I do my best to stay away from the milk you find at grocery stores - even if they are organic. I have so many side effects from that junk it's ridiculous. I love drinking raw/local milk or alternatives like coconut, almond, or rice milk.
I never imagined being able to make my own almond milk. How could you possibly get milk out of an almond?
Lo and behold, the impossible was accomplished! Who knew it would be this easy and fun?
What is needed:
+ a good quality blender
+ nut milk bag
+ 1 c soaked raw almonds
+ 3.5 c water
+ pinch of real sea salt
+ 1 tsp vanilla extract/1 pinch vanilla powder/vanilla bean
+ sweetener (you could use: pitted dates, honey, 100% pure maple syrup, stevia, etc.) - this depends on how sweet you want it!
+ love
Why these items for this recipe?
LOVE: The reason i say "love" is because there is so much more energy in our food when we do it with a happy attitude and love! Cheesy right? Trust me. It makes a difference!
Blender: make sure you are using a GOOD quality blender. I use a Blendtec... aka my lover. Talk about amazing! I used to have a blender that was on sale for $49.95. It did its money worth (chunky green smoothies) and then started dying within a year. Put that fifty dollars towards a blender that will last you a long time and will get the job done. I promise you - you will not regret it!
Nut milk Bag: You can find these online or in most health food stores. You could also place a cheese cloth inside a strainer if you do not have a nut milk bag.
Soaked almonds: this is key for this recipe. They become easier to blend, eliminate toxins, makes it easier to digest... so many good benefits from soaking nuts, seeds, and grains! Even when eating almonds as a snack, they should be soaked - cool huh? If you like the crunchy part of eating almonds, go ahead and soak them and throw them in a dehydrator for 15 hours!
Water: I find that 3 1/2 cups of water is a good amount. However, if you want it creamier, use less water. If you want it watered down, use more water. The nice thing about this recipe is how flexible it is!
INSTRUCTIONS
I soak the almonds for at least 8 hours/overnight - 12 hours is perfecto. Make sure to be rinsing them and pouring fresh water on them every now and then in their soaking process. Once my almonds have finished soaking, I drain and throw them in a blender along with the other ingredients: two dates, water, salt, and vanilla. Turn my blender on turbo for about 1 minute! Scary noises. AH!
Once your mixture looks completely blended, place the nut bag over a medium sized bowl and pour the milk in the bag. Gently squeeze the bag to fully get the pulp and milk separated (make sure your hands are sparkling clean before doing this).
The first time I made milk, I tried pouring the milk straight from the bowl into my milk container. Well, let'ts just say found a simpler and cleaner way! Rinse out your blender and pour the milk into the blender. Then pour the milk into your milk container. Got that?
Refrigerate for up to 3 days.
With the left over almond pulp, I made delicious RAW crackers! Fresh onion, fresh garlic, fresh herbs... amazing little snack! I will have to figure out the recipe another time since I threw it all together in the moment.
I also made pistachio milk! IT'S GREEN! I have pistachio crackers sitting in my dehydrator as I type. I cannot wait to eat them tomorrow!
Next milk on the list is Brazilian Nut milk - yummay to the tummay
I am starting to discover healthier ways of eating and am so excited to share it with people. I can't emphasize enough how much better I feel every day!
Let me know if you have any questions!
