A fresh and easy way to have the milk alternatives we all love in our fridge. The beauty to making homemade almond milk is the freedom to flavor it in the way you desire while enjoying a deeper connection to our food. It’s more sustainable, unprocessed and has the purest of ingredients unlike the ones that we buy from the store with guar gum, etc.
I personally love this experience for the connection it gives me to the food, the land, and my ancestors, taking me back to the more simple and regenerative ways of living.
Tips:
1. Make sure you don't have stale nuts! Make sure to taste them before soaking them, if the taste is bitter or there is an off smell.... stay away, stay far away.
2. Roasted or raw? That's up to you! I like to mix it up here and there, lately I have been enjoying unsalted and roasted, I like the taste of the roast. The raw tend to be naturally more sweet. So, play around and see what you like. I do suggest to not do salted or a flavored nut, leave that for fresh flavoring once you make the milk
3. Soaking: The soaking starts to break down the phytic acid so the body can absorb the nutrients more easily. The soaking neutralizes the enzymes so it can work better for the body and be digested properly, this goes for if you want to just eat nuts and seeds, studies have found it to be beneficial if they are soaked before
4. Use hot water for blending. When you blend, try to add almost boiling water , it will help make the milk more creamy
5. USE A NUT BAG. Funny word I know but seriously, if you choose to use cheese cloth, you will be wasting money on money and as well as not being to friendly to our environment. You can buy one at Whole Foods for I believe 3 dollars, or another health market near you. They are totally worth it.
Recipe
1 cup almonds (or what ever nut you choose)
4 cups warm filtered water
1/2 tsp sea salt
Additions: 1 tbl cinnamon, 1 tsp vanilla, 1 tbl turmeric, 1 tsp maple or raw honey... ( have fun)
- Soak the nuts for atlas 8- 12 hours in warm, filtered water (around 3 cups water usually). Strain and rinse. Place in high speed blender and add the warm water and flavoring of your choice. Slowly start to increase the speed and then let it go on the highest for at least 2-3 minutes.
- Let it cool then when ready, slowly start to strain it through the nut bag into a large jar or bowl.
- Store in fully sealed container. Shelf life is about 4-7 days
