"My (Almond) Milk Brings the Boys to the Yard" : Featuring Holley Fitness
Sometimes you see other people's stuff and just go "Wow, I need to get on their level!"
I had one of those moments this month and thought it would be worthwhile to feature another blog (actually the lovely woman who introduced me to BeachBody) that shares with us how to make homemade almond milk.
I think that starting to experiment and do that sort of thing is very helpful (and fun!) because you know exactly what you are putting into your body! Also experiencing cost savings is NEVER a bad thing.
Homemade Almond Milk
By HolleyFit 8:41 AM Beachbody, Dairy Free, Paleo, Recipes, Vegan
We drink almond milk mixed in our Shakeology and use almond milk creamer in our coffee daily. One of our favorite snacks is almond butter with slices of bananas & apples or used in recipes such as Reese’s cups or Paleo Pancakes!
I decided to venture out and make my own almond milk, creamer, and almond butter! Here are the recipes I used! I love the way homemade almond products taste compared to store bought and look forward to creating yummy recipes!
Homemade Almond Milk:
1 cup whole, raw almonds (soaked overnight, of course!)
1 gallon of water, separated
Optional:
1 tsp vanilla, separated
sweetener to taste (I used my favorite liquid stevia)
Add almonds to blender and fill with as much of the water as your blender can manage. Blend for several minutes (less if you have a high-powered blender), until there’s a good “milk” going. If you’re using the optional ingredients, add 1/2 tsp of vanilla, and as much sweetener as you’d like.
Once it’s all blended up and you’re ready to make your second quart, strain the milk from the almond using cheesecloth or nut milk bag!
Once you’ve gotten as much of the milk out as possible, return the ground almond strainings to the blender to whip up another batch. Refill the blender with water, add in more of the optional ingredients if you’re using them, and then repeat the process.
Once you’ve gotten as much of the almond milk out of the almonds as you think you’ll be getting, squeeze as much of the liquid out as you can. Don’t throw the little almond remnants away, though! Save and freeze those – when you have enough, you can dry the ground almonds on a cookie sheet and make almond flour!
To make almond milk creamer:
1 cup raw almonds, soaked 6-8 hours & rinsed well
4 cups filtered water
2 Tablespoons coconut oil
nut milk bag, or fine strainer
INSTRUCTIONS
Combine all ingredients into a high-powered blender, and blend until very smooth and creamy.
Position the nut milk bag over a large bowl, then pour the blender contents into the bag to strain.
Squeeze well, until only dry almond pulp remains in the bag. (Reserve the leftover almond pulp for another recipe!)
Transfer the almond milk to a sealed container, and store in the fridge for up to a week.
To make almond butter:
Items Needed:
food processor
spatula
1 cup (for measuring)
1 Tbsp. (for measuring)
Raw Almonds
Sea Salt (optional)
Coconut Oil( or oil of your choosing)
Container (for storing Almond Butter)
Please Note: I wouldn't reccomend using more than 3 & 1/2 cups unless you have a really BIG food proccessor. Your machine might not be able to handle the amount of time needed to turn that much almonds into Almond Butter.
Step One:
Add 3 cups of raw almonds to food processor
Add a pinch of sea salt (optional)
Set your Vitamix to LOW and speed ‘1’.
Pour the nuts in.
Secure the lid along with the tamper. Turn on the blender and immediately increase the speed to ‘10’ and change to HIGH. It’s going to be very loud but relax.
Use the tamper to press the nuts down uniformly. Do so for 1 minute (raw takes a few minutes more) until the butter becomes creamy and starts to flow. Do not let the Vitamix run continuously for more than 1 minute without resting in between especially once it reaches the state where it starts to flow or you’ll risk overheating your motor.
To turn off, switch to LOW and decrease the speed to ‘1’. Transfer almond butter to an airtight glass jar/bottle, let cool and refrigerate. (It should keep for up to 6 months even though it usually finishes within weeks).
Spread on toast or use as a dip.
Add 3 TBSP of coconut oil
Additional salt- to taste* (optional)
Continue to blend on low speed until the thick gummy mash turns into smooth almond butter
At this point, you can transfer the yummy almond butter to the jar or add a bit of honey, stevia, or Agave- to taste*
STORE IN FRIDGE
I hope you found this recipe useful and drives you to GO make your own milk!
xoxo
