Raw Vegan Almond Milk

Almond milk bought from the store is often processed and may contain vegetable oil, refined sugar, or other ingredients that are incompatible with the raw vegan diet/detox. Here is some additional info on the differences between store bought almond milk and homemade: http://whfoods.org/genpage.php?tname=dailytip&dbid=203

I researched making your own almond milk and it looks pretty easy! All you need is a blender and a nut milk bag.

Unsweetened - Here is an easy recipe from Whole Foods:

Ingredients: 

• 1 cup almonds

Method: 

Put almonds in a bowl and cover by several inches with cold water. Cover and set aside at room temperature to soak overnight or 10 to 12 hours. Drain and rinse almonds. 

In a high-speed blender, blend almonds with 3 cups water until thoroughly combined. The mixture will be very frothy. Strain through a cheesecloth, a fine-mesh strainer or a nut-milk bag. Store almondmilk in the refrigerator and use within 3 days. Stir each time before using. 

The leftover almond pulp can be used for baking or added to oatmeal or smoothies.

Nutritional Info: 

Per Serving:Serving size: just under 1 cup, 5 calories (5 from fat), 0g total fat, 0g saturated fat, 0mg cholesterol, 5mg sodium, 0g carbohydrate (0g dietary fiber, 0g sugar), 0g protein

Sweetened - Here is a pretty easy DIY recipe for almond milk (from eatingvibrantly.com):

Makes: ~600ml plus ~1 cup almond pulp

Ingredients

• 1 cup (160g) almonds
• pinch salt + water to cover
• 1½ cups (375ml) water
• 2 medjool dates, pitted
• ¼ tsp vanilla bean powder (optional)
• ½ cup (125ml) water
• ⅔ cup (125g) ice

Method

1. Add salt to almonds and cover with water.
2. Soak 8-12 hours or overnight at room temperature.
3. Drain almonds and rinse.
4. Add almonds to blender with 1½ cups water, dates and vanilla bean powder.
5. Blend until smooth.
6. Add ½ cup of water and ⅔ cup ice and blend again.
7. Strain through nut milk bag, squeezing pulp thoroughly to extract as much almond milk as possible.
8. Store in the fridge for up to 4 days.

Preparation

Before: Soak almonds 8-12 hours or overnight
During: 15 min
After: -
Need: Blender, nut milk bag