Alternative

I've been deemed a bit "alternative" by those close to me. I think it may have something to do with my steadfast love of all things vintage and my on-again-off-again health food regimens. So, imagine the looks I got when I told a group of friends I'd just ordered nut bags. You'd have thought I was speaking a foreign language and then the jokes started rolling (ahem). But yes, I ordered nut bags and I'm making almond milk.

I use almond milk in place of cow's milk primarily in smoothies, but it's also great over cereal and in recipes too. For years, I've been using this prepackaged product but I thought I'd try making my own. It' really simple to do. Just soak the almonds overnight, rinse, and then throw them in the blender with water, a couple of soaked dates, and a tad of vanilla. This is where the nut bag comes in.

Pour the blended mixture into a nut bag and squeeze all of the liquid out. What you are left with is a scrumptious bowl of "milk" and a nut bag filled with almond pulp. Then, pour the nut milk into your brand new vintage Tang pitcher and refrigerate it for later use.

The pulp, shown below, can be used as a base for making raw cookies, or dehydrated to use as an almond flour. I haven't tried either yet, but when I do, I'll let you know how it turns out. I made two batches of almond milk yesterday :: one plain recipe and one that tastes just like eggnog. Yum! There are lots of recipe variations online, and you don't have to have nut bags to make your own nut milk. Cheesecloth and a fine mesh sieve will work too, you'll just have to repeat the straining process several times. Hubby and I have an agreement that he'll taste my super healthy recipes once. So here's his assessment, "You know, it's not bad, but I'm never drinking it again". I love that man.