Homemade Almond Milk ( Raw )

Almond milk is a beverage made from finely ground almonds and water. Almond milk is a milk substitute used by those either lactose intolerant, vegans and vegetarians as well as by people who follow a raw food diet. I am neither of these I just like almond milk for it's taste and to use as a fun substitute ingredient to cow milk or soy milk. This nut milk has been popular since Medieval times throughout Europe and the Middle East. The popularity during Medieval times was mainly because almond milk keeps longer than cow's milk.

This light yet creamy milk does not only taste good it is also nutritious. To those of us who do not have a nut allergy we can benefit from the Vitamin E,Vitamin A, Zinc,Magnesium, Iron, Calcium, No Cholesterol ,lactose free, people with soy allergies can use it as an alternative, and Low Saturated Fat. Homemade almond milk is better than prepackage because prepackage usually has sweeteners and preservatives. Though some companies do add in vitamins and minerals to try to make it comparable to cow's milk, you may want to read the package carefully if you choose to buy prepackaged. But before completely switching to almond milk only you may want to do more research and definitely speak with your Doctor to see if this would be a good alternative for your body's needs.

Almond milk can be used as a substitute in the same way you would soy milk or regular milk. The only instance where almond milk would not work too well would be in baking when the recipe is for fatty or buttery baked goods. If you are following a raw food diet this recipe is one you'll love, no cooking involved. And a tip to you about some to the prepackage almond milk , some companies actually use roasted almonds and not raw, so read those packages. This recipe is a small recipe that can easily be doubled or tripled for your needs.

Your Ingredients:
-100 grams or 3.5 ounces blanched almonds
-2 cups or 500 ml water

optional:
sugar or honey or dates to sweeten

-1 large pot or bowl
-cheese cloth or a clean kitchen towel or very fine sieve colander
-blender

1. Place the blanched almonds in a large bowl and cover with water. Leave to sit overnight.

2. Drain the water, and place the almonds in a blender. Pour 1 cup of water into blender, and if using sweetener add it to the blender as well. Blend until the almonds have completely broken down to a fine almost paste.

3. Place the cheese cloth (or other options) over a large bowl. Pour the liquid over the cloth, then pull up on all ends to squeeze out liquid on the bowl.

4.Once the liquid is all removed, place the ground almonds back inside the blender and add the remaining 1 cup of water. Again repeating step #3.

Done and ready to enjoy the Almond milk. Serve or use the almond milk straight away or store in the refrigerator until you are ready to use ( it will keep fresh for 5 days). The milk will separate a bit while it sits, just give it a quick stir or shake and it's ready.

Don't discard the ground almonds you can use them in baked goods. An option is to dry the ground almonds then once they have completely dried place them back in the blender and blend into a fine almond flour. Again this can be used in baked goods or any other recipes that might call for almond flour. It works great I have a recipe to share using the leftover almond flour, coming soon.

** For my Homemade Non Separating Almond Milk recipe click here.**