Almond milk, nut milks, do not have to be so expensive and unaffordable for so many people. It is quick and easy to make a much more nutritious, tastier, and affordable nut milk at home. This recipe is for almond milk but it can be used for any nut milk.
As with most nut milks, it does not contain calcium and vitamin D3 so we take supplements.
Arriving at this recipe has involved some twists and turns. After being told that my body does not tolerate milk and possibly all dairy, finding a non-dairy “milk” was a lot of trial and error. However, we now have the simplest recipe with two ingredients and it takes 2 minutes.
There is the added benefit of having no containers to recycle—plastic, bottle, or carton. It is the most environmentally beneficial.
My son had been drinking unsweetened soy milk for years—maybe 30 years. I could not stomach the flavor or the way my body rejected it. Oat milk was heavy and loaded with carbs. I tried rice milk, hemp milk, macadamia nut milk, cashew milk. All are more beverages than “milk” with not much nutrition and a high price tag.
Almond milk seemed the best choice. However, it was providing hardly any nutrition as well. Soon the additives began to bother my body—carrageenan, locust bean, guar gum. We were paying a lot of money for emulsified water. So I switched to a brand that was just almonds and water—it worked out to $2 for an 8 ounce serving with just 1 gram of protein. That was around 1-2 almonds for a whole cup and yet the calories listed were the equivalent of 8-10 almonds. Something was not adding up. In straining the nut milk, was all the nutrition being discarded? But then where were the calories coming from?
So I decided to make almond milk at home using finely sifted almond flour. I tried the unblanched as well as the blanched flour. Not having a Vitamix or an ultra powerful blender, almond flour seemed a sensible choice. I tried soaking it in cold water, then heating it to a simmer, cooling and blending. I tried soaking overnight in the fridge. And finally just soaking for a minimum of 30 minutes and blending. Soaking almond flour in hot water for 10-15 minutes also works well. I never filtered in any method. Blanched almond flour worked the best.
The simplest method also worked the best. Each cup has 6 grams of protein. One 48 ounce bag yields 48 servings and at the time of writing this post cost $10. It takes me a couple of minutes to blend an 8 cup jug of milk. My son now cannot stomach the soy milk he used to drink and we both enjoy our home-made milk with just two ingredients—almonds and water. It costs 21 cents a cup. No nut bags, no filtering, zero waste, maximum nutrition.
You can adjust the amounts to the quantity you want to make as well as how thick or thin you want it to be. Keep it a little thicker for a creamer.
Cashew milk can be made exactly the same way and is super delicious, especially with a bit of ground cardamom.
Ingredients
2 cups blanched finely sifted almond flour
7 cups of cold tap water (you can use filtered water as well)
Method
1. Mix almond flour with 1 1/2 cups of water and let rest at room temperature for at least 30 minutes, or overnight in the fridge. Do not let it sit for more than 3-4 hours at room temperature, especially in warm weather, as you do not want the paste to start fermenting. Or soak in hot water for 15 minutes to make it quicker.
2. Pour the mixture in a blender. I have a regular blender so I use the ice-crush setting for 60 seconds, Wait a few seconds (being cautious about not overheating the motor). Check if it is smooth. It is really making almond cream just like cashew cream. If it is not totally smooth, keep blending the heck out of it till it is smooth. You will see that the splashes on the sides will be creamy and smooth and not look curdled/speckled. Then add 2 more cups of water and blend on high speed.
3. I pour mine into a large 8-cup jug and add 3 1/2 more cups of water and give it a good stir. Cover and chill. Enjoy. It is good for 4-5 days. Like all nut milks, it needs a good stir before pouring.
Note: I add less water in the beginning because the thicker the paste is the smoother the blend will be. But it has to have enough liquid to make the blades of the blender run smoothly. Once it is thoroughly pulverized, more water can be added. But if you had 4 cups of water right away, it will be very difficult to get a smooth texture.
When you mix 2 cups of almond flour with 2 cups of water, you will not get 4 cups. It will be around 3 cups.
Preparation: 30 minutes soak time plus 2 minutes to blend
Yields 8 cups
Tip: Use this almond milk and 3 small chopped dates for chikoo milkshake. We find it super delicious and satisfying. It tastes better than soy milk.
Mahasri Yoga 