Strawberries are usually the first fruit of the season, and even if you don't grow your own, you can often find organic berries for a very reasonable price (conventionally grown strawberries have some of the highest concentrations of harmful pesticides, so you should always choose organic). We look for them to go on sale every spring or early summer, and usually buy a whole bunch and make a nice big batch of jam to last us through the winter. While I love all jam (who doesn't?), strawberry is one of my favorites...BUT - only if I make it the right way.

Freezer jam is my favorite as it is not really cooked, so you get that full, fresh, strawberry flavor. However, it does take up room in the freezer, and of course you have to wait for it to thaw before eating, so I do like to can most of our strawberry jam.

However, I discovered several years ago that I really don't care much for canned jams that contain pectin - especially strawberry. Pectin seems to change the color and flavor to make it much less appealing. Plus, you have to use more sugar than fruit to get it to gel properly, which makes no sense to me. I want to taste the strawberries - not a mouthful of sugar!

Since I started making the old-fashioned kind of jam without pectin, I have re-discovered my love for strawberry jam. Not only does it taste better, but it's a lot healthier for you as it uses less than half as much sugar! I actually haven't used pectin for years now in any kind of jam. I have found that just about any kind of fruit will gel up nicely if you cook it long enough.

Below is an excellent recipe for homemade low-sugar strawberry jam without pectin. If you're not feeling up for canning (which is easier than you may think - especially for jams), you can certainly also refrigerate this jam for up to 6 weeks, or freeze it for longer-term storage.

With everything going on in the world right now, most of us are barely aware of what day it is (I forgot it was Easter this weekend until someone reminded me on Friday!) - so it's not surprising that tax season has crept up on us without warning this year. Fortunately, the deadline has been extended until July, so I don't have to freak out about getting ours done this weekend.

However, I thought it would be a good time to address a financial topic this week, especially as so many people are currently in financial turmoil, laid off, working part time, or simply watching as their stock portfolios plunge in a sickening roller coaster ride of volatility.

Fortunately, at least the latter aspect is not much of a concern for me or for most our clients at the office, since so many of us utilize Bank On Yourself® as an integral part of our financial plan. While there is not a lot we can do to prevent our clients from losing their jobs, at least the plans we design for them can help keep them from losing their shirts in the market!

A prospective client recently asked me what are the main benefits of the Bank On Yourself strategy, and after taking the time to enumerate the three aspects that are most important to me, I thought it might be fun to share my response with you as well. Read on to find out why I'm such a huge proponent of Bank On Yourself, and why I choose this method over all the other popular financial vehicles out there as the core of my financial plan.

With COVID-19 disrupting the lives of millions of people, boosting immunity and staying healthy are topics that are on everyone's minds these days.

While building a strong immune system is no guarantee that you won't get the virus, it can certainly help your body to resist falling ill - and if you do get sick, a strong immune system can help you to experience milder symptoms and recover more quickly. 

There are a number of things you can do to protect yourself as we have discussed previously, but one unique way that many people are improving their immunity is through an age-old practice that humans have used for thousands of years to achieve a number of health benefits - including a stronger immune system and reduced viral load...