I recently started making my own almond milk and now I'm wondering what took me so long. I often use almond milk for cooking and in smoothies so I usually have several boxes on hand.
Here are some awesome advantages I've discovered from making my own milk:
We're saving money! How?
My usual32 oz carton of Blue Diamond almond milk costs us about $3.50
The last time I went to the grocery store, I spent $10.19 on a bag of raw almonds from the bulk section. When I got home, I used my measuring cup and ended up with 4 cups. I'm able to make 48 oz of almond milk using my recipe and 1 cup of almonds is costing us $2.50. 48 oz sounds so much better than 32 oz
Takes less than 10 minutes to prepare-Sure I soak my almonds overnight but it takes me under 10 minutes to make the milk. :-)
Less ingredients-I'm not one who gets too bent out of shape about ingredients, but I really like that I'm only using 3 opposed to the 11 listed on the carton. What the heck is "natural flavors" anyway? lol
No Fillers- As you can see in the video, when I compared the consistency of my almond milk to the carton, it was pretty much the same. The manufacturer of the boxed version probably isn't even using one cup of almonds and therefore has to rely on thickening agents like carrageenan and tapioca starch to make the consistency thicker.
I'm not saying that I won't buy another carton of almond milk but I love being able to easily make my own for less money.
I purchased my nut bag from Raw Food World.
Almond Milk
Keywords: beverage
Ingredients (48 oz)
- 4 cups cold water
- 1 cup raw almonds
- 1/3 cup agave nectar or maple syrup (optional)
Instructions
Soak your almonds in water overnight.
Rinse your almonds and add to blender with 4 cups of water.
Blend for about 1 minute (if you're not using a high powered blender, be sure to take breaks to avoid damaging your blender)
Use a nut bag (or paint bag, cheese cloth, etc) and strain out all the liquid.
If you want to add a sweetener, put your milk back in the blender, add your sweetener and blend for a few seconds.
Store in mason jars in your refrigerator-will keep for about 5 days