Homemade Jam for Natural Health
Posted by previ lean on Friday, April 13, 2012
Under: Nutrition
A Healthy Eating Plan - 1st Try at Homemade Jam
A healthy eating plan can include sugary foods in moderation, and I wanted to discuss my first try at homemade jam. It's officially harvest season in New York, and at last week's farmers market we stocked up on so many fruits and vegetables that I had to take pictures of our beautiful bounty! I also check out a different farm stand around our town every week, and last week I bought two quarts of peaches.
Peaches are such a delicious healthy family food, but they go bad pretty quickly. We gobbled up our first quart of peaches in just one day--because lots of fruit is a part of a healthy eating plan!--but the second quart started to bruise by the time any of us wanted to eat another peach!
I decided that I wanted to try my hand at making homemade jam with our slightly overripe peaches. The over-ripeness, I've read, actually helps in the jamming process because it releases pectin, which helps to hold the jam together.
I used this 1950s cooking encyclopedia that my mom found at a yard sale for directions. I didn't get fancy with new jars and seals and a canning pot and tongs, partially because I wanted to do a test run and see if it worked out well. Now that I know how easy it is to make homemade healthy family food that will last through the winter months, I'm looking to buy much more fruit while it's in season as well as a bulk package of jars and some canning tongs for sterilizing the jars.
It's funny to me how healthy family food is so easy to make. A year ago I would have thought that jam came from the grocery store, but now I know how easy it is to incorporate preserved foods into a healthy eating plan from scratch. And if you've ever tried to find jams without colorings and high fructose corn syrup at the grocery store, you know they're limited and very expensive. It's much more economical to make jams yourself as a part of a healthy eating plan!
The recipe encyclopedia I have--totally catered to 1950s homemakers--is full of ideas for healthy family food like preserves (lots of sugar, but does the fruit count as healthy?), pickles, relishes and pickled vegetables. I'm also planning to try out salsa, pickled peppers and pickled tomatoes.
As for actually making the jam, it's so easy. All I did was remove the peach skins and seeds, add sugar (the recipe called for .75 to 1 part sugar to 1 part fruit.) Then you slowly work up to a boil and allow the mix to thicken. It takes a while and lots of stirring, but after having bread with cream cheese and homemade peach jam this morning for breakfast, my family can once again attest to the goodness of homemade healthy family food. Yum!
Natural Health will help you simplify your life with common sense remedies. PreviLEAN Natural Health & Wellness Program carries a full line of natural foods, organic produce, Natural health products, as well as quality vitamin and herbal supplements. Our 'Natural health products' like herbs and other supplements are made from natural sources that are used to prevent sickness and promote health.
More articles on Raising Healthy Children.
A healthy eating plan can include sugary foods in moderation, and I wanted to discuss my first try at homemade jam. It's officially harvest season in New York, and at last week's farmers market we stocked up on so many fruits and vegetables that I had to take pictures of our beautiful bounty! I also check out a different farm stand around our town every week, and last week I bought two quarts of peaches.
Peaches are such a delicious healthy family food, but they go bad pretty quickly. We gobbled up our first quart of peaches in just one day--because lots of fruit is a part of a healthy eating plan!--but the second quart started to bruise by the time any of us wanted to eat another peach!
I decided that I wanted to try my hand at making homemade jam with our slightly overripe peaches. The over-ripeness, I've read, actually helps in the jamming process because it releases pectin, which helps to hold the jam together.
I used this 1950s cooking encyclopedia that my mom found at a yard sale for directions. I didn't get fancy with new jars and seals and a canning pot and tongs, partially because I wanted to do a test run and see if it worked out well. Now that I know how easy it is to make homemade healthy family food that will last through the winter months, I'm looking to buy much more fruit while it's in season as well as a bulk package of jars and some canning tongs for sterilizing the jars.
It's funny to me how healthy family food is so easy to make. A year ago I would have thought that jam came from the grocery store, but now I know how easy it is to incorporate preserved foods into a healthy eating plan from scratch. And if you've ever tried to find jams without colorings and high fructose corn syrup at the grocery store, you know they're limited and very expensive. It's much more economical to make jams yourself as a part of a healthy eating plan!
The recipe encyclopedia I have--totally catered to 1950s homemakers--is full of ideas for healthy family food like preserves (lots of sugar, but does the fruit count as healthy?), pickles, relishes and pickled vegetables. I'm also planning to try out salsa, pickled peppers and pickled tomatoes.
As for actually making the jam, it's so easy. All I did was remove the peach skins and seeds, add sugar (the recipe called for .75 to 1 part sugar to 1 part fruit.) Then you slowly work up to a boil and allow the mix to thicken. It takes a while and lots of stirring, but after having bread with cream cheese and homemade peach jam this morning for breakfast, my family can once again attest to the goodness of homemade healthy family food. Yum!
Natural Health will help you simplify your life with common sense remedies. PreviLEAN Natural Health & Wellness Program carries a full line of natural foods, organic produce, Natural health products, as well as quality vitamin and herbal supplements. Our 'Natural health products' like herbs and other supplements are made from natural sources that are used to prevent sickness and promote health.
More articles on Raising Healthy Children.
In : Nutrition