Ready your glasses folks, this post is loaded with heart healthy information.
If we’re being honest, soy and almond milk seem to get all of the attention, but other milks such as cashew, walnut, coconut, and more may deserve a spot in your kitchen as well.
After settling in to a vegan diet, I started to become concerned with all that goes into plant based milks. Things such as guar gum, carrageenan, locust bean gum, gellan gum, sunflower lecithin, not to mention added sugars, are all common ingredients in store-bought plant milks.
While I do love the flavor of these milks, I want to live a truly healthy lifestyle, and after doing some research on such unknown ingredients, I discovered they possess many of the same characteristics as gluten – predominately distressing the digestive system.
On top of that, it’s difficult to find organic nut-milks in the store.
Thus, I started making plant-milks in my own home, and I AM SO HAPPY I DID. The quality, flavor, and texture is FAR superior to that of store-bought varieties. Plus, they’re cheap and easy to make!
The process for making plant-milk is pretty much the same for all nuts: soak with salt, rinse, blend, strain, and refrigerate. Coconut milk is even simpler, skipping the first two steps entirely.
Here’s the breakdown:
- 1 c (4.5 oz) cashews. 1 tbs salt. 2 hour soak. 4 c water.
- 1 c almonds (8 oz). 1 tbs salt. 6-8 hour soak. 4 c water.
- 1 c walnuts (4 oz). 1 tbs salt. 6-8 hour soak. 4 c water.
- 1 1/2 c (5 oz) dried shredded coconut. 4 c water.
After you blend, you will need to strain your milk using cheese cloth or a nut-milk bag.
Want to spice up the flavor a little bit? Try adding a teaspoon of vanilla extract and/or 2 tbs of cocoa powder along with a pinch of sea salt and stevia, maple syrup, or agave to taste! Chocolate hazelnut milk is one of the most divine combinations there is.
Stay tuned for new recipes that include your fresh, homemade nut milks. Cheers!
Plant Based Milk
The purest plant-milks in all of the universe!
Ingredients
- 1 cup whole raw almonds, pecans, walnuts, cashews, or hazelnuts.*
- 1 tbs sea salt*
- Water
Optional:
- 1 tsp (2 g) vanilla extract
- 2 tbs (10 g) cocoa powder
- 2 tbs agave or 1/8 tsp stevia extract
Directions
- Place almonds in a medium bowl along with tablespoon of salt and enough warm water to cover almonds by two inches. Tap water is okay here.
- Soak almonds 8 hours or overnight. When ready, drain almonds and rinse throughly with water.*
- Place rinsed almonds and 4 cups of clean water into blender and blend for 2-3 minute on high.
- Add any add-ins you desire at the point of steep three.
- Strain through double-folded cheesecloth or nut milk bag and squeeze to get all the milk you can out.
- Refrigerate and keep for up to a week!
*For macadamia and brazil nuts, no soaking is needed.
*Salt is necessary for the soaking process as it helps neutralize the phytic acid and enzyme inhibitors contained in nuts, which block the absorption of nutrients into the body and can cause digestive harm.
*Almonds, walnuts, hazelnuts, and most tree nuts all get an eight hour soak. For cashews, only a two hour soak is necessary.
NO EGGS OR HAM 
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