Hi everyone! My name is Jodi and I’m not a food blogger, but rather just an avid food blog reader! I am so excited that Jenna gave me the opportunity to write a guest post on her blog today. We have been close friends for a long time, but as always, it is nice to connect over something so amazing like food! I love reading Jenna’s blog for her unique writing, creative topics (um… Grampa?) and easy, simple, and tasty recipes. I am vegan, and although I don’t eat meat, I really still enjoy reading all of Jenna’s recipes in hopes to learn something new. And I always get excited when I land on something that both she and I can enjoy. It isn’t that easy to find something that is grain free, dairy free, sugar free, and egg free that is both vegan and Paleo! Hopefully I can offer you something today that you can make on your next creative stint.

But in all honesty, creativity aside, anyone can make this. That is, anyone that owns and knows how to operate a blender.

I love enjoying things that are homemade, and being vegan (or adapting to any diet other than the American diet), it is somewhat a necessity to know how to make a few of your favorite things homemade in order to survive your healthy lifestyle.  Forget about money savings, but also the fact that homemade foods are the best for your body – think no preservatives, artificial flavorings, or unnecessary added sugar.

Almond milk is one of my pantry staples. When I came across a recipe for homemade nut milk, I knew I had to try it out for myself. It seemed too good to be true. I needed to create this and enjoy it poured into smoothies, my occasional morning coffee, or just to drink straight out of the bottle.

Homemade Almond Milk

Recipe adapted from My New Roots

1 cup raw almonds
4 cups water
Honey, agave nectar, or medjool dates, to taste (notes below)
Vanilla bean or vanilla extra, to taste (notes below)

1. Soak for 8 hours, or preferably overnight, 1 cup of raw almonds covered with cool water.

2. After soaking, drain and rinse almonds.

(You’ll see that some of my almonds are without the skin/blanched. This is a result from me testing to see if they were “soft” and ultimately having fun popping the almonds out of their skins. This has no effect on the outcome of the milk!)

3. Place almonds in a blender with 4 cups of water. Blend for about 3-4 minutes or until you no longer see large almond pieces.

4. Get your straining device ready (cheesecloth, nut milk bag, or what I used: pantyhose!)

5. Prepare a large, wide-mouthed pitcher or glass container with straining device – be sure to hold on to it so it does not slip when pouring.

6. Pour in the almond and water mixture from the blender, almond pieces and all.

7. Slowly pull up the strainer out of the pitcher and squeeze out all the liquid from what is now the “pulp”.

8. Store the almond milk in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-5 days. Be sure to give it a good shake before opening!



Notes:

Store the almond pulp in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-5 days.

This is unsweetened and unflavored almond milk. If you normally buy the “original” or “vanilla” almond milk, please add your preferred sweetener and vanilla flavoring to your liking. If you buy “unsweetened” almond milk, you do not need to add anything to this. I enjoy it as-is, unsweetened and unflavored.

I didn’t feel like hunting down cheesecloth or a nut milk bag, so I went to my local drugstore and got an 8-pack of knee-high pantyhose for $8. Sounds a little creepy, I know, but I promise, this works the best! I had to use a Ball jar because I am in the midst of a move and cannot find a pitcher, and the pantyhose held snuggly onto the rim of the Ball jar so I didn’t have to hold it when pouring. Best of all, this 8-pack is really a 16-pack! Although the pantyhose is totally disposable, I tried hand washing the one I used and I will see if it is able to be used for another batch of almond milk. That depends on how clean it got…

Now – not sure what to do with all of that almond pulp? I highly, highly suggest making some Paleo-friendly hummus. That’s right; there are no beans in this hummus! Just process the leftover nut pulp with a few scoops of raw tahini, garlic, water, olive oil, cumin, cayenne pepper, and you have yourself one yummy appetizer.

Isn’t she amazing!?!? I think Jodi needs her own blog….

Now, my faithful and fabulous readers, comment away