Recipe of the Month: Almond Milk

I haven't had almond milk in a long time. Why you ask? Because I'm cheap and I don't want to pay for all of those extra additives that you get when you purchase commercial almond milk.

I had tried to make my own almond milk last year and it was a complete, messy, almondy chunk, FAIL... I used cheesecloth, which is great for sprouting but not so much for milking. Now fast forward 6 months, I have commercial almond milk in the freezer for guests and none for me.

This past weekend I went to my local big box hardware store and decided to pick up a few paint strainer bags. My raw foodie friends on sparkpeople.com swear by these. Well, now they have another convert. I made almond milk last night and liked it so much I decided to make it May's recipe of the month.

Ingredients

1 cup Almonds (soaked for at least 4 hours)
3 cup Water
3 Dates (soaked and pitted)
1 Tsp Cinnamon
1 Tsp Almond Extract (optional)

You can use Vanilla Extract too, I didn't like the one I had at home so used almond instead. You can also use real vanilla beans or let the pods soak in the milk over night. I'm cheap, see above, so I'll use the extract for now.

Tools

Blender
Bowl
Paint Strainer Bag

Directions

Put the almonds, water and dates in the blender and process until the almonds are fine. Add the other ingredients adjusting for your personal preferences. Some people will add agave or other sweeteners. I prefer sticking to dates. You can experiment with other dried fruits

Once everything is processed as much as possible pour it into the strainer bag over a large bowl and squeeze until you get all of the liquid out. Pour into a sealable container and enjoy it cold.

I recommend that you double the quantities, like I said, I made this last night and already went through it! So I'm back to commercial almond milk in the freezer for guests and none for me, but that's OK, I can make more.