As with most sweet treats, I never particularly indulged in the pre-Paleo days. Enjoying the occassional honey or maple syrup has added variety in my Paleo lifestyle but I am cautious to monitor my blood-sugar levels during these indulgences and tend to avoid it, and, rather make a date paste to add natural sweetener to a treat but this too is not often. Having tried an apricot jam in the past, using chia seeds to provide the elasticity, I sadly indulged in it once and never made it for myself again. I’ve often thought about making it differently and when the opportunity arose to try out what I had in mind, using a combination of dried apricots and dates soaked in a mint and basil-infused water mix, I was more than pleasantly surprised with the turn out.
A quick and easy method and recipe, the quantities may be increased to suit the amount you require – I go by the rule of consuming any food preparation within 5 days, so I made this jam in a small quantity – not that I would eat it all though 😛
Spread on Paleo toast or on Gluten and sugar free scones, added to a stir-fry meal, this jam or spread makes guilt-free jam a guilt-free treat!
Ingredients
About 70g of preservative and sugar free dried apricots
About 10 dates
a few sprigs of fresh mint
a few sprigs of fresh basil or half a tsp of dried basil
1 cup water
Here’s How
- Bring the water to a rapid boil on the stove top. Add in the fresh herbs, remove the pot from the stove, cover with the pot lid and allow to infuse for 3-4 minutes.
- Remove the herbs by straining off the water and retain the infused water, then add it to the apricots and dates and allow this mix to soak for an hour.
- Remove from the liquid and blend in a blender or food processor to the consistency you desire.
