Almond Milk Sans Preservatives

Making almond milk is incredibly EASY and it’s absolutely DELICIOUS!  For those of you looking to jump on the preservative free food movement or experiment in the kitchen with some clean eating recipes this one is fun and surprisingly requires few items.  You do however need a little forethought as the almonds should soak in water over night…

 

Here are the ingredients I use to make my almond milk:

 

1 cup raw almonds (soaked in water for 8-12 hours)

4 cups filtered water

1-2 teaspoons of pure vanilla extract

3-5 dates (depends on your sweet tooth!)

sea salt    (a pinch – to pull out the flavour)

Tools:

cheese cloth or coffee filters

strainer

blender

cookie sheet

parchment paper

Cover one cup almonds with filtered water and soak 8-12 hours in the fridge.  They will become big and fat as they take up the water.  Rinse the almonds before adding them to the blender.  Add 4 cups filtered water, vanilla, dates and sea salt.  Blend it all up!

 

Ta Daaaa!

The ingredients will turn into a frothy white milk right before your eyes!

As you can see below there is quite a bit of almond pith in the blender.  If you have a high end blender, which I don’t … (YET!)  you might reduce the amount of pith a bit.  Still, you will have to separate the milk from the pith.

Pouring a little milk at a time let it strain through the cheese cloth or coffee filters.

This is where we get a little messy – but – stay with it – because the end result is amazeballs!

Wash your hands thoroughly and then pick up the cheese cloth or coffee filter and squeeze the excess milk from the pith letting it drain through the strainer.  Transfer the pith to the cookie sheet.  You will repeat this step until the milk is all done.

I like to store the milk in mason jars in the fridge.  They will separate and require a gentle shake before you consume.

The almond milk will last a week – if you can keep it that long!

 

So what to do with the pith? Bake it baby!

Usually, I cook it on low heat for a longer time – any time I try high heat quick dry I burn it. Pretty exact eh? Well that’s how I roll. It’s all about the smell … once you start to smell the roasting almonds pull the tray out, spread the pith around and pop them back in the oven for a few minutes more.

If you can offer me  better and more exact drying tips I’ll take them.   I’m not an adept baker… but I try!

Then add the dried almond pith to your granola, pie crusts, crisps and cookies.

Try it and let me know what you think will ya?