I used to really dislike almond milk. I thought it was gross and when I started having issues with dairy in college I wasn't a big fan of the switch. I used to drink cow's milk daily and I could eat as much cheese as I wanted. With my anxiety on the rise in college, my body officially started rebelling against me my senior year. With no real diagnosis to be found it was suggested to me that I should give up gluten and dairy. I was an Exercise Science major with a minor in Human Nutrition and I was already healthy, or so I thought, and I was up for the challenge. However, it took me years to finally attempt to make my own almond milk and even longer to find a store bought version that was even close.
After my husband and I had moved to Oregon my anxiety had turned my gut into a disaster. Following an emergency room visit due to extreme digestive pain and still no answers from my doctors, I found a holistic nurse that helped me make real changes. I decided it was time to try my hand at making almond milk. With some trial and error I eventually settled on this delicious recipe and have used it ever since.
What you will need:
1 cup of blanched almonds
4 cups of cold water
1-3 pitted dates
2 drops of vanilla
Vitamix or powerful blender
Clean t-shirt
Small funnel
This recipe can be simplified to just water and almonds for a plain version. That works well for use in cereal or granola, but if you want to drink the milk or just prefer a sweeter taste, then using dates and vanilla gives it a great flavor.
Can't find blanched almonds? No problem. Buy regular plain almonds and soak in water overnight. You can then peel and rub off the skins and rinse the almonds off in cold water.
Steps:
Add 1 cup of blanched almonds to your blender
Pour 4 cups of cold water on top of the almonds
Then add dates and vanilla
Cover and blend for 1 minute in a Vitamix - longer if blender is less powerful
Tie off t-shirt ends and create a sling
Strain milk through t-shirt over a large bowl
Squeeze the milk out, being careful to keep top of shirt closed so it doesn't spill out
Once you have every drop out and all that's left in the shirt is almond pulp you can place the funnel in a glass container
Pour milk into sealable container and place in the fridge. Shake before serving
Stores for 4-5 days in the refrigerator
Pro tip: keep the funnel slightly lifted from the bottle so the milk pours more easily.
Enjoy!
If you decide you use almond milk too much or too little for this recipe, our go to store bought version is So Delicious Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk.