I’ve been using almond milk for years.  It’s a tasty, healthy, low calorie substitute for cow’s milk with 30 calories per cup and a ton of Vitamin E.  As with all foods, the less packaging and processing that takes place the more whole and nutrient dense the food it.  It is very convenient to buy almond milk at the store; however in order for it to have a 2month shelf life, ingredients  other than almonds and water MUST be added.  See the photo below.  This brand is very good because it’s non-GMO, unsweetened etc.  However,  It contains:

• Sunflower lecithin: an emulsifier that gives the milk a creamy smooth texture.
• Gellan and locust bean gums that are thickening agents that prevent the milk form separating.
• Natural flavor that could literally be anything!

 

How nice would be be to drink almond milk that contains only two ingredients: raw almonds and water!  The only tool you may not have lying around is a cheese cloth.  I bought some at Bed Bath and Beyond months ago and finally decided to use one today.

The process was so easy and actually kind of fun and the taste of the fresh unaltered milk was worth the 15 minutes spent.  Here is what I used and the steps:

2 cups raw almonds

4 cups water

1/2 a cheese cloth (They are quite large so I cut one in half.  This way you can get more uses out of one)

A good blender (I use a Vitamix)

A strainer/sieve

1. Soak the almonds overnight or for at least 8 hours.  This softens them and makes them easier to digest.
2. Rinse almonds and toss soaking water.
3. Place 4 cups water and almonds in the blender and blend for 2 minutes on high speed.
4. Place strainer/sieve over a large bowl and lay cheese cloth over strainer.
5. Pour just enough of the blended mixture into the cloth to fill the size of the strainer.
6. Gather up the sides of the cloth and gently squeeze the liquid through.  The strainer will catch any almond meal that may seep through the cloth.  (This is the fun part.  It’s like milking the almonds.  If you have young ones, I bet they will like doing this too.)
7. Repeat step 6 until all of the mixture has been pouched through the strainer.  It makes about 32 ounces.
8. In another post I’ll have some ideas for what you can go with the meal.  I will freeze until I figure out how best to use it.

Below: squeezing the milk from the blended mixture.

 

 

Almond meal: Freeze and use in other recipes later:

Finished product! Yummy.  You can add vanilla to flavor it and some stevia if you want it a bit sweet.