This post is a sponsored post by Ball® Canning. All of my opinions and experiences are my own. Many thanks to the brands that support my work here on Maia Terra.

One of the values I hold in the kitchen, among trying to use fresh, organic, and local ingredients when I can, is sugar free eating. It started when the kiddos were little, I made almost all their baby food and when we started feeding them solids, we decided not to introduce them to sugar. That meant certain snacks and purchased foods were off limits. My reasoning being is I felt that I ate a lot of sugar growing up and as I got older feeling the affects of sugar in my body, I could imagine what that would feel like to a little person. I remember kids in my classes getting in trouble for being restless or not being able to sit still and I thought no wonder kids can sit still when their bodies and minds are inundated with sugar.

When we were living in Milwaukee, magnolia was a toddler and griffin just born, Aj and I decided to do our first Whole 30. I think I was going to be a bridesmaid in my brother in law’s wedding, newly post partum with a dress to fit into, we decided to try Whole 30. No processed foods, no grains, no sugar, no alcohol, no dairy. Life was going to be tough, no? It became so apparent how much sugar we were actually consuming. I’m not talking just doughnuts, ice cream, or the occasional baked good from the coffeeshop. I’m talking all the ways in which sugar is “hidden” in our everyday foods: bread, ketchup, mayonnaise, sparkling water. The process of interrogating our food choices was eye opening.

Whole 30 was thirty days of no sugar, but when I started to feel the benefits I wanted to continue that way of living. I had less breakouts, less moodiness, more energy, less bloating around that time of the month. AJ came to a realization that he was kinda addicted to sugar, and when I say kinda, I mean REALLY. He would use it to stabilize his moods and once he started it was hard to stop. So we decided a couple years ago to only use natural sweeteners. I often try and adapt recipes to include honey and maple syrup instead of refined white sugar.

Every once and awhile, i’ll cave and make a dessert with sugar. For some reason, when I tell people we are sugar free they think i’m depriving our children of a carefree childhood, I just think of it as building a healthy realtionship with food and a foundation for health in the future. I let them eat sugar at birthday parties and holidays, and sometimes i’ll bake cinnamon rolls or something “special”. Then shortly after I regret it when they are speeding around the house and then crash which usually involves some misbehaving or tears. It often isn’t worth it. Sugar acts similarly to cocaine in the brain receptors. One day i’ll go into the ancestral significance of saying no to sugar for me, but that is not for this post.

One thing I have noticed though, is that sugar free alternatives to every day items in the stores are few and far between and are often more expensive. One of those everyday items is jam. Griffin loves jam on his toast! but a jar of sugar free jam is often $6! for a little jar. And so many recipes for jam contain cups and cups of sugar. So it was to my delight when I came across Ball® Canning Pectin Calculator. It was an answer Griffin’s jam dreams.

Pectin is a stabilizer, a polysaccharide starch found in the cell walls of fruits and vegetables. Pectin is a gelling agent that mimics the effects of gelatin, but comes entirely from plants. It helps which helps preserve and gel the jam together. Ball® Canning sells Ball® No to Low Sugar Pectin and the pectin calculator helps you turn different types of fruits into jam. Giving you the flexibility to make a small or large amount of jam the Ball® Canning Pectin Calculator lists ingredients. The pectin calculator contains receipes for grapes, raspberries, currants, apple, apricot, cherry, crabapple, pear, plum, and strawberry. They list a version with a natural sweetener or no natural sweetener if that is what you decide.

So today, i’m sharing the recipe to save those summer peaches with Ball® Canning Low Sugar Peach Jam, sweetened with honey. And for my vegan friends out there, there is an option on the pectin calculator to change the sugar substitute or make it without.

Peach Low Sugar Jam

makes 4 (8 oz) Half Pint Jars

ingredients

3- 2/3 cups crushed ripe peaches, peeled and sliced (about 2 1/4 lbs. or 7 med)

1/3 cup unsweetened fruit juice, I used white grape juice

3 Tbsp Ball® RealFruit™ Low or No-Sugar Needed Pectin

2 Tbsp. lemon juice (fresh or bottled)

Up to 1 cup granulated sugar, granular sugar substitute, or honey

directions

Prepare boiling water canner.

Prepare peaches by blanching in hot water for 30 to 60 seconds then plunging in a bath of ice water, then remove peels and diced.

Heat jars in simmering water until ready to use, do not boil.

Wash lids in warm soapy water and set aside with bands.

Combine crushed/chopped peaches, lemon juice and unsweetened juice in a medium saucepan.

Gradually stir in pectin.

Bring mixture to a full rolling boil that cannot be stirred down. If adding sweetener, add now if desired, and bring to a boil.

Boil hard 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Skim foam if necessary.

Ladle hot jam into a hot jar leaving a ¼ inch headspace. Remove air bubbles. Wipe jar rim with a clean cloth. Center lid on jar and apply band, adjust to fingertip tight.

Place jar in boiling water canner. Repeat steps until all jars are filled.

Process jars 10 minutes, adjusting for altitude. Turn off heat, remove lid, let jars stand to cool for 5 minutes.

Remove jars from canner/pot and cool 12-24 hours. Check lids for seal, they should not flex when center is pressed.

This season so far i’ve preserved our strawberries, black raspberry and currant into jams in addition to this peach jam with the Ball® pectin calculator.

maple pecan buckwheat scones

ingredients

1 cup white flour

1 cup buckwheat flour

1/4 cup maple syrup

1 egg

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/8 teaspoon cinnamon

1 stick of frozen butter, grated

1/4 cup chopped pecans

2 tablespoons oat milk

1/2 whole greek yogurt

2 teaspoon vanilla extract.

directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees

In a medium sized bowl, sift together flours, baking powder, salt.

Using a box grater, grate in cold butter and mix with the flours by hand.

In a small bowl whisk egg, vanilla, maple syrup together, fold in the greek yogurt.

Stir in the wet mixture into the dry until dough is formed, if necessary add at tablespoon milk if too dry. Incorporate until there are no dry bits but the dough is not sticky.

Place on a lightly floured parchment paper and with floured hands gently press into a 7 inch disk. Place in the freezer for 20 minutes. Remove from freezer, brush with remaining milk and using a sharp knife, slice into 8 triangles. (If you like sugar, you can dust with sugar now) And put parchment paper on baking sheet about 2 inches apart.

Bake until golden, 15-20 minutes. Serve warm with butter, drizzle with honey and top with a dollop of peach jam.

This post is a sponsored post by Ball® Canning. All of my opinions and experiences are my own. Many thanks to the brands that support my work here on Maia Terra.