[valley]

I just posted this in the miscellaneous category, but its probably better here, with the breakfast recipes. If a mod wants to remove the other thread, then thats fine with me.

I was playing with some ideas this morning and came up with this recipe. I tried it on my ricotta muffins and it was wonderful! You could also put it in your plain yogurt, ricotta desserts or spread it on your mock pancakes/waffles! My mom used to make this jam and it always tasted like the real thing so I changed it a bit and it tastes a lot like her recipe, minus the tons sugar, of course. I make it in one cup batches so it stays fresh.

1 cup finely diced firm red tomato
Hot water
1 teaspoon sugar free strawberry jello
2 packets splenda

put diced tomatoes in small sauce pot and cover with the hot water and then drain in a mesh strainer until most of the water is gone. (this removes most of the tomato flavor as well as the tomato juice) Put back into sauce pot. Add the SF Jello and Splenda and bring to a boil. Boil until tomatoes are very soft. Throughout the cooking, I used a potato masher to mash the tomatoes a bit better. I didnt cook it very long...just a few minutes until the tomatoes were soft enough. Put in fridge. It sets up just like real jam and has a nice spreadable consistency.

You could probaby use any flavor of SF jello...if I can find grape, then i'll be in heaven!

[SoulBliss]

That sounds interesting. Are strawberries not allowed? Just wondering why tomato is used.

[valley]

Originally Posted by SoulBliss

That sounds interesting. Are strawberries not allowed? Just wondering why tomato is used.

strawberries are not allowed in phase 1, probably because of the high sugar content. Tomatoes are ok though. The recipe tastes nothing like tomatoes at all.

[beachgal]

What an interesting idea, Valley! Thanks for sharing. You have to use fresh tomatoes, right?

Strawberries are actually low on the glycemic index and are often the best thing to try when starting Phase 2. We don't eat fruit in Phase 1 as we try to detox all the excess sugar out of our system. It's not the healthiest thing, which is why Dr. A tells us to not stay on Phase 1 any longer than the 2 weeks.

[valley]

Originally Posted by beachgal

What an interesting idea, Valley! Thanks for sharing. You have to use fresh tomatoes, right?

Yes, I used fresh. I'm not sure how canned tomatoes would work. You might have to drain them longer if you tried it.

Strawberries are actually low on the glycemic index and are often the best thing to try when starting Phase 2. We don't eat fruit in Phase 1 as we try to detox all the excess sugar out of our system. It's not the healthiest thing, which is why Dr. A tells us to not stay on Phase 1 any longer than the 2 weeks.

Great. Thank you for the information. I cant wait to get to phase 2 now!

[valley]

ok, so I just had some of this again and after it sits in the fridge for awhile, its gets really stiff. Still tastes great, though. Also forgot to mention that the recipe I gave actually makes a half cup of finished jam.

Just thought i'd add that info.

[zeffryn]

this sounds great. I think I might try it with breakfast tomorrow. Thanks for the wonderful ideas! It's nice to not have to eat something totally different from the rest of the family, as is the case with so many other diets. It's easier to stick to something if you can share it with the rest of the people in your life that aren't on the diet.