Happy Monday folks. I use almond milk all the time for smoothies and for pouring over oats, chia seeds and granola. I used to make my own almond milk but have totally fallen out of the habit, buying cartons of almond milk from the store instead. From a convenience point of view, store bought almond milk is much handier than making it at home from scratch. However, in my continuing endeavour to eat wholefoods and reduce my intake of processed foods, I have decided to start making my own almond milk again and hopefully stick with it this time.
From a taste perspective almond milk and coconut milk are my favourites of all the alternatives to dairy milk. I avoid soya and I am not a fan of rice milk. The store bought almond milk is tasty enough, but it pales in comparison to the homemade stuff. Homemade almond milk tastes so delicious and I do well not to down the lot as soon as I make it. By making my own almond milk, I can vary how I flavour it. For this recipe, I flavoured the milk with cinnamon, sea salt, vanilla extract and dates. It is also cheaper to make it at home and that's always good.
It takes about 10 minutes to make and I am going to try make it every 2-3 days (fingers crossed). To make it, a blender and a nut milk bag or some muslin cloth are required.
Ingredients:
1 cup of almonds
4 cups of water (plus some extra to soak the almonds)
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
Pinch of sea salt
2-3 dates to sweeten (optional).
Method:
1. Soak the almonds in water for 12-36 hours. Drain and rinse the almonds well.
2. Add the almonds to a blender along with the 4 cups of water. Blend until smooth. Using a nut milk bag or some muslin cloth drain the almond and water mixture through the bag or cloth into a bowl. Squeeze all the almond milk through the bag or cloth. Almond meal will be left behind in the bag or cloth. Put this to one side as it can be used for making biscuits or granola bars.
3. Rinse the blender and pour the almond milk from the bowl back into the blender. Add the vanilla extract, sea salt, cinnamon and dates (if using) to the blender and blend until smooth. Pour the milk into a glass bottle and keep in the fridge for up to four days.
