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If a video tutorial is more your style, here is a step-by-step video on making nut milk!
Okay, I'll admit it... I have been purchasing my almond milk by the carton for about two years now.
I didn't think it could be that bad for you - I mean, how processed could it really be, right? And it had to be better than dairy milk, anyway.
That's how I felt until I started listening to Dave Asprey's podcast, called Bulletproof Radio (in case you're wondering, yes - he's also the inventor of Bulletproof Coffee and the author of The Bulletproof Diet). In his episode entitled "Paleo, Eating Disorders & the Power of Intention," Asprey interviews George Bryant on all of these topics and more.
Anyway, in that particular interview, one of them mentions how there is the equivalent of about 6 almonds in a half gallon of store-bought almond milk.
WHAT?!?!
First off, that's a huge price mark-up, but what the heck is the other stuff thrown in there?
Turns out, tons of processed ingredients and sugars. Ew.
So after this revelation, I finally bit the bullet and started making my own nut milk.
It is very easy and actually quite fun - and you'll also find out very quickly how processed store-bought milk is when you taste the difference in your homemade batch!
Note: This recipe calls for soaking the almonds beforehand.
By soaking them, you are removing the phytic acid, which is a digestion inhibitor in many nuts that binds with minerals and blocks our body's ability to reap all of the nutritional benefits in them.
When you see how gross the water is after they've been soaked, you'll be happy you did it. Almonds, pecans, and walnuts require a long soaking time.
Nuts such as cashews only need to be soaked about 4 hours. Hazelnuts do not contain physic acid and therefore do not require the soaking process at all.
Homemade Nut Milk
Prep time: 8 hours, 30 minutes Cook time: 0 minutes Total active time: 30 minutes
Yield: 1 Quart
Directions
Ingredients & Supplies
1. Place almonds in a large bowl and cover with water. Soak overnight, or for at least 8 hours.
2. Drain and rinse soaked almonds. Place almonds and 4 cups of water into a high-power blender or food processor and blend for 2-3 minutes, until nuts have been pulverized into a fine meal.
3. Slowly pour the milk through the cheesecloth and into the milk container. The cheesecloth will strain out the almond meal that was made in the blending process. Make sure to squeeze the pulp to get all of the milk out of it. You will have to clear the cloth of the meal several times throughout as well.
4. Once all of the milk is strained, you're done! Store in the fridge for up to 5 days. You can also save all of that almond meal and dry in out, either by sitting it out somewhere or using a dehydrator, to be used in whatever recipes you need it for.
1 cup raw almonds*
4 cups water, plus more for soaking
Large bowl
High-power blender (like a Vitamix) or food processor
Doubled-over cheesecloth or fine strainer
Container for holding milk
*You can use these measurements for any nut milk you desire - cashews, walnuts, hazelnuts, etc. Just make sure to do your research on if (and how long) they need to be soaked beforehand. The picture in this post is actually half-almond, half-hazelnut milk, and I made 2 quarts to fill my half-gallon mason jar. Feel free to also add a bit of vanilla extract or salt, if that's what you're into. Yum!
