Why almond milk you ask? Well, if you are dairy intolerant or know of someone who is, almond milk is a great substitute in recipes, drinks or just about anywhere milk is called for. Almonds, when eaten in there raw form contain protein, fiber, omega 6 and some omega 3 fats, iron, vitamin E, some B vitamins, potassium, magnesium, and yes even calcium!
The caveat is that if you want to reap these nutritional benefits, homemade almond milk is the surer bet. With the exception of fiber, since it is strained out. When purchasing commercial almond milk, no one knows exactly how many almonds go into a quart. One study, one brand concluded that almonds only make up 2% of the milk contents (1). From my point of view, if you look at the price of raw almonds, you will have to agree they are pretty expensive, so to make a massive amount of almond milk and then sell it at a reasonable price point- one can conclude that there are not many almonds in that quart. You be the judge, purchase one quart, make one quart and compare. Hands down you will notice a difference.
Homemade Almond Milk
Pre-prep: 5 minutes
Prep: 15 minutes
Ingredients
1 cup of almonds, soaked overnight with 1/4 tsp of salt
2 dates, soaked 2 hours or overnight
4 cups of spring or filtered water
pinch of salt
1 tsp of vanilla
1-2 tbsp of kudzu root
Preparation:
drain soaked almonds and rinse throughly
place water, almonds and dates in a high powdered blender, blend on high for 1- 2 minutes
pour milk into nut milk bag or a sieve covered with cheesecloth
squeeze as much milk out of the cloth or bag as possible (make sure your hands have been washed!!)
pour milk back into blender, turn on low, add salt, vanilla and kudzu root powder slowly. Allow blender to run for 30 seconds
pour into a glass container and refrigerate for 3-5 days or freeze in portions or whole for later use.
Meal Tips/ideas
creamier almond milk, add two tablespoon of kudzu root
flavoured almond milk, add more vanilla extract
chocolate or carob milk: add 3 tbsp of raw carob or cacao and sweeten with honey to preference.
Note: