This Jam is just Peachy!
I realize that for many folks making homemade preserves is no big deal. People have been canning and putting up vegetables and sauces and fruits for centuries. But those people did not come from my world. When I was a kid, green beans came out of a can and jelly came out of a jar that had a Flintstone character on the outside of the glass. So the fact that yesterday I rather nonchalantly decided to save the peaches that were about to go bad by turning them into some homemade preserves was a rather monumental step for me.
Don't get me wrong, I had been thinking about trying to do something like this for a while which is why I had the supplies necessary on hand but up to this point I had been ... well ... I had been scared to try. But yesterday I figured I had nothing to lose except the few peaches that were already on their way out so I gave it a whirl. I wanted to make sugar free preserves so I took the package of pectin required to help things gel out of my cupboard and dove in. I cooked down my few peaches with some water and the pectin, added some Splenda, a little lemon juice and a dash of Grand Marnier and crossed my fingers that it would set up. Miraculously, when I was done I had 2 and 1/2 jars of pretty authentic looking and yummy tasting sugar free peach preserves.
Now since this post is all about "can"did confessions, I'll admit that since I was making such a small batch my plan was to simply keep the jars refrigerated once I was done. I didn't do the full canning procedure - making sure I had the proper amount of head space, boiling the jars to create a vacuum packed seal etc. That part still scares me. But I think I'm closer to jumping that hurdle now. One step at a time. For now I was just excited that today I was able to enjoy my homemade preserves on one of my homemade everything bagels and feel pretty proud of myself as I did!
Breakfast
Bagel with sugar free peach preserves and smart balance light
Cup of fresh fruit
Coffee with 15 milk
Lunch
Hummus, Tomato, Light Feta and Ham on Arnold Select MultiGrain Bread
Kettle Baked BBQ Chips
Pickle
Dinner
New York Strip with Sauteed Peppers & Onions
Baked Potato with Light Sour Cream and 1 strip of Bacon crumbled
Corn on the Cob with Smart Balance Light
Dessert
Mint Chocolate Pudding Cake cups
To make this dessert I took 2 mint chocolate Vitamuffin tops, broke them into pieces and divided the pieces among 4 custard cups. Then I made some sugar free fat free chocolate pudding and poured it into the cups on top of the muffin pieces and placed them in the refrigerator to cool. I served them with a little Fat Free Reddi-Wip. This was amazingly good for only 1.5 points!
Don't get me wrong, I had been thinking about trying to do something like this for a while which is why I had the supplies necessary on hand but up to this point I had been ... well ... I had been scared to try. But yesterday I figured I had nothing to lose except the few peaches that were already on their way out so I gave it a whirl. I wanted to make sugar free preserves so I took the package of pectin required to help things gel out of my cupboard and dove in. I cooked down my few peaches with some water and the pectin, added some Splenda, a little lemon juice and a dash of Grand Marnier and crossed my fingers that it would set up. Miraculously, when I was done I had 2 and 1/2 jars of pretty authentic looking and yummy tasting sugar free peach preserves.
Now since this post is all about "can"did confessions, I'll admit that since I was making such a small batch my plan was to simply keep the jars refrigerated once I was done. I didn't do the full canning procedure - making sure I had the proper amount of head space, boiling the jars to create a vacuum packed seal etc. That part still scares me. But I think I'm closer to jumping that hurdle now. One step at a time. For now I was just excited that today I was able to enjoy my homemade preserves on one of my homemade everything bagels and feel pretty proud of myself as I did!
Breakfast
Bagel with sugar free peach preserves and smart balance light
Cup of fresh fruit
Coffee with 15 milk
Lunch
Hummus, Tomato, Light Feta and Ham on Arnold Select MultiGrain Bread
Kettle Baked BBQ Chips
Pickle
Dinner
New York Strip with Sauteed Peppers & Onions
Baked Potato with Light Sour Cream and 1 strip of Bacon crumbled
Corn on the Cob with Smart Balance Light
Dessert
Mint Chocolate Pudding Cake cups
To make this dessert I took 2 mint chocolate Vitamuffin tops, broke them into pieces and divided the pieces among 4 custard cups. Then I made some sugar free fat free chocolate pudding and poured it into the cups on top of the muffin pieces and placed them in the refrigerator to cool. I served them with a little Fat Free Reddi-Wip. This was amazingly good for only 1.5 points!
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