Almond milk fell in love with all supporters of a healthy diet for its pleasant nutty flavor and high content of vitamins and minerals. And it can be safely attributed to the number of indispensable products for people with lactose intolerance. In our article, we will talk about how to make almond milk at home. The recipe for its preparation is very simple; every person can master it.
Benefits and calories of almond milk
Vegetarians consider this product the best alternative to cow's milk, which they believe they never eat. This healthy drink is a mixture of chopped nuts and water. That is, this is not pure milk, but the result of mechanical processing of almonds. Moreover, the nut is used raw rather than roasted, which makes the final product even more useful. Similarly, you can cook at home as almond milk from almonds, and from other nuts, such as cashews. It will turn out no less tasty.
The beneficial properties of almond milk are as follows:
- Due to its high calcium content, this product strengthens bones and teeth.
- Vitamin E, which is present in large quantities in almond milk, improves the condition of the skin, hair and nails.
- Magnesium and phosphorus ensure stable heart function, improve blood quality, and reduce the risk of diseases of the cardiovascular system.
- Almond milk helps fight insomnia, headaches, spasms of the limbs.
- The effectiveness of the drink has been proven in the treatment of severe cough, pneumonia, asthma attacks.
- Walnut milk has a higher nutritional and energy value than cow or goat milk.
- Almond milk enhances immunity.
- Since nuts do not contain cholesterol, the drink prepared on their basis can be used in various diets for weight loss.
The pure calorie content of almond milk is 100 kcal per 100 g. If you add honey or vanilla to it, then the number of calories will increase to at least 135 units.
How to make homemade almond milk: ingredients
Of course, this healthy drink can also be found on store shelves. But it is much more correct and pleasant to cook it yourself. This is the only way to be sure of the absence of harmful additives and preservatives in almond milk.
How to cook this amazingly delicious drink at home, it’s easy to guess if the house has a powerful stationary blender. According to the recipe, in order to get this healing drink, you need to take only two ingredients:
- almonds - 1 tbsp .;
- water - 3 tbsp.
It should be noted right away that the almonds must be raw, and the water boiled or bottled.
The resulting milk can be added to coffee, used in the preparation of pastries, creams and puddings, boil porridge and other dishes from it. It has a delicate and mild flavor with a pleasant nutty touch.
Step-by-step recipe for a drink
How to cook almond milk at home, the following step-by-step instructions will tell:
- Soak nuts in advance in cold water overnight. During this time, they will swell and slightly increase in size.
- In the morning, drain the cold water, and pour the almonds with boiling water and leave for 15 minutes. This will help to easily remove the thin brown peel from the nuts.
- Place the peeled almonds in a blender bowl. Pour it with 1 glass of water.
- Beat the ingredients with a blender. Nuts should be chopped as thoroughly as possible so that the water turns white as the usual cow's milk.
- Pour the rest of the water into the bowl. Turn on the blender for another 40 seconds.
- Take gauze, folded in 6 layers, or a dense linen cloth and put it on a sieve.
- Strain almond milk. Squeeze the fabric well with your hands so that the cake is almost dry. But throw it away is not worth it. It can be added to sweets, used in making breakfast cereals, or made from flour.
Healthy Brownie Drink
There are several proven ways to make almond milk at home. And even the color of the drink can vary from snow-white to cream. If you use nuts peeled from brown skin, the milk will turn out to be more tender and very white, just like real. If you take raw peeled almonds for the preparation of the drink, then the final product will turn out to be more astringent in taste and acquire a brownish tint.
In general, prepare almond milk as follows:
- Soak the nuts in clean water, rinse them, transfer to a blender.
- Add 4 cups of water, honey to taste or sugar.
- Beat the ingredients first at low speed and then at high. If the blender is powerful enough, then after 2-3 minutes there will be no pieces of nuts in almond milk.
- Strain the drink through a fine metal sieve, gauze or a kitchen towel.
Sweet almond milk with dates
You can improve the taste of a nutty drink with the help of dried fruits. For example, you can add only a few dates to the nuts in a blender and you get a completely new, and most importantly, insanely tasty almond milk. And how to cook it at home, the following instruction will tell:
- Pour nuts (1 tbsp.) With purified water for 12 hours.
- After the specified time, rinse the almonds again, and then transfer it to a blender.
- Dates (3 pcs.) Seed and send to the bowl for nuts.
- Add 600 ml of cold water.
- Turn on the stationary blender for exactly 2 minutes. This time will be enough to make real almond milk from nuts, water and dates. It can be drunk as an independent drink for breakfast or added to coffee.
Strawberry and Chocolate Almond Milk
You can make delicious cocktails from vegetable milk, which, no doubt, will appeal not only to adults, but also to children over three years of age. But before this age, you should refrain from eating a nutty drink so as not to provoke an allergy to nuts.
For each of the drinks presented, you will need chilled homemade almond milk. And to prepare both chocolate and strawberry smoothies as follows:
- Pour 250 ml of pre-prepared almond milk into a blender. Add natural cocoa powder (2 tsp) to it. Beat the ingredients together until a smooth consistency is obtained. Pour into a glass and serve the drink to the table.
- For a strawberry drink, wash and dry 2 cups of strawberries. Grind them with a blender, and then pour milk into the berry puree. Add sugar to taste.
How and how much to store nut milk?
The most healthy almond milk is freshly made. Therefore, it is not worth procuring a drink for the future. The optimal shelf life for almond milk is 3 days. In this case, it must first be poured into a glass container with a lid.
As you know, there are several ways to make almond milk. At home, it can be made only from water and nuts, or add honey, sugar, dried fruits and other ingredients to it. So, the longest stored almond milk in its purest form. If sweeteners were added to it, then it is not recommended to keep the drink in the refrigerator for more than a day.
How to make almond flour?
The cake remaining after the preparation of milk should never be thrown away. You can make real almond flour from it, then use it in baking or as a breading for fish or meat. In the process of its preparation, you should adhere to the following procedure:
- Preheat oven to 80 °.
- Put a silicone mat on a baking sheet or cover it with baking paper.
- Spread well pressed cake with a thin layer on the surface using a rubber spatula.
- Place the pan in the oven for 2-3 hours. During this time, the cake should become dry and hard. Then you need to get it out of the oven and cool.
- Break the cooled mass into pieces and send them to a blender.
- Grind dry cake to flour. Transfer it to a dry glass jar and close the lid. A glass of almonds will produce about half a glass of flour.