Almond milk.
It's one of those items you can easily pick up at the grocery store & be on your merry way.
But, like many things, it tastes SO MUCH better when you make it at home.
I mean, fresh stuff usually tastes better than processed/preserved/shelf stable alternatives, right???
Lots of people make homemade almond milk to avoid extra food additives found in store-bought varieties.
These are usually gelling or emulsifying ingredients used to keep a smooth even texture of the almond milk (carrageenan, guar gum, gellan gum, locust bean gum, soy lecithin, sunflower lecithin, etc.)
There is a lot of fear mongering on the internet about the dangers of carrageenan in particular, but much of that is based on old science conducted with a degraded type of carrageenan (known as poligeenan), that is not used in commercial food production. Check out this article and this article for a nice review on the safety of food-grade carrageenan.
While avoiding these additives isn't likely to play a HUGE role in improving your health (your overall diet quality matters much much more), it may be helpful for people who experience gastrointestinal distress to avoid them. (People with IBS, leaky gut, gut dysbiosis, ulcerative colitis, or excessive gas & bloating).
These gums & gelling ingredients are metabolized by some types of gut bacteria & can create excessive gas/bloating in some people (1, 2). It's wise to listen to your body & pay attention to how your specific body reacts.
If homemade almond milk agrees with you more than store-bought, then by all means, jump on the homemade almond milk train!
You might be wondering why anyone would drink almond milk in the first place...
There are lots of reasons!
- People who are lactose intolerant & suffer from gas/bloating when they consume cow's milk often enjoy almond milk as a replacement.
- People who are allergic or sensitive to casein (a protein in milk) often drink almond milk instead.
- Vegans often enjoy nut milks instead of animal products.
- It tastes awesome! And can be a great change-up from the monotony of traditional milk.
The process for making almond milk is relatively simple.
- Soak almonds.
- Drain almonds.
- Blend the soaked almonds with water + optional flavorings until smooth.
- Strain the mixture through a nut milk bag.
- Capture all the creamy milk in a bowl.
- Store in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- Dehydrate & save the almond meal for making crackers or cookies, or compost it.
I like to drink it straight up, use it in smoothies, add a dash to my morning coffee, or occasionally enjoy it with some muesli or oatmeal. Yum!
Here's a step-by-step tutorial on making your own.
It's a really fun activity to try with friends or family over the weekend 🙂 Little kids LOVE squeezing the nut milk bag & learning that "milk" can be made from nuts!
Once you get almond milk under you belt, you can even branch out and try making milk from other nuts, like cashews, pecans, or even hemp seeds!
Step 1: Soak 1 cup of raw almonds overnight in the fridge.
This helps soften them up & make them creamy when blended.
(And yes, it's important to buy raw almonds, not roasted salted ones 😉 )
I just place them in a bowl & cover with water, like so:
Step 2: Drain the almonds.
The next morning, when you're ready to make your almond milk, drain the almonds & be impressed by how plump & delicious they look.
Here's a nice comparison of the soaked almonds on the left, and the original raw almonds on the right:
Step 3: Place the almonds + water + flavorings in a blender.
Okay, I don't have a picture of this step. But it's pretty self explanatory.
You can use anywhere from 2-4 cups of water per 1 cup almonds, depending on how rich you want your almond milk (less water = more intense almond flavor).
For flavorings: You can keep it simple & just season the milk with a dash of sea salt before blending, or you can get fancy & add vanilla bean or extract, medjool dates, honey, or agave for sweetener, or even spices like cinnamon or cardamom. Yum!
Step 4: Drain the mixture through a nut milk bag.
I highly recommend purchasing one of these:
This is the type of bag I use. It makes the whole process a billion times easier.
Simply pour the mixture in (while holding over a bowl):
and squeeze to release all the delicious juices:
Step 5: Bottle your awesome tasting almond milk
I really like these Weck Juice Jars (used in the picture above).
They're both stylish & functional.
Plus, seeing the almond milk in these beautiful jars makes me want to enjoy it ASAP (which is a good thing, since it only lasts 3 days in the fridge).
Step 6: Save that almond pulp!
This is technically optional, but it hurts to throw away those perfectly good almond remnants left in your nut milk bag.
What you have is essentially moist ground almond meal (since it has been blended up into a fine powder by your blender).
You can spread the pulp out onto a baking sheet and bake at your oven's lowest temperature for a few hours until it's dried out, or you can dehydrate it in a dehydrator, and the result is almond meal that will be shelf stable & usable to make crackers & cookies! How fab is that?
I recommend storing your almond meal in the freezer to extend the shelf life as long as possible & keep the flavor nice & fresh. There's nothing worse than rancid fats!
In case making almond meal isn't your jam, check out this recipe from My New Roots for raw nut pulp hummus! Such a creative way to use the leftovers!
Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup raw unsalted almonds
- 3 1/12 cups filtered water for blending + extra water for soaking
- a pinch of sea salt
- {optional} 1 whole vanilla bean pod, for vanilla flavor
- {optional} 2 medjool dates, for sweetness
Instructions
- Place the almonds in a bowl & fill with enough water to cover. Keep the bowl in the fridge & allow the almonds to soak overnight.
- Remove the almonds from the fridge & drain. Place the drained almonds into a high-powered blender with 3 ½ cups filtered water, a pinch of sea salt, & the optional vanilla bean & dates. The dates add sweetness, while the vanilla bean gives a nice hit of vanilla flavor. Mmmmm.
- Blend on hight for a minute or two, until the almonds are completely pulverized & the milk has a smooth and even consistency.
- Open your nut milk bag and have a friend hold it above a bowl while you pour the blended nut milk mixture into it. (If you don't have a friend to help you, simply prop the bag up on the bottom of a bowl & pour carefully!)
- Let the smooth milk strain out through the holes of the nut milk bag & use your hands to squeeze as much liquid as possible from the almond pulp.
- Store the nut milk in a closed container for up to 3 days in the fridge, & use the almond pulp in whatever creative way you desire!
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