Homemade Almond Milk

Home-made almond milk was one of those 'foodie' things I made and then quickly got out of the habit of making as dairy-free milks became easier to buy in the shops. In the current crisis however, (I am writing as the world is in Corona Virus lockdown), I am falling back on the benefits of home-made over shop-bought and this is one such recipe.

I use it for shakes and smoothies and to soak oats and chia seeds for breakfast, but it is so delicious you can drink it standalone.

A couple of bits of kit make this recipe a doddle. One being a strong blender, such as a Nutribullet or a Vitamix and the other being a Nut Milk Bag, which makes it quicker to strain but you can use a clean muslin cloth or tea towel.

Ingredients

1 mug of almonds * (soaked overnight in water and then drained)

400 ml water

1 medjool date

1 tsp of vanilla essence

Method

Add all of your ingredients to the blender and mix on top speed.

Its amazing to watch the mixture go white, even though you have used regular skin-on almonds. Once it is well belended and frothy you can strain your milk through the nut bag or muslin cloth. This will separate the milk from the pulp. The milk can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Now you can set about wondering what to do with the left over pulp. My favourite use is to make some energy balls, mixing the pulp with dates, cacao, coconut and a dash of coconut oil.

*(You dont have to soak the almonds, but it makes the finished milk much creamier. If you are logging on and want to make your milk NOW.. then just soaking the almonds for an hour before you start would help... add a pinch of salt to the water, then rinse and drain)