Almond Milk

I did a juice cleanse a couple of months ago. Before doing it , I was apprehensive- what if I can’t follow through with it? I love food – can I do without solid food for three days? Would I be to able to sustain? After all the doubts, I have to say, I really liked it. I now enjoy those cold pressed vegetable juices that I wouldn’t even look at before, but my absolute favorite is Almond Milk. In a cleanse, almond milk is your final drink (barring elixirs) for the day. It was made with raw almonds, vanilla, Himalayan salt, filtered water and coconut water. I drink a version of it every day for breakfast now. After reading up many blogs on how to make almond milk at home, I created my own recipe, which has more than just almonds 🙂

What You Need

• 1 Pound Raw Almonds
• 0.5 cup Tender coconut meat/pulp
• 8 cups of Coconut Water
• 1 Vanilla bean
• 1/2 Cup dates
• Salt, a pinch per batch

How its Done

1. Soak almonds for 8-10 hours in water. The longer you soak, the more the almonds sprout, increasing their nutrition. Discard the soaking water – that contains all the toxins that are released from the almond skins
2. De-pit the dates and cut the vanilla bean into pieces to add to the multiple batches.
3. Working in batches, add soaked almonds, coconut pulp, vanilla bean, dates, salt and coconut water to a grinder, and grind away till the contents emulsify (Note: you will need a blender/grinder that can handle nuts and grains)
4. Pour into a cheesecloth (or a nutmilk bag – I find the cheesecloth works perfectly) to filter the pulp from the milk and squeeze all the milk out.

Now, the almond milk I had during my cleanse did not have dates in it and yet was sweet and that is because of the fresh coconut water that is used. Dates are optional, however, I like the rich sweetness they bring – you can also use agave syrup. If possible, use fresh tender coconut water. Zico and other packaged coconut waters will do, and you will see the difference in flavor.  Adding the coconut pulp/meat gives the milk a silky, rich taste. Its a filling, satisfying and completely delicious drink to start your day. Try it…