Homemade Raw Almond Milk

Until recently, buying almond milk felt like a bit of a splash out…So I was pleasantly surprised to discover just how easy (and cheap) it is to make myself! It’s truly scrumptious and super cost effective as the leftover almond pulp can be easily incorporated into breakfasts or baking.  Have a play with my ‘optional ingredients’ to find the sweetness that suits you and then pour over cereal, mix into smoothies, use in hot cocoas (unreal) or as a dairy/soy milk substitute in baking….

Ingredients
1.5 cups whole raw blanched almonds

3 cups of purified water for soaking

3 cups of purified water

2-4 dates (optional)

1 teaspoon tsp vanilla (optional)

Pinch of cinnamon (optional)

Pinch of sea salt

2 drops of stevia or 2 teaspoons of maple syrup

Method
Soak almonds in the water overnight or for at least 6 hours

1. Drain the water from the almonds and discard the water. Rinse the almonds. In a high speed blender, blend the 3 cups of fresh water, dates, cinnamon & almonds until well blended and almost smooth. This will take approximately 2-4 minutes, depending on your blender
2. Secure a muslin cloth (sometimes called a ‘cheesecloth’) or specialised nut milk bag over a bowl and pour the almond mixture over it. Bunch up the cloth and squeeze the milk out, leaving the pulp in the muslin. Keep squeezing until the majority of the liquid is in the bowl.
3. Once strained, you will have a creamy mixture. Throw it back into the blender and whizz with sea salt, vanilla and sweetener of choice, if desired.
4. Keep the contents of the nut bag, it is a great addition to smoothies or porridge the following day! Waste not, want not!
5. Homemade raw almond milk will keep well in the refrigerator for 4-5 days

Nutrition Bite – Almonds: a very good source of vitamin E, manganese, magnesium, copper, riboflavin (vitamin B2), and phosphorus. Fortunately, although 1/4 of a cup of almonds contains about 18 grams of fat, most of it (11 grams) is heart-healthy monounsaturated fat!