Greetings beautiful hive people. What's up? How are you all holding up during this pandemic?

For us - and I think for everybody else - it is taking way too long. Being so far apart from my family is starting to get tough. Normally, they come to visit us and we go to Belgium once a year to get some family time.

I guess we all have to wait a little longer.

Cambodia is one of the countries where you have this stupid rule that when you come back into the country you have to go in quarantine for 2 to 3 weeks in a hotel in the capital on your account. As long as they keep up this quarantine rule we don't really want to leave the country.

Two to three weeks locked away in a stuffy hotel room with horrible food plus about $2000 wasted on nothing... No thank you.

I rather stay home a little longer and spend the money on something nice while eating lovely, colorful food... Like vanilla blueberry chia seed jam 🫐

Blueberry Vanilla Chia Seed Jam

Have you ever tried making chia seed jam? It is so much better than regular jam and no sugar or gelatin is needed..... And it can be made in less than 5 minutes.

The downside, they don't last as long as regular jams. But then they are so easy to make so we make a new jar every week with a different flavor.

In the fridge, chia jams can last up to 2 maybe 3 weeks. They never last that long at our home so we actually don't now 😂

Ingredients (makes 1 small jar)

1 cup blueberries
1 tablespoon maple syrup, agave syrup, or raw honey (optional)
1 tablespoon water lukewarm
1 tablespoon chia seeds
1/2 to 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or other flavor makers such as cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, etc.

FYI: adding dates also works to sweeten things up without using sugar.

Instructions

Combine all ingredients in a small food processor/blender. Mix/blend until homogeneous.

Pour into a clean glass jar with an airtight lid. Cover and place in the fridge for at least 1 hour to let the chia seeds do their magic and turn the water in the fruit mix into a nice jam or jelly. Chia seeds can absorb about 10 times their weight in water while forming a gel-like substance.

You can use any fruit you like. That's why we make small batches and switch the fruits every time. Other flavor combos I like are raspberry-vanilla, kiwifruit-strawberry, and apple-cinnamon.

Chia Jam is delicious on toast, vegan yogurt bowls, vegan pancakes, etc.