I'm following a fat-free vegan diet for health reasons. So that means no (cow's) milk.
Homemade almond milk contains no additives or preservatives.
It takes only a few minutes to make (not counting the soaking time).
It's so convenient to make it when you need or want it.
Homemade almond milk costs about half (or less) to make as it does to buy it. I will save more than $100 in the next year by making my own. The price of almonds varies, depending on where you buy it and whether you choose options such as organic. I recently bought a 3 lb bag of almonds in the baking aisle of BJs (similar to Costco). It contains 9-1/2 cups of almonds and cost about $11.00, or $3.66 per lb, or $.86 per quart of almond milk.
Supplies:
Vitamix (mine is Model 5200)
Strainer or nut bag (I use a paint strainer from Lowes that I triple-washed before using it for the first time)
Bowl
Pitcher
Ingredients:
1 cup dry roasted almonds
Water
Vanilla extract (optional)
Sweetener such as dates (optional)
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| 1 cup almonds |
1. Rinse the almonds.
2. This next step is optional -- I like to do it because the resulting almond milk is as white as snow. Soak the almonds for an hour or more (or overnight in the refrigerator), then slip off the skins. If they don't slip off easily, you can place the almonds in a saucepan and cover them with water, bring to a boil, simmer for a few minutes, then turn off the heat. When cool, slip off the skins, keeping the unskinned and skinned almonds in water. Rinse the almonds again.
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| After soaking |
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| Skins peeled |
4. Turn On, quickly increase the variable speed from 1 to 10, then turn on High. In a few minutes, the almonds are liquified.
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| Almost almond milk |
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| Looking into the container |
5. Pour the almond milk through a strainer into a pitcher or bowl. Pour into a jar and refrigerate.
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| Almond milk filtering |
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| After filtering |
Notes:
1. I don't add any sweetener; it's just my taste preference.
2. I used to squeeze the bag to get every drop of liquid, but that adds more of the almond solids to the milk. Now I just let gravity do the work.
3. The solids can be added to a smoothie, soup, or cereal; and they can be dried and used in recipes.
Easy-peasy lemon-squeezy. Fresh. Cold. Healthy. No milk cartons to throw away.
Disclaimer: I am an approved affiliate for Vitamix. You can get free standard shipping and handling (a $25 US/$35 CN value) by purchasing through Vitamix and using code 06-007841 when placing your order.
Blessings and peace...
A friend asked me on Facebook how long this stays fresh. Since I use it in my tea and coffee and on my cereal and in smoothies and sometimes in cooking, I use the quart or so within 3 or 4 days and never had a problem with freshness. And I am at the far end of careful and food safety practices. Hope this helps.
ReplyDeleteI thought I'd add that making your own means you don't have chemicals or preservatives in your almond milk.
ReplyDeleteMy doctor told me that I don't need to buy organic tree nuts. He said the shells are thick and are discarded so any chemicals sprayed on them are just on the shells. That was a tip that saved us a little money.
You can search on the internet to find out what foods really should be organic (this list is sometimes referred to as "the dirty dozen" and strawberries often top the list. They are so porous that chemicals soak into them and can't just be washed off.) These lists often include a complementary list of foods that don't have to be organic.
Hi Mary, Thanks for visiting and leaving such an interesting comment. Lifelong learning!
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