How to Make Almond Milk the Easy Way

Guys, I’m embarrassed. For far too long I have taken the lazy approach to almond milk – grabbing it off the shelf. That sucks for SO many reasons which I recently discovered through my course at the Academy of Culinary Nutrition.

I thought I was doing something so good for myself by limiting dairy but I’ve found that store bought almond milk contains a long list of preservatives to keep it shelf stable in it’s pretty package.

Here is how to make almond milk the easy way.

 

Meghan Telpner is a genius. I have learned so much from her through my Culinary Nutrition Expert Program. I’m making my own spices and now almond milk from scratch.

You should seriously check out her new book The UnDiet Cookbook (which is already a bestseller) that hit the shelves last month.

After seeing how easy this was to make I feel embarrassed about buying almond milk by the carton.

 

Outside of soaking the almonds overnight, this almond milk took about 20 minutes to make. Some people will tell you that you need a nut milk bag, but seriously a regular old cheesecloth will do. Save your hard earned pennies.

 

I just placed a fine mesh strainer over a bowl. I lay the cheesecloth on top and pour the blended mixture through. I then gather the cheesecloth up into a sack and then squeeze it through into the bowl.

Voila – almond milk.

You could easily do this with cashews too.

It really is A LOT easier than it sounds. Do it once and then the next time you’ll be able to do it with your eyes closed.

Need some more convincing as to why to make your own almond milk?

Some manufactures add synthetic vitamins such as Vitamin D2 and Vitamin A Palmitate. These synthetic additives can be toxic.

Sure store bought almond milk is convenient but wouldn’t you prefer an option that’s cheaper and to have control over the ingredients that you ingest?

I can’t describe the sense of accomplishment that I felt after squeezing the milk into a bowl knowing that I was the creator and had full control and knowledge of every ingredient in this recipe. It really empowered me to make everything I possibly could from scratch.

Here’s Megan’s recipe from her book, UnDiet that is my go to recipe:

• 1 cup nuts of choice (unsalted and unroasted, you want raw natural nuts here)    
• 4 cups (or 2 cups if you want it creamier)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract                                    
• Raw honey, coconut nectar or maple syrup to taste (I use honey)

Directions:

• Soak nuts and seeds in cold water for 2-6 hours, or overnight, then drain and rinse.
• Place nuts and seeds in blender with water mix until smooth
• Pour mixture through fine mesh strainer, nut milk bag or cheesecloth and allow milk to drain into bowl. You can also get more hands on by squeezing nut milk from bag into a bowl.
• Rinse blender container and return milk to it. Add remaining ingredients, and blend until smooth
• Keep refrigerated for 3-4 days or until frozen in half-quart mason jars or ice cube trays for smoothies for 2-3 months

You’ll notice that you’ll have leftover almond meal in your cheesecloth or nut milk bag after draining. You could throw it out but DON’T! Why not turn it into almond flour?

Simply spread out onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or silicone mat. Put your oven on the lowest temp and dehydrate for about 4-6 hours to completely dry out. Once dry transfer to a food processor and finely grind to flour consistency. Almond flour is great for baked goods!

Now you have almond milk AND almond flour! I haven’t calculated the cost, but I’m quite certain there are some HUGE cost savings here by simply picking up some almonds.

Click here for this handy dandy free printable so you can see just how easy it is to make!

Have you tried making your own nut milk before? Have you made any other variations or have tips to share? I’d love to hear about it! Drop me a comment below.