People always ask me if I enjoy cooking because I do it all the time. My usual reply is "Not really, but I do enjoy eating healthfully as a result of my hard work in the kitchen." Well today after almost a week off from cooking over the Christmas holidays and after a week of eating food that is not the greatest for me I have gotten back into the kitchen. I whipped up a batch of mixed berry jam and experimented with some leftover pumpkin puree and made a pumpkin loaf. And I must say there is something enjoyable about working in the kitchen and creating something with your own two hands. It was satisfying today to spend some time baking while watching my jars of jam cool on the window sill. (I even used my new label maker and added some handy dandy labels to the jar) What is also gratifying is realizing how my skills have improved over the last year. I never would have experimented with a recipe a year ago but today I subbed in pumpkin for bananas and created my own pumpkin bread. It is still baking away in the oven so I will have to let you know how it tastes when it's done!

Homemade Jam - Less Sugar

So I found this recipe for making QUICK strawberry jam. This is jam that does not involve the complicated canning procedures of sterilizing jars and such but there is a catch. It only lasts about 9 days in the fridge, you can't keep in the pantry for an extended length of time like regular jam.

So because I am on the GI diet and always looking for ways of cutting back my sugar intake I have been playing around with this recipe a bit. I basically cut the amount of sugar in half to see if it would still taste good and still gel together like a jam should. And I am happy to report that yes it still worked out and yes it still tasted good.

I also experimented by using different types of berries. One week I just happened to have some blueberries and blackberries left over so I popped them in with the strawberries and came up with a yummy three berry jam.

If you are a fan of Splenda I am sure you could use that as a sugar substitute but as I mentioned in the past I prefer to use less sugar then play around with sugar substitutes.

A Cooking/Baking Fest in the Kitchen

Yesterday I spent the majority of my afternoon in the kitchen. Taking care of my health by staying on the GI Diet and cooking almost every meal of the week for my husband and I is a lot of work. In order to get ready for the week I took advantage of some time alone in the house to get prepared for the week so that I would have less work to do when I get home from work.

So my marathon of baking and cooking included making:

2 batches of Chocolate Zucchini Muffins - which we will eat as a snack each day and will last us at least two weeks

2 batches of Blueberry Rock Cakes - again to have as a snack here and there over the next few weeks.

1 batch of strawberry jam for on our toast in the mornings

1 pot of Ham and Split Pea Soup for dinner on Monday night (and leftovers for lunch on Tuesday)

1 Chicken and Rice Casserole for dinner Tuesday night (and leftovers for lunch on Wednesday)

1 batch of basic spaghetti sauce for dinner on Thursday night (and left overs for lunch on Friday, the rest to be frozen for dinner next week)

Every Wednesday we go for a run and sushi with our friends so we are covered for food until Friday night. I have planned something that is quick and easy to make for dinner on Friday because who wants to spend an hour in the kitchen after a long week.

Quick Strawberry Jam

OK so this recipe is definitely not from the GI Diet cookbook but I thought I would share it anyways. I have been feeling like a home body lately and into experimenting in the kitchen and I decided I wanted to learn how to make jam. I was browsing through some old magazines and I came across this recipe for "Quick Strawberry Jam" . This is not jam in the traditional sense but if you want to whip up a tasty treat it will do the trick.

This recipe has a lot of SUGAR! so be warned. The next time I make it I am going to experiment a little more and cut the sugar in half and then try it without any sugar at all. After all fruit is usually sweet enough on its own so it may work out. Although sugar sometimes adds to the texture of the finished product. I will let you know once I polish off this jar by having it on my toast every morning. So much for completely getting back on the GI Diet

SERVED WITH: Toast and tea

COOKING TIPS: If you don't mind using Splenda or another sugar substitute I am sure you can make this jam a sugar free treat. This jam is quick and easy to make.

RATING: 7. It is a little to sweet for my liking.