Vanilla Cashew-Almond Milk (gluten free, vegan)

I will admit to being a little late in jumping on this bandwagon, as I am with many things in life. But I am so, so glad I started making my own nut milk a couple of months ago. It was always just one of those things that I avoided for no real reason; I assumed it would be too time consuming, too expensive, too… hard. How wrong I was. If you have ten minutes, a handful of nuts, and some fabric – you can make nut milk. The only thing you need to remember is the 1:4 ratio. One cup of nuts equals four cups of milk. Once I realized this was going to become a permanent part of my life (immediately after tasting my first batch), I invested the $10 in a nut milk bag, but for my first time around I simply cut the leg off a pair of (clean) pantyhose with that would have ended up in the trash, thanks to a lovely run down the thigh. Old pantyhose are also great for mason jar sprouting, FYI. I’m sure I’ve said this before, but there is something so unbelievably empowering about making something from scratch. The less cans, boxes, and packages I bring into my home, the better I feel both physically and emotionally. I can’t tell you how proud and excited I feel every time I pull a jar of milk out of the fridge that was made with my own two hands. As if that feeling weren’t enough to motivate you… it tastes incredible! I really love this combination of nuts, the cashews lend this milk such a creamy, luxurious taste, and the vanilla just sends things right over the edge. No sugar needed, though a couple of dates thrown in there would be insane. And the foam. Ohh the foam. It gets me all kinds of excited.

Isn’t that just gorgeous? The other amazing thing about making almond milk is that I haven’t had to buy almond meal in months. Many people throw away the left over almond pulp, but that’s literally throwing your money into the garage. Get the most bang for your buck by drying the pulp and using it in baked goods exactly as you would almond meal from the store. I’ve had great luck with this cashew-almond mixture – it makes my raw cookie dough balls taste extra good, and I have a few ideas for other interesting uses which I promise to share with you.

Vanilla Cashew-Almond Milk (makes 4 cups) ~ gluten free, vegan, sugar free, soy free ~ Ingredients

• 1/2 cup raw almonds
• 1/2 cup raw cashews
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• pinch of sea salt
• 4 cups filtered water

Directions

1. Place your raw nuts in a container (or right in the blender to save yourself from washing more dishes), cover with water, and soak overnight.
2. When you’re ready to use them, drain the water and give the nuts a quick rinse.
3. Add them back to your blender, along with the 4 cups of water, vanilla, and salt, and blend on high for about a minute. The water will go from clear, to grainy, to white in this time.
4. Strain into a glass container or mason jar using your nut milk bag or other fabric – you may have to do some squeezing!
5. Store in the fridge for up to a week.

Notes

1. Your milk will separate after sitting in the fridge for a while, so just remember to give it a good shake before serving. This does not mean it has gone bad – I made the mistake of throwing out some perfectly good milk before I learned this lesson!