How To Make Delicious Home-Made Almond Milk
Home-made almond milk is a delicious and nutritious plant-based alternative to any store-bought milk and it gives you the satisfaction of not ingesting any chemicals, thickeners and preservatives. It can be made out of nuts, seeds or gluten-free oats.
In my kitchen, the staple is either almond or coconut milk. This is simply because I prefer the mild taste of almonds and love anything made with coconut! (I wish to live near a coconut farm sometime in the future. Working towards that;)
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So, are you ready to learn how to make your own homemade almond milk? All it takes is 5 minutes of your time, and you only need a few ingredients and high-speed blender (a regular blender will also do the job, it will just take a tiny bit longer), to make the creamiest and most delicious almond milk you’ll ever have!
Now, let’s get a few things straight.
Organic or Not?
I love my body and my brain. Unconditionally. That’s why I choose what’s best for me as often as I can. Should you buy organic nuts in general? Well, this depends largely on where you live, and where do you buy the nuts from. These days, unfortunately, we live in a world, where many countries (mainly the US) are using pesticides and various chemicals to spray the majority of the produce we harvest. When the produce is treated with pesticides, it might contain harmful toxins, and you definitely do not want that inside of your body.
I personally buy nuts organic whenever I can. My opinion is that the best option is to buy nuts directly from the growers, however, I understand, this isn’t always possible. For this reason, I always thoroughly research the company/brand who do I buy from. Their mission, value, sustainability, where do they buy the nuts in bulk from. I live in UK, and I prefer to get my almonds and walnuts from smaller growers in Italy, Spain, Bulgaria, or any other European country rather than the US. I find this more sustainable, and it makes sense for me to support smaller farmers across the region.
Organic nuts are grown naturally, and there are no chemicals involved to enhance growth.
Raw or Roasted?
For the greatest health benefits, almonds we use for our almond milk should be raw. Some nuts are great lightly roasted for a few minutes and make a wonderful snack, like for example pine nuts, or cashew nuts. However, you are best to always purchase raw nuts, and if you like to consume them lightly roasted, you should roast them at home. This way you know there are no vegetable oils added, and you get the best nutritional value.
Raw nuts and seed are usually more beneficial than the roasted one.
To Soak or Not-to-soak
You might have come across some articles that say you don’t need to soak the almonds prior to making the milk. If you have no time at all and need the milk ASAP, this can be done, but please, consider, that to get all the health benefits of the almonds in order to nourish our One & Only body, the soaking process is highly recommended. Here is WHY:
Just like many grains, all nuts and seeds contain enzyme inhibitors. These enzymes, such as phytic acid, are beneficial for the plant whilst growing, however, they are difficult to digest for humans. The enzymes protect the nuts and seeds from prematurely sprouting. Nature truly has its own amazing way how to preserve the nuts and seeds for many years without water, doesn’t it just?
When we soak the nuts, we introduce the water, so the nuts can soften and start to grow. This way the enzyme inhibitors go away, and the nuts or seeds become nutritionally much more valuable.
Look at this image below to see the difference soaked vs.unsoaked almonds. The almonds on the left have been soaked overnight (8 hours) – they look like they have more life in them, what do you think?
Now, let’s get to the recipe!
Ingredients:
- 1 cup of almonds (soaked overnight, or for 8 -12 hours) – I usually soak one cup of dry almonds, and that will yield to about 1 1/4 of soaked almonds. I use the over left as a snack, or add to salad, or as a topping for a chia seed bowl
- 4 cups of filtered water
- pinch of a quality salt
If you want to make your milk sweet, add:
- 2 pitted dates
- 1 teaspoon of Vanilla extract
When the dates are added, please, keep in mind, the milk will last in the fridge for 2 days, to compare to the unsweetened one, which lasts for 3-4 days.
Method:
- Combine all the ingredients in a high-speed blender for about 1 minute. In a regular blender, the blending process might take about 2 minutes. Simply blend until totally smooth.
- Strain the liquid through a nut-milk bag/strainer.
- Pour the milk into a glass jar/bottle and store in the fridge.
I recently got this LoveTree organic cotton nut-milk bag, and can highly recommend it. It is better than any other I used to use before. If you don’t have a nut milk bag, you can also use a cheesecloth. It will work just fine.
Pour the milk into an air-tight mason jar, or you can recycle any glass bottle from a beverage you might have bought in a store. I personally use a bottle from Kombucha – I soaked up the label in hot water and peeled it off to end up with clean and smooth glass bottle. You can also buy a dedicated milk glass bottle, it’s entirely up to you. I like the idea of ‘reuse and go zero waste’ as much as I can 🙂
Store the milk in the fridge, and make sure you always shake the bottle prior to the use, as it will separate (which is absolutely natural).
If you desire your milk creamier, then all you have to do is to adjust the amount of water you add to the blender (try going from 4 cups to 3 cups).
You can make your home-made milk with a variety of nuts. The process is similar, only the soaking time is slightly different – refer to the chart below:
In our family, we use the plant-based home-made milk to prepare a smoothie, smoothie bowl, chia seed pot, porridge, for cooking, to make raw desserts, raw sauces and dips, or just to add to a tea or a coffee. Possibilities are endless!
Hope this was helpful! For more inspiration on where to use the home-made almond milk check my recipes for Irresistible Chocolate Smoothie Bowl or Easy and Delicious Summer Smoothie Bowls!
Keep Shining!
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