In a world of “pre-made” everything, it is really easy to take shortcuts in the kitchen. Unfortunately there are a ton of preservatives and unhealthy additives in most of the products, so I try to make my own “stuff” whenever time permits.
Now that I’ve been starting my morning with this shake I wanted to find a way to make my own almond milk… I’ve always thought it was way too much work than it was worth, and I was pleasantly surprised to find that wasn’t the case!
Vanilla Almond Milk
- 1 cup raw almonds
- 3.5 cups filtered water
- 2 dates, chopped
- 1 tsp vanilla extract or 1 vanilla bean
- Optional: ground cinnamon, sea salt
- Soak almonds overnight in water (make sure to cover them in enough water, because they really plump up).
- Rinse almonds in a collinder.
- Put almonds, water, dates and vanilla in a blender.
- Blend on high until well combined.
- Pour almond mixture into a nut bag over a bowl.
- Let milk drain into a bowl and squeeze mixture to remove any liquid (should take 3-5 minutes to release all of the milk).
- Add cinnamon, salt or any other flavors.
- Store in an airtight container for 3-5 days and shake before you drink it (it will separate).
Notes: If you don’t have a nut bag you can use cheesecloth or a fine mesh sieve – but you will probably have some texture to your almond milk. Also the nut bag is reusable and makes the whole process so much easier and cleaner… plus it’s under $10!
