The 3-Step Homemade Almond Milk
Most store bought nut milks contain close to zero almonds and taste watery. More importantly, a lot of non-dairy milks have binders or emulsifiers like carrageenan or xanthan gum; these ingredients help preserve your nut milk and stops the liquid from separating (because that looks unappetizing). Although these ingredients are not 'harmful' as a food ingredient, anyone with a digestive disorder can struggle with bloating as they are known to be digestive-system irritants! If you have Crohns, Colitis, IBD, or IBS, chances are you probably have been advised to limit your intake of these ingredients or avoid them all together. Therefore, you should be making your own nut milk!
Get the benefits from raw organic almonds by making your own almond milk- it is beyond easy to make, and taste amazing! These are the ingredient to create basic almond milk- variations can be made by adding vanilla bean, cinnamon, or your choice of sweeteners! I use dates to give it a touch of sweetness as most 'sweetened' almond milk are simply too sweet for me.
Ingredients:
-1 cup raw unsalted organic almonds (pre-soaked 6-8 hours/ overnight and then drained)
-5 cups filtered water (or 6 cups for desired consistency)
-3 medjool dates (pits removed)
-A pinch of salt
Instructions:
1. Blend all the ingredients on high-speed in a blender
2. Strain with a nut milk cloth, fine cheese cloth. or a fine dish cloth!
3. Squeeze the cloth to get every drop of milk out! And store in an air-tight jar in the fridge
I use this almond milk for my matcha lattes, granolas, smoothies, or drink as is!
Why soak the almonds?
Almonds are high in Vitamin E, protein, and omega 3 fatty acids. Now you often see recipes calling for 'pre-soaked almonds'. All this basically is, is raw almonds soaked in water for 6-8 hours and then the water drained. Soaking almonds help releases the enzyme lipase which aids in the digestion of fats. This source of good fat helps curb your appetite by keeping you full longer hence why it's a great snack for weight-loss!
