I grew up drinking milk every day like all of us. Summers brought with them chilled cold coffees, banana shakes, mango shakes, ice cream shakes. Winter evenings were made cozy with steaming hot cups of hot chocolate, doodh chai, doodh jalebi. My love for milk continued unabated for may years to come….till I discovered I’m lactose intolerant. Thank god for yogurt which I can still enjoy on a daily basis and these amazing alternatives available..soy milk, coconut milk, and this Almond Milk.
Almond milk is delicious on its own, creamy and slightly nutty in flavor. You can certainly add a sweetener to it if you like a sweeter version. It’s a fabulous addition to your smoothies and shakes. And yes very healthy. It’s alkaline, low in calories, glycemic index and sodium, high in healthy fats, cholesterol-free, rich in Vitamins A, B, D & E. While it doesn’t offer as much calcium as cow’s milk, almond milk does offer 30 percent of the recommended daily amount. Since its lactose-free, it’s easy on the digestive system as well.
The fact that its great tasting, versatile and nutritionally dense is appealing to many people and not just the ones following a vegan diet!
Its surprisingly easy to make at home. We are talking about soaking almonds overnight and grinding them with water the next day, then strain and drink. Grinding and straining takes a few minutes, but that’s about all the work you’ll have to do! Unprocessed, wholesome and economical almond milk in 10 minutes top. I have some pictures below to show the process.
Soak the almonds.
Plumped almonds after 12-hour soak. Rinse well.
Blend with fresh filter water.
Strain through a cheesecloth.
Variations:
* Add 5-6 dates ( or 4 Tbsp honey), 1 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp vanilla extract to make Sweet Almond Milk.
* 1Tbsp of cocoa powder to sweet almond milk to make Chocolate Almond Milk. Add additional sweetener if required.
* Mango and 2 green cardamoms ( seeds only) to the sweet almond milk to make Mango Cardamom Shake.
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- 1 cup Almonds 250 gms
- 1 ltr Water
- Put the almonds in a bowl, pour over enough water to cover them. Soak them overnight ( 8 – 10 hrs)
- Drain and rinse them well. Place them in a blender with 1ltr water.
- Blend at high-speed for 2-3 minutes.
- Place a cheese cloth over a large bowl and carefully pour the blended mixture over it.
- Gently squeeze the cheese cloth to extract the last bit of milk.
- Pour the milk in a glass jar/ jug. It should keep well for up to 4 days in the refrigerator.
NOTE:
- You can peel the soaked almonds after rinsing them well, then grind them with water. No straining required!
- Save the leftover almond meal. Spread it out in a pan and roast in a 180C oven for about 20 minutes till dry and golden. Sprinkle on top of your smoothies, cereal; add in your baking…cookies, cakes or even in place of breadcrumbs. No food waste!!
O wow this was simple! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Thank you Shilpi!Hope you’ll try it !:)
I will definitely try this 🙂 .
You don’t need to peel the almonds after soaking?
Thank you for stopping by Sonia! Yes, you can peel the almonds after soaking. Or grind it with the peel and then strain the milk.Some don’t even strain..its very good either ways. Please do let me know how it worked out for you.xx 🙂
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