Home Made Almond Milk

 A – Alkalising, VV – vegetarian vegan, AC – Anti-Candida, SF – sugar free, DF – dairy free, GF – gluten free

 

I promised my fellow health nuts I would post a recipe on how to make your own almond milk! Almond milk is a great tasting, dairy free alternative for smoothies, tea, over your muesli (gluten free I hope) or in recipes in place of cow’s milk.  Aside from soaking the almonds – which you can do while you’re at work or overnight, this recipe will take 5 minutes to make!

Almonds are rich in good fats so you won’t pack on the pounds eating these babies – mono-unsaturated fats – to be specific – great for  lowering LDL or “bad cholesterol” and increase HDL or “good cholesterol.” An excellent source of vitamin E –  contain about 25g per 100g and packed with important B vitamins such as riboflavin, niacin, thiamin, pantothenic acid, vitamin B-6, and folate and minerals including manganese, potassium, calcium, iron, magnesium, zinc, and selenium.

 

What you’ll need…

Depending on how much almond milk you wish to make I have written the different ratios of almonds to water below, however this recipe will make around 4 cups of milk.

 

Almonds	Water
1/2 cup almonds	2 cups water
1 cup almonds	4 cups water
1 1/2 cups almonds	6 1/2 cups water

 

• 1 cup organic raw almonds (soaked for 12 hours or overnight – this is optional)
• 4 cups of purified /filtered water

 

How to make…

Add 4 cups of purified water for every cup of raw soaked almonds, depending on your preference for consistency. You can double the recipe if you want to make more, but be sure not to make more than you will get through in 2- 3 days as it goes off easily.

• Place the raw almonds in a glass bowl or large jar, and cover with filtered water and 1 tsp Celtic sea salt for about 12 hours. Soaking nuts of any kind activates the digestive benefits of soaking nuts).
• Rinse the nuts thoroughly – If soaking for the full 12 hours, make sure you rinse and soak a few times within the 12 hrs. Any nuts that float to the top indicate they are rancid, so be sure to throw these out.
• Place almonds and water in a blender and set at low speed, before increasing to high speed until all the nuts are completely pulverized.  If you prefer a more a rustic / rough texture to your milk, you can drink this without straining the milk. Personally I prefer this and its less hassle and time than straining, BUT if you’re a bit of a fuss pot (or your kids are) then read on to create a creamy smooth texture. But by not straining the milk will retain more calcium. Just be sure to blend thoroughly.
• To achieve a creamy and smooth texture you will need to strain the milk with a nut bag (not to be confused with a crazy friend), cheesecloth, or sieve with the smallest holes. Nut bags can be found health food stores. Be sure to wash the bag directly after using, so you can reuse it.

To strain the milk: place a nut bag or cheesecloth over the opening of a glass jug or bowl. Pour almond milk into the cloth in small amounts and then squeeze the nut bag or cheese cloth until every last drop is extracted. Remove the almond pulp / meal and set aside to use later. Keep repeating this process. Ensure you squeeze the cloth to remove all the liquid. This is where all the cream is contained so be sure to extract it!

 

SALLY’S TIPS…

Store in a glass jar in the fridge if you up to 4 days.

Here are some alternatives to naturally flavour your almond milk:

• Vanilla flavour  – add a little natural vanilla essence for for chocolate almond milk, \
• Chocolate flavour  – add a Tbsp of raw cacao powder or raw cacao nibs
• Cinnamon flavour– add in 1 tsp of ground cinnamon, 1 tsp vanilla essence and celtic sea salt
• Strawberry flavour – blend with fresh strawberries, vanilla essence and sea salt

And remember, waste not want not, so instead of throwing out the unused almond meal, keep it for other recipes such as my berry coconut muffins.

For more health tips and delicious recipes, checkout my e-book, Eat Yourself Healthy. It's not just a healthy diet, but a way of life, so you can feel better than you have ever felt before .