Almond Milk

Almond milk is all the rage. If you are lactose sensitive, and you're concerned about the estrogen in soy products, you probably have a carton of almond milk in your fridge right now. But most of the almond milk options in the grocery store still have lots of additives. If you really want to know what's in your almond milk, you can make your own. It's time consuming but it's actually very simple.

Ingredients:
1 cup raw almonds
Water
2 cups water

Supplies:
Mixing bowl*
Blender/hand blender/emulsifier
Cheesecloth
Storage container

Yield: 1.5 cups almond milk

*You might use the mixing bowl for the blending or for the straining.

Soak the almonds overnight in enough water to cover them by at least an inch (see first photo). If overnight is not possible try to soak them for at least a few hours. They will expand and look "pregnant." Drain the almonds of the water and pour them into your blender - or into the mixing bowl if you are using a hand blender/emulsifier. I used my blender the first time but since it isn't a Vitamix and it's fairly old think the blades weren't sharp enough and although the yield was fair, I thought the milk came out a little "watery" and the almond pulp was rather coarse. Also last time I followed a recipe that called for 1 cup raw almonds and 3-4 cups water in the blender. This time I decided to use my hand blender, and lowered the almond to milk ratio to 2:1 and the results were much better. Recipes for almond milk abound on the Internet and you'll have to figure out the almond/water ratio and blending instrument that works to your taste.

I digress. So pour your almonds into your blending vessel and add 2 cups water. Blend away. It will froth quite a bit. Let it sit for a bit then blend again to be sure. See second photo. Then either pour your contents from the blender into a cheesecloth lined strainer or put cheesecloth over your storage container (see third photo) and slowly put your blended mix through the cheese cloth. Depending on your patience level this could take a while. I used the cheesecloth on the Blender Ball container so I did mine little by little and encouraged the process by squeezing the pulp with a spatula.

You will be left with about 1.5 cups of almond milk and a lot of almond meal. (See fourth photo.) I store my milk in the Blender Ball container to make it easy to shake before pouring. Use the almond meal in any number of recipes, like Almond Crusted Pork Chops - or almond crusted anything! Or Paleo Friendly Crackers . You don't have to decide right away - store undehydrated almond pulp in the fridge. More almond pulp recipes to come!