Friday, January 20, 2012

Homemade Almond Milk

Homemade almond milk is fabulous.  It’s the #1 milk substitute in our home.  I started making almond milk years ago.  When I started I didn’t have a fancy high-speed blender;  I just used my Ninja (which I purchased on sale and with a coupon – so it was super cheep and perfect for me at the time).  Don’t shy away from making homemade nut milks because you don’t have a highspeed blender.  You can still do it my friends!  And making your own nut milk is a great way to decrease your waste in the kitchen, a mission I take very seriously everyday.

I’m writing this post today because I make almond milk a little different.  From what I’ve read in cyberspace, a typical recipe calls for 1 cup almonds to 3 or 4 cups water.  Well, I use a lot more water.  I find the milk is still rich and delicious.  I purchase raw, organic almonds in bulk, and they can be expensive (although they are often on sale at my Coop) so I like to stretch my dollar a little further by adding more water.  So today I wanted to share my recipe with you and my almond milk making process.

Ingredients 
1 cup raw, organic almonds
7 cups filtered water 
1 teaspoon vanilla  

How To
1.  Soak almonds in filtered water for 10-20 hours, or just over night.  I prefer soaking them on the longer end (and I change the water once).  While making breakfast for the kids in the morning I get a bowl of almonds soaking, change the water before bed that same day, and then make the milk the next morning during breakfast.  I find it easier to make the milk while I’m already in the kitchen doing something – I have a momentum going and it works for me.

2.  When the almonds have been properly soaked, drain and rinse with filtered water

3.  To your blender add almonds, 7 cups water, and vanilla

4.  Blend on high for 60 seconds (I currently use a Vitamix) 

5.  Here’s a step in the process that might be different from most:  

*After blending I let the milk sit in the blender for about 5 minutes.  This gives the milk time to settle and the foam to gather on the top.  After the 5 minutes I scoop off all the foam.  After removing the foam my original 7 cups remain.  I dislike straining foamy milk through the nut milk bag.  See pictures below for foam scooping process:


5.  After you scoop off the foam, strain the milk through a nut milk bag.  I strain the milk into an 8 cup glass Pyrex

6. Transfer to glass pitcher with lid and store in the fridge for up to 4 days


Notes:  
*If using a “regular” blender, start with 5 cups water and blend on high for up to 2 minutes.  Add more water in future batches if you like the consistency & taste with 5 cups.

Check out this  great site on: what to do with your almond pulp.  There’s like a zillion recipes!  So awesome!! 

Shared on: Wellness Weekend & Lunch Box Love Fridays
Print Friendly, PDF & Email
Posted by Amber at

Labels: ACD, dairy free, drinks, SCD.

19 Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *