Healthy homemade almond milk recipe

Almond milk is a great alternative to dairy milk and a great base component for any smoothie. I have been using store bought almond milk for a long time now and then the other day I read an article that claimed that most ready almond milk only have 5 almonds in them and the rest is water? Anyway, so I decided to have a go at making my own just to see how it would turn out.

It's not something you would probably make all the time because it is a bit of a process and time consuming but it's worth trying at least once because it tastes oh so good!

Benefits of Almond milk

• Almonds are a great source of monounsaturated fats, which are healthy fats that promote heart health and may reduce the risk of stroke.
• Almonds are powerhouses when it comes to health benefits and is gluten-free and low in carbs.

Homemade Almond Milk Recipe

A healthy almond milk recipe. It is simple, fast and you control the ingredients.

Ingredients

↝1 cup raw almonds, soaked in water
↝4 cups of filtered water
↝2-5 dates (for sweetness)
↝1 whole vanilla pod (or 4 to 5 drops of vanilla essence)
↝¹/₄ teaspoon cinnamon
↝a small pinch of sea salt to enhance the almond flavor

Method

Soak your almonds in a bowl full of water preferably overnight or for at least 2 hours. Rinse and drain the almonds and place in a blender together with your dates, filtered water, and vanilla pod. Blend on high speed for at least a minute.

For this next step, you will need a muslin cloth or muslin bag placed over a large bowl. You need to carefully pour the almond milk mixture into this cloth and then gather up the cloth and squeeze and knead it gently to release the milk. this took me about 5 to 8 minutes to do because you want to squeeze all the liquid out.

Rinse out your blender and pour the milk back in. add your cinnamon and salt and blend on low power to mix it all up. You will be left with creamy, thick milk which is perfect drunk on its own, or in smoothies, or over your granola.

Pour into a clean glass jar and store in the refrigerator for 3 to 5 days. Before using each time, give the jar a shake because the mixture does separate.

** you can use the ground almonds that you are left over within muffins (like my almond coconut apple muffins), in smoothies, in granola or you can freeze it and use as and when needed.