Vegan "Milk"
I have talked to many vegetarians who would like to transistion to a totally vegan diet. In these conversations one area of concern that often comes up is how to find appropriate dairy substitutes. Many people complain that it is difficult to find an acceptable, affordable alternative to milk. The most commonly available substitute is soy milk. However, many people cannot tolerate large amounts of soy products. Soy beans are not that easy to digest. For those people who are soy intolerant, drinking soy milk causes abdominal cramping, bloating and diarrhea. The other commercial alternatives such as rice, almond and other nut milks are not as readily available. They are also usually much more expensive especially in organic form.
Here is a little secret I would like to share with you. You do not have to spend a fortune on milk alternatives. They are very easy to make in your own kitchen. All you need is some simple fresh organic ingredients, a good blender, glass containers like mason jars to keep the "milk" fresh and if you are making almond milk. you will also need cheese cloth to filter the milk.
Vegan Milk
10 min | 10 min prep
SERVES 4 (or just a little more than 1 quart)
- 1 cup of nuts, seeds or cooked brown rice. Some good options are walnuts, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, hazelnuts, or almonds. organic and shelled, of course!
- 4 cups filtered water
- 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 tablespoon of natural sweetener such as maple syrup, agave syrup or sucanat
- Put all ingredients in a blender.
- Blend on high several minutes until very smooth and looks like milk.
- May use immediately or pour into clean glass jar with a tight lid (such as a mason jar).
- May store in the refrigerator for several days.
- Caution: If using almonds as your nut, it is best to soak the almonds in water overnight in the frig to soften them. You will still probably have some almond particles in the milk after blending. Just filter the particles out by pouring the "milk" through cheese cloth after blending.
- Those almond particles can be added to liquid soap and used as a face cleaner. Almond is an excellent exfoliant.
- You can vary the amount of milk you make. I often will make just one cup for a certain recipe. To do that I use 1/4 cup nuts, seeds or cooked rice, 1 cup water, a dash of salt and a scant teaspoon of sweetener.
Have fun making your "milk". This milk REALLY does a body good!
