For the last few months I’ve been dabbling in breakfast smoothies. Strawberries, bananas, pineapples, blueberries, honey, sometimes I even throw some flax seed in there. Agave nectar is another new addition. If it wasn’t for all the smoothie making, I probably never would have stumbled upon all these recipes for how to make your own almond milk. It seemed so easy I decided I would give it a whirl. Turns out it was very easy, and very tasty and you can change it up to suit your taste! Made for a great addition to my morning smoothies.
You will need:
- 1cup almonds
- 4cups filtered water plus more for soaking
- Cheesecloth
- 1tblsp vanilla, honey, or agave nectar to sweeten (optional)
- Blender
- Jar with lid to store finished milk
Soak your almonds in a bowl for at least 6 hours. I let mine soak overnight. Pour enough water in the bowl to cover the almonds completely. It is important to use “raw” almonds. Make sure they are not toasted or flavored.
When your almonds have soaked long enough, strain the ‘overnight water’ and add the almonds to your blender. Add 4 cups of filtered water and puree until you have almond milk! About 10 minutes.
You’ll notice the almond mixture start to get nice and frothy.
At this point, you can add your sweetener. I added some vanilla, but you could add agave or honey instead. You’ll notice that after all the blending you’re basically left with almond milk and what I like to call almond meal. I strain this out although I’ve read that some people like to leave it in. Here comes the cheesecloth.
Position your cheesecloth over the mouth of the container you intend to keep your almond milk in. Strain the milk through the cheesecloth to remove all of the leftover almond bits. I used a spoon to help move the process along and help press the milk through the cheesecloth.
Once you’ve strained it all, you’re done and it’s ready to drink. Very cool. It was a lot easier than I thought, and although you can easily pick up almond milk at the grocery store, I think it’s nice to be able to make it yourself and control the flavor and freshness. As soon as I find out where to get almonds in bulk for a price that doesn’t make me almost faint, I’ll be making lots more of this stuff!
It says fresh in the fridge for about a week.
Enjoy, and let me know if you try it!
