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  • Easy Homemade Fresh Berry Preserves, with Reduced Sugar and No Canning Required

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    Easy Homemade Fresh Berry Preserves, with Reduced Sugar and No Canning Required
    Prep: 5 min Cook: 20 min Servings: 32
    by Skinny Kitchen with Nancy Fox
    299 recipes
    >
    This time of year many people are canning and preserving summer’s fresh flavors. It can take some work and if you’re like us, most of you won’t want to be bothered, right? Happily you can make a jar of this amazing homey preserves very easily and quickly. The common fruit/sugar ratio in preserves is 50% fruit to 50% sugar. We’ve made ours with more fruit and way less sugar than most store bought preserves without sacrificing the taste at all. The skinny on 1 tablespoons is 26 calories, 0 fat and only 1 Weight Watchers POINTS PLUS. Most preserves or jams have 50 calories for 1 tablespoon and 0 fat. Because we’re not doing the typical canning methods, this fabulous jam will only keep for up to a month in the refrigerator. It’s bursting with flavor and chunks of fresh berries. You’ll see, once you make this jam, it will be hard to go back to a store bought one. It’s truly our favorite! Weight Watchers (old points) 0 Weight Watchers POINTS PLUS 1 SKINNY FACTS: for 1 tablespoon 26 calories, 0g fat, 0g protein, 7g carbs, 1g fiber, 0g sodium, 5g sugar

    Ingredients

    • 4½ cups fresh assorted berries, we use 1½ cups of each, blueberries, raspberries and blackberries
    • ⅔ cup sugar
    • ¼ cup water
    • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
    • 1 (8oz) heatproof container, such as a mason jar, see storage tip

    Directions

    1. 1. In a medium pot add the berries, sugar, water and lemon juice. Mix once very briefly with a rubber spatula to combine. Cover and bring up to a boil over medium high heat, about 3 minutes. Uncover pot and continue to boil, without stirring, until thickened, about 14- 15 minutes. If it’s boiling up to the top of the pot, turn the heat down slightly, but, you’ll want to keep the mixture boiling the entire time. Note: It’s ok for it to be a little runny as it will thicken more in the refrigerator. Our jam, unlike most, will remain a little runny, even after it cools and thickens. We like it this way!
    2. 2. Remove from heat and gently mix the preserves once with a rubber spatula. Carefully ladle hot preserves into a glass jar or other heatproof container, seal tightly and store in the refrigerator, see storage tip.
    3. 3. This is best refrigerated over night before using. Once cooled the preserves thicken a bit.
    4. 4. Store in the refrigerator for up to a month.

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    Comments

    • Skinny Kitchen with Nancy Fox
      Skinny Kitchen with Nancy Fox
      Healthy Benefits
      Berries are loaded with fiber and they top the charts in antioxidant power, protecting your body against inflammation and free radicals, molecules that can damage cells and organs.

      This jam is loaded with fiber rich berries so just 1 tablespoon has 1 gram of fiber!


      Shopping Tip
      You’ll need a total of 4½ cups of berries. We’ve used and combination of three, 1½ cups of each, but one kind will work too. We like using fresh berries but frozen berries will work for this recipe. Defrost and drain them first, before adding to the pot.


      Storage Tip
      Because we’re not doing the typical canning methods, this fabulous jam will only keep for up to a month, covered tightly, in the refrigerator.

      Preserving glass jars (mason jars) are sold in most supermarkets. They come packed 12 to a case for about $12.00. We love these not only for this recipe, they make great storage containers for a variety of food like nuts, raisins, chocolate chips, soups etc, They end of costing about $1.00 each.

      If you don’t have a heatproof jar, pour the jam into a heatproof bowl and let it cool in the refrigerator. Once cooled, store in a plastic container with a lid.


      Serving Tip
      Our preserves are a little runnier than most jams. We actually love it that way. Not only does it taste great spread on toast with a little reduced-fat butter, peanut butter or light cream cheese, it’s incredible drizzled over fresh berries and yogurt, on a multigrain waffle or mixed into oatmeal. We also love it as a topping for fat-free frozen yogurt. The possibilities are endless!

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