Making Almond Milk
LOVE the new glass pitcher that I purchased for almond milk. My family and friends know how I am when it comes to yard sales, Goodwill, and flea market finds. I get so tickled by the wonderful deals I encounter. Was able to get this pitcher for $2.00. *Hooray for me.....giggles!* Thought I would celebrate by making some delicious, nutritious almond milk. For those who have never tried this, I'll share how I do it. You can find almond milk in stores, but nothing beats the freshly home-made.
Raw Almond Milk
2 1/2 cup soaked raw almonds (soak overnight)
5 cups filtered water
Pinch of sun-dried sea salt
1 T non-alcohol vanilla extract
1/2 vanilla bean (optional)
1 1/2 T coconut oil
3 soft dates, pitted or 2T Agave (determine by personal taste)
 |
| Peeled almonds. Skins (pictured left) saved to make handmade paper. |
I started by soaking and peeling the almonds. Peeling almonds is not as labor intensive as
some may think, and makes the milk look creamy and white. I soak my almonds overnight in filtered water. Doing this makes the almonds easier to blend, and removes enzyme inhibitors.....decreasing
some of the acidity, making them easier to digest. For information
about the benefits of soaking almonds, visit the following sites:
http://www.buzzle.com/
http://www.youtube.com/
http://
http://www.youtube.com/
http://
If I'm not readily able to peel my almonds after soaking them, I pour out the water, add
fresh water to the bowl....then let the almonds sit in the fridge for a
day or 2 until I have the time to peel them. Our family love using almonds for
various recipes--like yogurt, raw vegan cookies, ice cream, and yummy
almond milk.
When we finish a container of milk, there are almonds already soaking and waiting to make the next container or recipe/dessert. In my experience, peeling is very easy after soaking.....but, if you happen to get a stubborn batch of almonds that are hard to
peel.....for those that don't mind a minute or two of heat (some raw
vegans do mind), boil a pot of water. Once boiled, remove pot and pour
your soaked almonds into it for about 1-2 minutes. Quickly drain and
pour the almonds into a cold bowl of water. Test by giving one of the
almonds a slight squeeze. It should slip easily out of the skin.
Sometimes, nearly shooting across the room! Here is a video that may be
helpful.
On the video, they did this method via microwave. To the health conscious, I would suggest no microwaving.
 |
| Almonds blended with filtered water. |
Above is a photo of my set-up. To the left, I have a 5 gallon jug of Kangen water http://www.enagic.com/. My mother-n-law has this filtration system, and I
love it so much that I'm thinking about selling the units to earn money
to purchase my own....so if you're interested, please remember me, my friends! :-) In the center is my VitaMix blender. At medium, then high speed, I blend the soaked almonds, filtered water, and a pinch of sea salt (it brings the flavor to life)
until smooth.....then, pour through a nut milk bag to separate the almond meal/pulp.
I save the pulp to dry separately and use as almond flour to make raw deserts, like cookies. It can be store in a container and saved in the freezer to use another day.
 |
| Almond Pulp |
Comments