Sunday, March 8, 2009

Raw Style: Vanilla Almond Milk



If you are looking for alternatives to dairy milk, you will love this recipe for fresh vanilla almond milk using soaked almonds (why soak?). Enjoy it straight from the glass, on your favorite cereal and look for future recipe posts that use this vanilla almond milk. Raw vanilla almond milk is enzyme-rich, very hydrating and you can store it in the fridge for about 5-7days. It may separate, so shake it up before using/drinking. I tend to make a bunch on Sunday and use it throughout the week.

Feel free to experiment with this recipe. Want it less sweet? Don't use agave. Want a plain almond milk? Nix the vanilla. Add raw cacao powder for chocolate milk or fresh organic strawberries for strawberry milk. Bananas, mint...have fun.

“This is amazing. It tastes like melty ice cream” a friend once told me as they polished off two glasses. Bingo.

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makes 3 cups
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Tools needed:
Blender
Nut milk bag or cheesecloth

What you need:
1 cup raw soaked almonds (start with 3/4 cup raw unsoaked—they expand)
1 tbsp raw agave nectar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp lecithin granules
1/4 tsp pink Himalayan sea salt (can use regular Sea Salt instead)
3 cups of fresh young coconut water or store bought (ex: VitaCoco, O.N.E or Zico)

Let’s get started:
Soak your almonds in filtered water for 6-8hrs. I usually get them soaking the night before, hit the hay and they are ready in the morning. Try not to soak longer than 12hrs. No time to soak? Skip it, but here is why soaking is optimal.



After your almonds have finished soaking, drain and rinse them with filtered water.
Put almonds and all other ingredients in the blender.



Blend on high speed for about 1 minute, until all ingredients are liquified.
Set out a large bowl and place the nut milk bag or cheesecloth in it and pour the liquid from the blender through the bag or cheescloth and squeeze until all you are left with is almond meal. Save the almond meal in the fridge. You can make delicious pie and tart crusts, desserts and cookies out of it and it keeps for a few weeks.



Transfer the milk into a glass and/or storage container and enjoy!

11 comments:

Candice said...

This looks really good :)
I can't wait to try it.

I don't have lecithin though. Is there anything I can use in its place?

inspiredbyeverything said...

Hello Candice~
This will still be just as tasty without the Lecithin. Just not as creamy. No need to replace it really. Enjoy!

Anonymous said...

I'd love those glass bottles in the picture to use for my almond milk! Did you buy them online?

inspiredbyeverything said...

I LOVE those bottles too...I recycled them from some Green Juice that I bought from Karyn's here in Chicago, but you know what bottles are super beautiful as well? Kombucha/Synergy bottles. http://www.gtskombucha.com/ You can but Kombucha at any health food store or Whole Foods. Good luck!

Anonymous said...

Thanks so much for the tip - those bottles look really nice too. I'll look for them here in VA. Karyn's sure looks like a great place. Wish we had one here!

Irina said...

Yummy! The vanilla almond milk looks delicious. I love almond milk but have never tried it in vanilla flavor. I am sure it will taste great. The creamy and delicious milk is a favorite of my family. I would love to try out this new flavor this weekend and use it in the deserts.

Unknown said...

Do you think this would turn out okay if I skipped the coconut milk/replaced it with water? I don't have any young coconuts around, sadly ):

inspiredbyeverything said...

Acadia~
I like the super-powered hydrating properties and the extra creaminess that the coconut water adds, but regular water works well too. Have fun!

julie k said...

just made this tonight - its fantastic! thanks for posting, looking forward to trying more of your recipes.

JuliN said...

you can also use a fine tooth/mesh strainer. i never have to deal anymore now that I switched; the end result is always totally smooth and chunk free! just an idea.

JuliN said...

you can also use a fine tooth/mesh strainer. i never have to deal anymore now that I switched; the end result is always totally smooth and chunk free! just an idea.