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 high-speed 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.
Shared on: Wellness Weekend & Lunch Box Love Fridays
Hi Amber,
ReplyDeleteAny idea on the calories per cup? Thanks! Erin
Hi There Erin,
ReplyDeleteGood question. Please see attached link. It will provide you with some information about calories, carbs, protein, fat, etc. Thanks and have a great day.
http://www.livestrong.com/article/289671-calories-in-homemade-almond-milk/
Hi Erin and Amber,
DeleteI don't get it. According to the www.livestrong.com article, just 6oz (less than a cup) of homemade almond milk has 103 calories and over 9 grams of fat! How can it be that store bought almond milk has only 35 calories per cup and 2.5 gr fat? Do you know if there is a way to reduce the fat content of homemade almond milk?
M.J.
What do you do with the foam you scooped out? Do you save that too?
ReplyDeleteHi Beverly,
ReplyDeleteInto the sink goes the foam.
You don't have to scoop out the foam, this is a personal choice. From years of making nut milks I prefer to not strain the foam through the nut milk bag. It's just an extra step I take to make the process a little more enjoyable for me. We find methods along the way. This is just one of them and I wanted to share, as I'm sure others out there run into the foam situation. Or maybe it's just me, as my water to almond ratio is much different than traditional almond milk recipes.
Thanks for your comment.
Take Care,
--Amber
Wanted to let you know I made this recipe with walnuts instead of almonds (I don't do well with almonds), and it is fantastic! Thanks so much!
ReplyDeleteHi There Erin,
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for your comment! You know, I have a hard time with almond milk too now and then. I've had good success with hazelnut and hemp milk, but never thought about making walnut milk! So awesome! I am going to make some this weekend. What a great suggestion - thanks for sharing. :-)
Be Well,
--Amber
My pleasure! I also save the pulp and add it to cracker recipes or pancake batter or even cookie dough. Best to you!
DeleteHi There Erin,
ReplyDeleteSo I made some walnut milk yesterday and WOW! So amazing. I have to say, I prefer the taste over almond milk. I've been having some trouble with almond milk lately (with my digestion), so this is such a nice change. Thank you for the suggestion. I'll be posting about it soon. :-)
Hugs,
--Amber
I'll try the making ice cream with walnut milk if you think the taste is better!
ReplyDeleteHi There Vicky,
ReplyDeleteYou know, I made ice cream with a nut milk once and it was okay. I by far prefer making ice cream with coconut milk. I don't think you'll be able to taste a big difference between almond milk and walnut milk though, especially if you're adding ingredients. But give it a try and let me know what you think! My advice would be to decrease your water ratio though if making the ice cream with a nut milk (maybe 1 cup nuts to 3 or 4 cups water) this will increase the fat/oil content and perhaps create a more substantial ice cream. I'm sure you'll come up with a fabulous recipe! :-)
Hugs,
--Amber
Thanks Amber, yes, I thought about decreasing the ratio - I have noticed that most of the recipes for the nut milk I've seen have a ratio of 1 to 4 whereas yours has 1 to 7. One of the reasons I'm looking into making it with nut milk is the coconut milk they sell in the UK has guar gum in it - I hate the gums - and my daughter has a milk allergy. I'll let you know how I get on - I will probably start with a chocolate flavour since we're both gluten free and, unlike my son, we don't have to follow the SCD rigidly.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the advice!
Hi Amber,
ReplyDeleteI have a Vitamix blender, and yesterday I used the recipe for Almond milk featured in their book (4 cups per 1 cup of almonds). I soaked my almonds over night and I am going to make your recipe today (I like the higher water content). But yesterday when I made the almond milk, I had a glass after I made it and it tasted delicious, but when I had a glass in the evening it did not taste good. I stirred it before I drank it; it seemed to separate in my pitcher a little bit and there was some sediment at the bottom (I did use a nut milk bag). My pitcher wasn't sealed. Was this the problem? I bought a hermetic milk jug yesterday to use for what I make today.
Hi There Stefanie,
DeleteThanks for your message.
So just to clarify, the separation/bad taste happened with the 4 cups of water or the 7 cups of water?
I can tell you honestly, I don't have a problem with separation with using 7 cups of water (and I've never noticed a taste difference). let me clarify further about the separation, I don't get light colored watery milk on the top with thicker milk with sediment on the bottom. There's always a little bit of sediment, this is normal. But I never have separation of liquid.
I always store my milk in a closed glass container.
Here are a few suggestions:
(1) Soak the almonds longer - up to 20 hours
(2) Blend the almonds longer
(3) Strain through the nut milk bag twice
(4) Make sure you're purchasing fresh nuts (old nuts will taste rancid)
Good luck and let me know about your future batches.
--Amber
The separation/bad taste happened with the 4 cups of water.
ReplyDeleteFor my second attempt (your recipe) I soaked my almonds 20-24 hours and used the recommended 7 cups of water. I strained it into a large glass milk jug, which just happens to have a hermetic lid. I made that yesterday morning and it tasted good. Yesterday evening it also tasted fine. I tried some this morning to be sure it was good before adding it to my frappe and it was still yummy! I still had a little separation but not as visible as before (I had to really stare at the jug to tell). So it seems my only issue was when I used Vitamix's recipe, where I used less water and did not soak my almonds.
So thank you for providing me with a successful recipe! Next time I'll also strain my almonds twice just to do it. Thanks for helping!
-Stefanie
Hi!
ReplyDeleteTo possibly avoid/eliminate digestive issues with almond milk, after soaking remove the skins. They are likely the culprit. http://paleofood.com/recipes/nutmilks-almondvitamix.htm
Happy V-mixing!
~Ai
hello i am just curious does homemade almond milk still contain the b12 and vit d that the purchased stuff contains? or do i need to make sure my kids are getting those from different sources
ReplyDeleteHi Anonymous,
ReplyDeleteGood questions. First off, I would suggest giving your children homemade, even it does not contain the same amount of vitamins as store bought. Here is why, store bought does fortify, but it also adds in a lot of other stuff like cane sugar and carrageenan (a seaweed thickener proven to aggravate inflammation). Too many of these fillers are harmful (in my opinion) and outweigh the benefit of getting the fortified milk.
I would personally rely on foods for the vitamin b-12. If you children can have eggs, this is a great source.
I rely on the sun for my kids vitamin D and in the winter, supplements. We go out before 10:00 am and enjoy the evening, after dinner sun too.
Here is something I found one the internet about almonds:
"Almonds are a great source for both vitamin D and calcium, are high in vitamin E, and make a great snack. One ounce of almonds contains 80 mg. of calcium."
So there is Vitamin D in almonds, but I am not sure of the breakdown in the homemade milk. I use FAR less almonds to water ratio than most, so it's probably not a great amount.
I hope this helps answer your question. I firmly believe any nut or seed milk is far, far better than animal milk, and better still than anything from a box. :-)
Be Well,
--Amber
Your recipe is great!!! I prefer this homemade almond milk because it doesn't have all the additives of the carton one.
ReplyDelete