Almond Milk

I would never bash milk, not in 100 years. As a young girl, whenever I would sleep over at my girlfriends house, her parents would buy an extra gallon just because I was coming to stay. Milk for breakfast, milk for lunch, milk for dinner and milk before bed. I loved it and I still do.

That being said, my brain tells me that making my own beverage from something grown from the earth might be a bit more natural for my body. I mean, calves don't breast feed from humans, right?

This post isn't to argue cows milk vs almond milk- I enjoy both. It's simply that I made some fabulous almond milk last night and wanted to share it with you.

The first time I had almond milk it was a store bought container, but then found out how easy it is to make at home with just two ingredients. Almonds + Water.

 

I like very almondy (is that a word?) milk with a dash of cinammon and, if it's around the holidays, a dash of nutmeg, a splash of kahlua and maybe a little...oops, getting carried away. Anyway, this is how I make almond milk using one heaping cup of almonds per three cups of water.

 

The first thing to do is soak the almonds so they get plump and soft. To do this, stick the almonds in a bowl and add water until they are covered by and inch or two, then stash them in the refrigerator for a day. When you get them out the next day don't be alarmed if the water is murky, just drain and rinse the almonds.

 

From there, drop the almonds into a blender and add your water. I like to add just a couple cups of water to begin with, then blend on high for about a minute until its very creamy, then I add the remaining water and continue to blend for another minute or two.

 

Don't start drinking yet, place your nut milk bag into a large bowl, then pour the contents of the blender into the bag. Most of the milk will filter through no problem, but for the rest you'll have to squeeze. Maybe that's where the whole milking an almond thing comes from- squeezing the nut bag. That doesn't sound right.

 

Anywhoo, pour your almond milk into a mason jar and add a couple sprinkles of cinnamon, shake and enjoy! I love having a little mason jar in my fridge full of cinammon almond milk. I'm the only one in the house that likes it, so I can take a couple swigs straight from the jar, pop the top back on and put it away. Yummm yumm.

 

 

 

 

 

Tips:

 

The more almonds that you use, plus longer soaking time = creamier milk. 

 

Some people opt to use almonds with the skins removed because the skins can cause a slightly bitter taste in the milk, but I personally can't tell much of a difference.

 

You can add some sweetness or flavor by using vanilla beans, honey, cocoa, sea salt- sky's the limit!

 

What's left in the bag is called almond pulp. There are lots of baked goods recipes that utilize almond pulp, almond meal and almond flour.   

 

Stores 3-4 days