Easy Breezy DIY: How to Milk an Almond

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It’s so incredibly easy to make your own Almond Milk, its crazy. If I, the girl who does not “DO Kitchens” can do this, so can you.

Not only is it healthier than processed “store-bought” almond milk which contains harmful ingredients such as Carrageenan, it tastes a million times better as well. I can’t even bring myself to purchase it from a store any longer knowing how easy and inexpensive this method is.  And once you get a taste of how delicious homemade is, you may never go back to store-bought either.

Did you know “they say” store-bought almond milk contains approximately 3-15 almonds, the rest is just filler. For a brilliant article by Mother Jones on WHY you should make your own almond milk, click HERE.

For those of you who already know the store-bought is crap, I have detailed a simple recipe for you.

Ready? Here it goes…

You will need: 

A blender/ Nutri-bullet/ food processor

1 bag of raw, natural almonds

Cheese cloth, as wide as possible

3 or 4 cups of water

Stevia, raw sugar or agave nectar for sweetener (if desired).

vanilla and cinnamon for taste (if desired)

THAT’S IT!

Seriously, I didn’t lie… this is a piece of cake. More like… organic, gluten free, cake that tastes better than the ones you buy in a store, kind of cake.

Making your own almond milk is so rewarding that you may want to carry around little baggies for your coffee or tea. Too weird?  Maybe.  But I find the flavor to be so rich and creamy that I honestly can’t even look at the cartons of processed almond milk, there has go to be a way to transport this yumminess.

So here we go. Milk those almonds!

Directions: 

Soak your almonds in 3 or 4 cups of water overnight in a bowl between 12 and 24 hours.  This is the hardest step …waiting.  There they are, precious almonds in the bowl soaking for what feels like an eternity, taunting you hour after hour.  It’s a tough job. I know.

Once they’re ready, put them into a blender along with the water they were soaking in; just pour it all in. YOU CAN DO IT!

I use the Nutri-Bullet, and make several “cups” at a time; blend it up nice and good, add more water if it’s too thick, use your judgement, I trust you.  You want it to be somewhat watery… ummm,  like milk.

( blend again with added water if necessary)

Grab some cheese cloth, make sure it is wide enough to fit over the bowl which will catch your almond concoction.

“CHEESE CLOTH…” I agree, its a weird name, but use it anyway. You will be creating a little hammock, inside the bowl with the cheese cloth.  Pour the watery almond mixture into the bowl over the cheese cloth.

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Lift the cheese cloth, keeping the almond mixture inside the “hammock” and squeeze out the fresh milk. Milk it like a cow… its fun and a little bit messy.

“Squish, squish, squish…” try and get as much liquid into the bowl as you can; I did NOT grasp this concept on my first try. Ooops. I created a disaster the first time around.

You can add sweetener if you desire, but I think it tastes perfectly fine without it. You can also add a drop of vanilla and/or cinnamon if you would like, personally I like it without any sweetener or flavorings, but to each his own.

Pour the milk into a container with a lid, chill it… and drink up!

DE-LISH

I use the left over almond bits for other recipes such as cookies. Or… maybe you can toast them in the oven with some salt? YUM, toasted almond bits.

Get creative and don’t waste any! You can even make MORE milk with the left-overs; just soak it again and repeat the steps.

OK, show of hands… who actually believed me when I said “I use the rest to bake cookies”?     Bake cookies.     That’s funny, I don’t cook…

BUT, YOU CAN; I’m sure. You’re creative like that.

If you like this simple recipe, please share with your friends, and check out some of my other “Easy Breezy DIY.”

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