Let me just start by saying, “I love mangoes!” I even fought a squirrel for one that he tried to steal from me! Well sort of, I have a small mango tree in my yard and this was the first year it produced any fruit. We all were so excited as we watched {even some of us were salivating} with anticipation as the hard green skin turned yellow and red so we could pick them.

Unfortunately, other salivating creatures with beady eyes were observant of such a feast! The squirrels would literally hang upside down while holding on to {MY} mangoes and have a fiesta with all their buddies!

We were lucky many of the mangoes fell from the weight of the varmints clawing at the fruit so we could easily retrieve them. However, one day I had a stare down with one of those beastly rats {I did think they were cute once upon a time} as we both slowly approached a beautiful golden mango as it lay helpless on the cradling grass.

I picked up my pace and screeched “SHOOO” to it but it didn’t budge. I picked up a rock {I have bad aim so don’t worry} and threw it with all my girly might to only miss by 10 feet to the left! ARGH! I felt every creature in that tree stop and glare at me…. that is until I got the hose!

Victory for the mango-crazed momma!  Regrettably, they ruined so many mangos with their clawing and biting into them that I had to throw out so many of those gems.  Here is the silver lining in it all, I am happy to say I was in mango heaven the other day because a friend gave me two big bags of the sweetest perfectly ripe mangoes {almost an exact count of my losses}!

The other planned post I had for you will be on hold because I just had to share this chutney recipe that my friend actually inspired me to make after she gave me a jar she made.  I was driving my daughter & her friends to a birthday party and started to get that famished feeling. I remembered I had that jar of chutney and I pried that sealed jar open with every squirrelly frustration I had to only ask myself, “now what?”

I didn’t have a spoon or even a straw in my car.  I didn’t want to contaminate the whole jar with my tongue!  Ha, yes I thought about it! Did I mention the chutney smelled so amazing and I was hungry? I rummaged through my car to find a plastic spoon!  Let me tell you, it tasted even better than it smelled!!  I barely saved any for my family’s dinner!

A jar of this spicy sweetness will dress up any boring dinner! One of my favorite ways to use this chutney is over shrimp and vegetables. Also, on lamb chops and paired with cheese and crackers is a lovely appetizer.

I must tell you some of the super star qualities the mango has because what would my post be if I didn’t give you some food science to nosh on?  Mangoes have over 20 different vitamins and minerals like flavonoids, potassium, vitamin A & B6 to name just a few essential nutrients for our overall health.

It has a nice amount of fiber and for my calorie counting friends 1 cup has only 100 calories and 100% of your daily RDA of vitamin C! Everything I read in reference to the health benefits of the Queen Mango research points to it’s many cancer protecting antioxidants!

Go climb your neighbor’s tree and pick some fresh mangoes or to be safe, go to the market and buy some so that you don’t get in a fight with a squirrel or neighbor {wink wink}.

I love using the essential oils of plants in my recipes because these little dynamos pack a punch with antioxidants and flavor!! In this recipe I used ginger and lemon essential oils.

In this picture you can see how the food processor minces everything up nicely. The mango’s I chopped by hand so that it would be chunky.

Spicy & Sweet Mango Chutney {vegan, paleo, gluten & dairy free}

 

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Prep time

45 mins

Cook time

15 mins

Total time

1 hour

 

Author: Dawn Rofrano

Serves: 5-6 8 oz jars

Ingredients

• 6 medium ripe mangoes
• 1 large red pepper
• 2 jalapenos
• 6 limes
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes
• 1 purple onion
• 6 gloves garlic
• 3 tbsp. grated ginger
• 2 tbsp. coconut oil
• ¼ tsp ground cayenne pepper
• ¼ tsp ground pepper
• ½ tsp pink Himalayan sea salt
• ⅛ tsp stevia
• ¼ cup coconut sugar (omit for FreeDiet™ phase 1)
• 2-3 tbsp. of chia seeds *optional
• 4 drops ginger oil *optional
• 4 drops lemon oil *optional

Instructions

1. In a food processor pulse or hand chop finely the tomatoes, pepper, onion, garlic and jalapenos.
2. Drain any excess liquid from pulsing the ingredients in the food processor.
3. Add chopped ingredients into a big pot {4qt or bigger} on low heat with 2 tbsp. coconut oil.
4. Squeeze the juice from the limes and set aside.
5. Peal and chop the mangoes and add them to pot with cayenne, salt and ground pepper.
6. Mix in lime juice and raise the temperature to medium. Bring it to simmer and turn off heat.
7. Mix in the stevia; taste if it is spicy and sweet to your liking. Add more spice or coconut sugar.
8. Using the chia seeds will add more nutrition and soak up some of the liquid.
9. Store the chutney in glass jars and share with friends too!

Notes

I didn't do a traditional canning process with this recipe but you certainly could. I wanted to keep it simple. If you are new to canning I suggest you check out freshpreserving.com. You can freeze the jars; just make sure you leave a good inch from the top so chutney can expand. It will last up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator and in the freezer for months. We love using this chutney as a salsa, on lamb, fish and my favorite shrimp! It is nice to have a few extra jars on hand to dress up a boring meal! I used Florida mangoes which tend to be larger if you use the smaller variations that are flatter, oblong and yellow you may need to add a few. Also if your mangoes are ripe and you add the stevia your taste buds will be happy. Traditional recipes I looked at called for up to 2 cups of sugar! Using the coconut sugar does give it a sweeter flavor if you desire. Please use organic when you can.

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