You may have noticed that almond milk is everywhere these days. In fact,
cow milk alternatives have been popping up more and more on grocery
store shelves. Some common choices include soy milk, rice milk and
coconut milk. Almond milk has become particularly popular because it has
a lot of great nutritional properties, and features a nice nutty
flavor.
Almond milk is made by grinding up almonds and water. Unlike cow's milk,
almond milk does not contain any lactose, so it's good for those who
are lactose intolerant or have milk allergies. It's also a good choice
for vegans since no animal products are used. Almond milk naturally
contains many vitamins and minerals, such as vitamins A, D, E and
calcium.
Additionally, almond milk is favorable option if you're counting your
calories. One cup contains about 40 calories, and it's low in sugar. It
contains about 3.5 grams of fat but no saturated fat or cholesterol.
Instead, it's packed with heart healthy monounsaturated fats. The
unsaturated fats found in almonds are actually considered to be "good
fats" and have been shown to lower LDL or "bad" cholesterol levels.
Almond milk does, however, have significantly less protein than cow's
milk. One cup contains about 1 gram of protein compared to 8 grams of
protein in cow's milk (regardless of whether it's skim, low fat or
whole).
Many brands of almond milk are now available in grocery stores. It comes
in plain or flavored varieties -- vanilla and chocolate are the most
common flavors. Just be careful to read the nutrition labels, as some
varieties can contain large amounts of sugar.
Almond milk can also be made at home. The benefit of making your own is
that you can control exactly what you're putting into it and can flavor
it however you like. Making almond milk at home is easy, but requires a
little forethought because it works best when you soak the almonds for
several hours or overnight. After the almonds are soaked, you simply
blend them with water and flavorings. Common additions are vanilla,
cinnamon, cocoa powder and sweeteners (like honey, agave, maple syrup
and sugar). Pitted dates are another common ingredient used to sweeten
homemade almond milk. Just throw a few into the blender with the rest of
the ingredients.
Once the ingredients are blended, simply strain the almond skins and
sediment and you're done. You can use a fine mesh strainer and push on
the almond solids with a spatula or spoon in batches to get all of the
liquid out. Or you can use cheesecloth and squeeze out all of the
liquid. If you make this often, you can buy nut milk bags to make the
process easier.
Don't throw away the remaining almond pulp. You can use it in baking
recipes such as cookies and muffins. You can also bake it in the oven to
dry it out and then grind it up to make almond flour.
Almond Milk
Makes 4 ½ cups
8 ounces raw almonds (about 1 ½ cups)
4 ½ cups filtered water
1 teaspoon vanilla
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
1-2 tablespoons sweetener of your choice like honey, agave nectar, maple syrup, sugar or pitted dates
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder (optional if making chocolate milk)
Place the almonds in a large bowl and fill the bowl with enough water to cover them. Soak for at least 8 hours or overnight.
Drain the almonds and then place them in a blender along with 4 ½ cups
fresh, filtered water, vanilla, cinnamon and sweetener. Blend on high
speed until smooth, about 1 minute. For chocolate milk, add cocoa powder
before blending.
Pour the almond milk through a fine mesh strainer or cheesecloth into a
pitcher. If using a strainer, you will have to push down on the solids
with a spatula or spoon to get all of the liquid out. If using
cheesecloth, squeeze as much liquid out of the almonds as you can. Save
the remaining almond meal for other uses.
Refrigerate almond milk before serving.
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