Photo source here.
Ever thought about making your own all natural sugar-free almond milk at home? And guess what, it's really quite simple and a great way to enjoy almond milk without all the additives you'll find in the store bought version. And, for those of you, like me, who might for some health or allergy reasons be avoiding cow's milk at the moment, almond milk is the solution to not having to forgo that morning cup of coffee or tea with milk. A big PHEW, is all I have to say. It's pouring rain outside a the moment which means taking photos of some recent projects isn't possible with ease, so I thought I'd share this with you!
Ingredients:
- 1 cup almonds, soaked for 8 hours in water, or blanched
- 1 liter of water
- 1 large date (optional)
- a splash of vanilla
How To:
Add almonds, date, and half of the water to a strong blender and blend. Strain almond milk into a pitcher using a cheesecloth bag, or in my case a clean brand new knee high. (You can also use a fine strainer over a bowl, or a piece of cheese cloth inside a strainer over a bowl.) I put the knee-high over the mouth of the blender, put the bottom of the knee-high in the pitcher and then carefully pour the contents of the blender into the set-up. Squeeze out the straining device of your choice into the pitcher to get every last drop, and return the remaining pulp to the blender one more time and repeat with the remainder of the water.
If you will be using the almond milk for coffee and it bothers you if it separates, I just read that one can heat the milk to avoid this happening. Heat on low and simmer for 15 minutes. Not sure if this extra step is worth the trouble, but just keep it in mind. Also, the milk keeps for no more than 5 days, and possibly less if not well sealed, so you may want to consider halving the recipe, which is what I've been doing.
Do save the left over almond pulp for baking, or adding to ground meat or who knows what else. Haven't done too much with that idea yet. I did add it to some whole wheat pasta, which seemed like a great idea to me, but wasn't met with so much excitement by at least one kiddo. So maybe I'll try some healthy cookies or something, I'll keep you posted! And by the way, almond milk really is delicious as a milk substitute with say oats or quinoa, or granola, and I have to say it's the only milk substitute that really actually stands on its own taste wise. So giving up cow's milk really can be done with minimal discomfort, yippee!
