheat puff pancake” is perfected but uses flaxseed not chia. Throwing in cocoa powder changes this recipe and for those who’d rather bake with chia than flax.  I wouldn’t mess with any substituting such as changing the chia seeds with flax here because the chia adds moistness and the flax is more drying with the cocoa powder. I have not tried using a whole egg as opposed to the egg whites, but if you do, just know that the egg white amount I used equals about 2 eggs.

Other pancake recipes you might like:

• Whole Wheat Banana Puff Pancake
• Whole Wheat Berry Puff Pancake
• Whole Wheat Blueberry Pancakes
• Single Serving Whole Wheat Egg White Puff Pancake

The post Single Serving Chocolate Chia Whole Wheat Puff Pancake {No Sugar Added} appeared first on Sugar-Free Mom.

A creamy banana smoothie with almond butter mixed in and no dairy is a dairy intolerant persons dream!!! I know because I am one!!!  I can handle some dairy but if I start eating too much of certain dairy products my tummy lets me know. So I wanted to make a smoothie without any dairy at all for those of you who also have dairy issues or allergies. What I didn’t want was a bland, not so creamy, second place type of smoothie. You know, one that was just OK tasting. I wanted a delicious, healthy, dairy free smoothie that you would want to make again and again. I think I have done that! You would never know there is no creamy Greek yogurt in it if I didn’t tell you. That makes me happy. 🙂

If you want to switch to peanut butter instead of almond that is a simply change that would be just as good.  But since I used almond milk I kept with that theme. Chia seeds are so good for you full of fiber, high in calcium, magnesium and omega 3 fatty acids your body needs. If you don’t have any throw in some flax seed which is also full of fiber, protein, calcium and iron. Soy milk would also be an alternative to almond but higher in calories. Just remember the nutrition info changes when you make any substitutions to the original recipe.

The post Banana Almond Chia Dairy Free Smoothie appeared first on Sugar-Free Mom.

Yes I know what your thinking…….This looks so very similar to my most popular recipe,  Personal Sized Baked Oatmeal with Individual Toppings  all over Pinterest,  BUT there are some simple changes I made from the original per reader requests. 🙂

So here are the differences:

• Steel cut oats versus rolled oats
• chia seeds versus flaxseed
• reduction of amounts used overall
• Layered batter/filling effect versus just topping

Moral of the story…..It is really just personal preference of whichever you like better.  I had many requests to work my original recipe with steel cut oats and also to use chia seeds so this is what I came up with.

I love both!

But just an FYI: The texture of these will NEVER be the consistency of making steel cut oats on the stove or in the crock pot. They will have a chewy texture, but it doesn’t mean they are undercooked, that is the way baking them like this will make them. I eat them warm in a bowl with a fork.

This is the middle, the filling part.  Can you see that very special one I made just for me, bottom, second from left? Oh yes, you ARE guessing correctly.

Covered here with more batter and desired toppings.

After placing filling into cupcake liners, cover only a few at a time with batter so you don’t forget what you placed inside. Ha Ha, ’cause I ALMOST did forget! Especially NOT good  if you have children allergic to certain ingredients!

My filling/topping ingredients:

• blueberries/shredded unsweetened coconut
• raspberry/chocolate chip
•  dried unsweetened cherries/granola
•  sunflower seeds
• mango
•  all natural peanut butter,no sugar added/ unsweetened, all-natural jam (pic below)

Oh yes, PB&J Baked Oatmeal is fantastic, unfortunately I only made one for myself to try it. AND.I.WILL.MAKE.IT.AGAIN.

But the hubby thought it sounded gross and I’d like to know your thoughts.

Gross or YUM?

How can you not want to eat THAT for breakfast or a snack, I mean really 🙂

Here’s the nutrition info for the PB&J Baked Steel Cut Oat cups if you are interested in making them.
Additional Notes:
I expected to make only about 12 since I had reduced the amount of oats from my original personal sized baked oatmeal which uses rolled oats, but I got 16 instead. I probably could have filled them more then I did and got less, but it is what it is …… I’m fine with more anyway. Hope you won’t mind either!

So I’d love to hear from you if you’ve made my original recipe using rolled oats and also if you try this recipe which you prefer, let me know!

Don’t forget……. Gross or Yum to the PB&J idea?

Can’t find the QUICK steel cut oats? You can use regular and soak them, here’s the recipe: Individual Steel Cut Oat Cups [Pre-soaked, No Sugar]

Nutrition Info {plain, no filling or topping}

The post Personalized Baked STEEL CUT Oat Cups: [No Added Sugar] appeared first on Sugar-Free Mom.