Nuts about milk!

It’s been a while since I’ve drunk cow’s milk. I used to drink it by the pint (especially when I was breastfeeding) but I remember reading various articles about how you’re actually getting a significant dose of the antibiotics which the cows are always on (due to the over milking of cows, which causes their udders to be permanently inflamed and infected – ouch and yuck!). Not only is there some of the antibiotic present in milk but in many tests, there is a high level of hormone in there too.  No thanks!

So a few years ago, I transferred over to Soya milk. I don’t drink milk by the glass any more, but I do have it in cappuccino and soya milk does froth particularly well. However, even soya milk isn’t hugely good for you as it’s highly processed and still has questionable additives. My youngest enjoys almond milk so we often have cow’s milk (my son still drinks it), soya milk and almond milk in our fridge.

I remember finding a recipe for homemade almond milk months ago and thinking ‘one day’. Well last week, that ‘one day’ became ‘today’. It’s one of those things I wish I’d tried a loooong time ago! It’s so easy, cheap, delicious and healthy! I now use my own almond milk as a base for most of my smoothies (instead of juicing apples) which both increases the protein and decreases the sugar; win:win!

Here’s what you do:

Soak a cup of almonds in water overnight.

Drain them and rinse the nuts through (throw the original water away, it’s full of tannic acid).

Put the cup of almonds with 4 cups of fresh water, a teaspoon of vanilla extract (not essence!) and 2 dates into a powerful blender. Blend on full power for 30 seconds. Sieve the mixture and voila!

It keeps for about 5 days in the fridge. Because there are no artificial ingredients or preservatives, the milk will naturally separate. Just give it a good shake before each use. This recipe will make about a litre of milk. If that’s more than you’ll get through in 5 days then it freezes well. You can freeze it in an ice tray to make it easier to add to smoothies!

Once I’d made my own, I had another look at the ingredients in shop bought almond milk. Won’t be buying that again!

Fancy a healthier, cheaper and better tasting milk? Go on, go nuts. Make some almond milk!