Homemade Almond Milk

Sure, nothing can beat the convenience of a carton of almond milk bought at the store, but a glass of fresh homemade almond milk sure tastes better! Not only that, but homemade is way better for you. Most store-bought brands of nut milk use extra ingredients like Carrageenan to help thicken and preserve them. For many decades now, there’s been controversy surrounding the health effects of carrageenan. Some evidence suggests that carrageenan triggers inflammation and may promote or cause a long list of other health problems. Knowing that it’s probably best to avoid store-bought almond milk that contains this ingredient whenever possible.

People are always surprised when I tell them how easy it is to make almond milk at home. For anyone that is wanting to either switch to a vegan lifestyle or simply want to incorporate more plant-based options into their diets, this is a super-easy way to accomplish that. It only takes about 10-15 minutes of actual prep time, and you can probably have enough almond milk to last the week. It goes great with breakfast cereal, smoothies, oatmeal, and more!

Homemade Almond Milk Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 cups raw almonds
• 6 cups water
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla bean extract
• small pinch sea salt
• 2-3 dates or
• 2 Tbsp maple syrup for sweetness (optional)

Directions

Step 1

Put the almonds in a bowl and cover them with cold, clean water. Place the bowl of almonds and water in the refrigerator to soak overnight.

Step 2

In the morning strain the almonds and put them into a high-speed blender. Add the water, vanilla extract, salt, and dates/maple syrup to the blender and blend on high for a few minutes until the milk is smooth and frothy.

Step 3

Begin slowly straining the milk through a fine sieve or nut milk bag into a bowl or pitcher.  Squeeze until all the liquid is extracted then either discard or save the leftover almond pulp. I always save it to add to other recipes. One such use is adding a few tablespoons of almond pulp to my pancake and waffle batter for extra flavor.

Properly storing the almond milk in the refrigerator should give it a shelf life of up to 5 days. Just be sure to stir it up or shake well again before serving because the solids will settle.

As always I love hearing from you! Let me know if you enjoyed this recipe in the comments below!

Xx Monti