Homemade Crockpot Blackberry Jam

Okay, okay - I know, don't judge me.  This isn't a 'skinny' recipe - I just had SO many blackberries and thought this would be a good thing to try.  Plus with jam, you only use a little at a time.  Everything in moderation, right?  If you substitute the sugar and try it - let me know how it turns out!

I found this recipe over at Repeat Crafter Me!  If you know me, you know that I LOVE using the crockpot.  There was one time during the school year that my co-workers would ask me everyday what I had cooking for dinner in the crockpot that day.  I got a triple crockpot last Christmas so I can crockpot cook multiple recipes at the same time.  When I saw this recipe and saw that it involved the crockpot, I was all for it! 

Ingredients:

2 pints of fresh blackberries (rinsed & dried)

2 1/2 cups of sugar

3 1/2 tablespoons of lemon juice

1.  Lightly mash the berries in a large bowl with a pastry blender or potato masher.  It'll be chunky.  

2.  Add the blackberries to the crockpot and add in 2 cups of sugar and 3 tablespoons of lemon juice.  Mix together and cook on low with the lid on for 2 1/2 hours - stir twice during this time.

3.  Remove the lid and cook on high for another 2 hours. 

4.  After that, I added an extra 1/2 cup of sugar and 1/2 tablespoon of lemon juice and let it cook for another 30 minutes.  If it seems too thin, add more sugar & lemon juice.  It will thicken some as it cools.  It won't have the same consistency as store bought jam, but it'll taste better!

5.  If you prefer seedless, use a sieve to strain out the seeds.  I made 2 jars with seeds and 2 jars seedless.

6.  Can your Jam!  (Per Google & a YouTube video: I heated my jars & lids - not boiled - to sanitize them and added my jam to them.  Wipe the rims and add the lids securely by hand.  Boil the jars for 10 minutes & let cool for 12-24 hours.  Once cooled, the seal in the middle shouldn't move up and down.  The lid will POP when you open it.)  

There aren't any preservatives, so it should last about 6 months canned, or 2 months in the refrigerator.

I got these adorable wide mouth jars from Wal-mart.

Add a tag and ribbon and it makes for a perfect gift!

Try it on some Blackberry Cobbler Bread!

Or some Banana Blackberry Muffins!

ENJOY!

Skinny Banana Blackberry Muffins

For many years my friends and I played scrabble with a ninety-year-old woman named Myldred.  I was sitting at a church friend's house and saw her walking to her mailbox one day and suggested to my friends that we visit her sometime.  Some guys from church ended up raking her leaves and I went in to talk and have lunch with her.  I left three hours later knowing that I had been blessed to meet this special woman.  

From that day on, there was a special place in my heart for Ms. Shinlever. My friend Taylor and I were looking for a new Wednesday night ministry, and after one evening of dinner and fellowship with Ms. Shinlever, we felt we had found somewhere we could make a difference. Since Ms. Shinlever could not leave her home, Taylor and I began making dinner for her every Wednesday and soon began spending our evening around the Scrabble board. We invented words (our best yet is Taylor's attempt to spell LEGLER) and try to keep Ms. Shinlever from cheating (we usually end up being the ones who are wrong when Ms. Shinlever insisted it was a word). It was a time to get away from all our other worries and troubles and focus on someone else.

Sometime later, Ms. Shinlever had a fall and was moved to an assisted living home—but she wasn’t going to get away from us that easily! We followed her there and ended up calling ourselves 'The Scrabble Girls.'

Myldred went on to be with the Lord over a year ago;  I miss her - but I've never forgotten the impact she made on my life.  The assisted living staff and her family often told us that we did not understand what we had done for her, but they were mistaken—they did not understand what she had done for us.

If I could to choose to be like anyone - it would by Myldred.  She was kind-hearted and fun - she often made us laugh.  Most of all, she had this love for people that was contagious - you couldn't help but enjoy her company. 

 I never knew that a simple lunch with an elderly woman would result in what it did!  I believe God places the people in your life for a reason.  It's not a mistake.  Remember to love those those around you.  Even take some time out to show someone a random act of kindness - you never know what could come of it.  

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

1 Corinthians 14:12

If you haven't visited Sally's Baking Addiction - you should!  That's where I found this fabulous recipe!  The original recipe calls for blueberries, but I exchanged them for blackberries since I have a plentiful supply of them in my freezer.  These turned out AMAZING!

Ingredients:

2 & 1/2 C whole wheat flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 C local honey

1/2 C brown sugar 

(you can substitute for honey  + molasses or sucanat)

2 mashed ripe bananas

1/4 C non-fat vanilla greek yogurt

1 large beaten egg

3/4 C almond milk

1 & 1/4 C fresh or frozen blackberries

1. In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon).

2.  In another bowl, mix together the honey and brown sugar.  Use a fork to break up the lumps.  Add in the mashed bananas, yogurt, and beaten egg.  It'll be really thick!

3.  Gently mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.  Add the almond milk 1/4 cup at a time.  Do not overmix the batter.  Fold in the blackberries.

4.  Spray 15 muffin tins with nonstick cooking spray.  Bake the first 12 muffins at 325 degrees for 18-2o minutes (poke the center with a toothpick and see if it comes out clean).  Bake the last 3 muffins - make sure you add a little water to the empty muffin tins. 

Each muffin is 131 calories!

I added a little of my homemade crockpot blackberry jam!  (I know, not skinny - but used in moderation.)  I'll give you the recipe for it soon!

ENJOY!

Peanut Butter Apple Dip

Looking for a healthy snack?  I tend to be a night snacker and came up with this delicious dip!  It's funny because now when I have calories leftover, I prefer this to any other kind of snack!

Ingredients:

1 medium apple

1 tbsp all-natural peanut butter (I like crunchy!)

1 tsp local honey

14g raisins

cinnamon to taste

1. Use an apple slicer to cut up a medium sized apple

2. Mix the peanut butter, honey, and raisins together in a small dipping bowl. 

3.  Sprinkle the apples and the dip with cinnamon.

Nutrition Information: (Using 1 tbsp peanut butter, including apple): approximately 215 calories

You could add in a few dark chocolate chips and it would be even better!!  ENJOY!

Chicken Alfredo with Sun-dried Tomatoes

I honestly rarely eat pasta.  I avoid it because it has so many carbs and is just too many calories.  Sometimes I just want a pasta dinner, so I recently came up with this recipe for Chicken Alfredo with Sundried Tomatoes.  For a pasta dish - it is lighter in calories and filling!  It's also made with whole wheat pasta - so at least the carbs are complex.

My mom came over to watch the Bachelorette with us, so we had a 'Build Your Own Pasta' night.

Ingredients: (I got mine from Trader Joe's)

Organic Whole Wheat Penne Pasta

Sun-dried tomatoes

(Choose a sauce)

Alfredo pasta sauce (try to find light - I couldn't find it this time)

Trader Joe's traditional marinara sauce (or organic marinara sauce)

(Choose a meat)

1 lb. all natural chicken tenders

1 bag pre-cooked shrimp (tails removed & deveined, frozen or fresh)

Cook the noodles according to the package. 

Heat your sauce (or both).

While the noodles are cooking, grill the chicken tenders and shrimp.  I marinaded my chicken in a ziploc bag with olive oil, salt, pepper, and light italian dressing.  Once the chicken is grilled, I slice it up into large pieces to put on the pasta. 

If you are using shrimp, put them on wooden skewers and grill them for about 3 minutes on each side.  Make sure you soak the wooden skewers in water so they aren't a fire hazard.

Build your pasta!  I made mine with the alfredo sauce, chicken, and topped it with the sundried tomatoes.  Enjoy with a salad on the side!

My husband added alfredo sauce and shrimp to his!

Nutrition Information: (3/4 C whole wheat pasta, 3/8 C alfredo, 3 oz grilled chicken breast, 2 tbsp sun-dried tomatoes): 474 calories.  (3/4 C whole wheat pasta, 1/2 C marinara, 3 oz grilled chicken, 2 tbsp sun-dried tomatoes): 389 calories

Enjoy!

Ultimate Fit Workout

I went to Ultimate Fit today at the Y with Amy (my friend & workout buddy) - and this was our workout!  It was a partner workout, so we would take turns doing reps.  I would do 10 reps, Amy does 10 etc. until we complete the exercise.  I run 200m and then Amy runs 200m.  So while your partner is working, you are resting.  It was hard but we completed it and feel accomplished! 

Biggest Loser - Family Style

I am so excited to tell you about what my family is doing!  My sister Jennifer and brother-in-law Tim had the idea to have a little family competition as motivation for all of us to get healthier - and smaller!
Who? Sharon (my mom), Jennifer, Tim, Carl (my husband), and I are all competing! 
The Game! We are competing on 2 levels. 1. Losing % of body weight 2. Losing body fat %
The stakes? Everyone put $10 in the pot! The winner of each level wins $25.  If you lose the most % of body weight and most body fat % - you can win the whole $50 pot! We'll all win healthier bodies!
What do you do to stay motivated?  Stay tuned - I'll keep you updated you on how everyone is doing! 

Blackberry Cobbler Bread

My friend Amy and I went to go pick blackberries today at the Fruit and Berry Patch.  We definitely got a few!

Well, when we got back to my house, we knew we needed to make something with all those blackberries.  Then I remembered!  My guest blogger Ashley from Whole Foods New Body shared an amazing recipe for Clean Eating Blackberry Cobbler Bread!  Well, it was time to give it a try!

We whipped up two batches so we could each have a loaf.  50 minutes later we had scrumptious (and healthy) bread!

 Now I just need some homemade blackberry jam to go with the bread!

Make sure you check out the recipe.  If you cut the loaf into 8 slices, it's approximately 180 calories a slice.  

Stay tuned, there will be more blackberry recipes to come - trust me!  I have plenty of blackberries and I'm excited to use them!