WeekNight Bite: Healthy, Easy, and Delicious Recipes

I've been drinking store-bought almond milk for years, and to be honest, I never really had the desire to try making my own because I figured it would be really time consuming and difficult. After all the insta-hype about people making their own, I figured, what the heck, I'll try it. And I'm so glad I did! Not only is it not difficult at all (seriously, it's actually super easy... and turns out Greg Focker was right, you really can milk anything!!), but it's also beyond delicious. The taste of the store-bought brands don't even come anywhere close to comparing to homemade, and they always have extra additives, preservatives, and fillers (sometimes harmful ones like carageenan) to extend the shelf life. Homemade almond milk can be as simple and pure as almonds and filtered water. I added vanilla, sea salt, and cinnamon to mine, and it was incredible... like a decadent milkshake! I seriously can't get enough!

Aside from the amazing taste and how clean the ingredients are, my next favorite thing about homemade almond milk is the feeling I get when I open my fridge and see a fresh bottle of it right there on my shelf. Maybe I'm nuts (ha!), but seeing it in the fridge instantly makes smile with pride and a sense of accomplishment (do I need to get a life? maybe...). Just trust me, if you want to instantly feel like a domestic goddess and reveal your inner Martha Stewart, make your own almond milk. Then give yourself a big pat on the back while you drink it right out of the bottle (because it's too delicious to resist, and it's your kitchen, so it's allowed).

Another exciting thing for those of you who like to make your morning latte at home rather than stopping at a coffee shop - homemade almond milk gets so much frothier than store-bought! My matcha lattes have definitely been upgraded, and the little hint of cinnamon in the almond milk is such an amazing, unexpected addition to the matcha! I'm not a coffee drinker, but I can imagine that it would be a pretty delicious combo as well. Ok let's get into the recipe, shall we?

Homemade Almond Milk
2 cups raw almonds, soaked overnight in 3 cups filtered water
6 cups filtered water
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla extract
Pinch of sea salt

Yield: 8-9 cups of almond milk

1. Place almonds in a bowl and cover with 3 cups of filtered water. Soak overnight.
2. The next day, strain the almonds and rinse with fresh water.
3. Optional step: peel the skin off the almonds by pinching the almond - it should easily pop out and separate from the skin. This step makes the almond milk extra creamy, but if you want to skip it, you'll still end up with some amazing almond milk!
4. Pour the almonds into a high-powered blender with 6 cups of filtered water (or more if you like it a bit thinner). Put the lid on tight and blend on high for about 2 minutes.
5. Place a nut milk bag or cheese cloth in a large bowl, and pour the almond milk from the blender into the nut milk bag / bowl to strain it. Squeeeeze all that liquid out until all that's left is the almond pulp.
6. Pour the strained almond milk back into the blender with the cinnamon, vanilla, and sea salt, and blend once more for about 30 seconds.
7. Store in a glass bottle in the refrigerator for 4-5 days.

I'm so excited for you to make this and report back about how much you love it! I've since used the same method to make cashew milk and cashew-almond milk, both of which were so tasty, but I think this classic almond with a hint of cinnamon and vanilla has to be my favorite. Stay tuned, macadamia nut milk is next on my list!

By the way, if you're wondering what to do with the leftover almond pulp, there's tons of ideas on Pinterest! I dried mine out in the oven (spread out on a baking sheet and placed in the oven for 2 hours on 200 degrees) and then pulsed it through my food processor to create almond flour for baking. If you find other great ways to use the pulp, please let me know!