Did you know it is easy to make your own yummy almond milk? It’s also healthier, cheaper, and so delicious. Warm it up with some raw cacao or carob for a healthy hot chocolate, or use it in your morning Daily Shake, or soups for creamy nutrition. You can use the leftover pulp for nut burgers or in our donut hole recipe. It’s all about the experimentation! The point is to have fun and get creative. All this while enjoying your very own, nutritious homemade nut milk.
Benefits of Homemade Nut Milk
This homemade nut milk comes with many benefits. Since it is homemade, we can be sure that there are no artificial sugars added or anything else. When it comes to store-bought nut milk, they can contain other ingredients that aren't beneficial to your body.
The store-bought stuff can contain oils, emulsifiers, preservatives, and added sugar. Plus, there's a higher percentage of water than there are nuts themselves, meaning you may not even be getting the full benefits of the nuts. And when it comes to your wallet, you're not getting what you're paying for.
If that's not a reason to try your homemade nut milk, we don't know what is!
The only downside is unlike the store-bought version, this almond milk has a shorter shelf life. But it's so delicious, we're confident it won't stay in your fridge for long!
Almonds in Nut Milk
Almond milk in its raw form very minimally affects blood sugar and may help with blood sugar control. It is low in calories, which also helps us manage our weight.
Almonds also contain the wonderful mineral magnesium. We are big fans of magnesium here at Clean. Many people today have trouble breaking down the sugar in dairy milk, called lactose. This is yet another reason a healthy homemade almond milk is beneficial for the whole family.
The other nutritional benefits that almonds have are loads of vitamin E and antioxidants.
Do I Need a Nut Milk Maker?
You don't need a fancy nut milk maker for your homemade nut milk. The most important step is to make sure you soak your nuts for the appropriate amount of time. This makes them much easier to work with and the blender will be able to process them easier.
Another thing that helps is having a blender or food processor with sharp blades. If your blender is powerful enough to chop ice with no issues, you'll have no issues with making almond milk.
Even with the most powerful equipment, you may find that you have to play around with the timing to get your desired consistency.
If you find that your nut milk isn't blended thoroughly, you can let it blend for longer. A strainer or cheesecloth is great at catching any pulp left behind making it easier to separate for other recipes.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup organic, raw almonds
- 3 cups fresh water
Directions:
Soak the almonds in enough water to cover them (with about an inch or two above the almonds) for 2-8 hours to unlock the enzyme inhibitors. It’s really easy to let them soak overnight if you are using the milk in a morning shake.
Strain, rinse well, and add to a blender. Add 3 cups of fresh water and blend for 45 seconds, until the almonds are broken down. Strain through a fine mesh strainer (saving the pulp to use for other recipes). Store both pulp and milk in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
If you're feeling especially experimental, you can add a little coconut sugar to your almond milk for sweetness. You can even add some raw cacao or carob to make healthy, chocolate almond milk. Or if you can get a vanilla bean, you can have rich, vanilla almond milk.
Recipe by Frank Giglio
Photograph by Jenny Nelson
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