Why and How to Make Nut Milks at Home

The nutritional value of nut milks by far exceeds that of dairy milk and all the energy drinks that you can possibly think of. That is why more and more households especially in the US are embracing these milks every day.

Among the commonest varieties of nut milks available in the market today include cashew nut milk, Brazil nuts milk, hemp milk, macadamia, almond milk, coconut milk, hazelnut milk, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, and walnuts milk. Here are some of the nutritional benefits of different nut milks that you cannot afford to miss:

• Macadamia and coconut milks are creamy and rich in saturated fats.
• Brazil nuts milk contains copper, omega 3 fatty acids, zinc, and vitamin E. All these are important nutrients for healthy skin. This milk also contains amino acids and selenium minerals that are necessary for shiny and healthy hair.
• Almond and cashew nut milks are rich in proteins, Vitamin E, and magnesium, all of which are necessary for stronger body muscles and reduced muscular pains for gym goers.
• Sunflower and pumpkin seeds contain the fat-soluble vitamin E, copper, magnesium and selenium. They will help you keep cardiovascular diseases, high blood pressure, and most forms of cancer at bay.
• Hemp milk contains omega 3 fatty acids that will give your skin a consistent and permanent glow.
• Walnuts are very rich in B Vitamins, calcium, and polyunsaturated fats. All these are minerals that your body needs for a healthy brain.

Why Make Nut Milks At Home Rather Than Buy At A Grocery Store?

The question that you are probably asking yourself is: Why make any of these milks at home when I can afford to purchase them over the counter at my local grocery store? Well, in as much as you can afford to buy already-processed nut milks, these five facts will convince you otherwise:

1. Over the counter nut milks are highly processed and have as such lost most of their nutritional benefits. Packaged coconut milk, for example, doesn’t contain as much saturated fats and cream as its homemade alternative. You can tell this from its light texture.
2. Packaged nut milks contain too much sugar. One cup of rice milk, for example, contains at least 33 grams of sugar. Your goal is to live a healthy life and such high sugar content is the last thing you need.
3. If you pay closer attention to the details written on many nut milk packaging cans, you will notice that the milk contains more artificial ingredients than the helpful natural ingredients. The larger part of a cashew nut milk container, for example, is filled with thickeners and stabilizers, leaving only about 10% for the cashews.
4. Making nut milks is an easy and inexpensive process. You can do this. Just do it.
5. Frozen nut pulp, a byproduct of homemade nut milk, is one of the tastiest and most nutritious ingredients that you will ever use in a breakfast snack. Bake it together with pancakes or add it to your chia pudding for a unique, to-die-for, tasty breakfast. Of course, you will never get this byproduct from packaged nut milks.

How to Make Nut Milks

Before getting down to the procedure, here are the ingredients and tools that you will need:

• Fresh, skinless, and raw nuts. Not the pasteurized “raw” nuts sold in grocery stores. Get the real raw nuts from a farmers’ market and remove their skins.
• A few cups of filtered water. You will use four cups of water for every one cupful of nuts.
• Any flavors of your choice. Some good suggestions include Earl Grey tea, coconut butter, rosewater, ground cardamom, and vanilla.
• Sweeteners such as honey. Avoid processed sugar.
• Running water.
• A medium bowl.
• A blender.
• A cup.
• A strainer
• A clean tea towel/cheesecloth.
• A clean jar/bottle.

Now proceed as follows:

1. Soak Your Nuts.

Put your raw, skinless, and fresh nuts in a bowl and then cover them completely with filtered water for not less than 12 hours. There isn’t an upper time limit for this so you can even leave them soaked all weekend long if you want.

Note:

Soaking nuts has a number of benefits including enzyme activation and phytic acid elimination.

2. Drain the Soaked Nuts.

Drain your nuts from the soaking water through a strainer and then rinse them using cold running water.

3. Blending:

Put hot water (about 80 degrees hot) in a blender and then add your nuts. For every one cupful of nuts, you will need four cups of water. Turn the blender on and to the highest speed possible for smooth and creamier milk. Leave the blender at top speed for at least two to three minutes then pour out the contents into a clean medium bowl.

4. Strain Your Blended Nuts.

If you want silky and smooth drinking milk, then you will need to strain it using clean tea towels/cheesecloths. Simply place several towels over another clean medium bowl and pour your blended nut milk trough them. You will later squeeze out all the milk that they absorb.

5. Flavor Your Strained Milk (optional).

Pour the strained milk back into the blender and then add any of your favorite flavors. Assuming that you have four cups of nut milk, you can add either two teaspoons of vanilla extract, or four spoons of coconut butter, or eight teaspoons of rosewater, or three large pinches of ground cardamom. You are never short of options here. After that, turn on the blender and blend them until you get a smooth, silky mixture.

6. Sweeten (optional)

If you need to sweeten your milk nut, go ahead and add honey or any other natural sweetener. Just avoid direct sugar.

7. Lastly, put your milk in a clean jar/bottle and put it in a refrigerator for a maximum of four days.

Your milk will by then be ready for drinking.

Parting Shot:

Now that you understand their health benefits, their advantages over commercial nut milks, and their step-by-step recipe, it’s advisable that you be making some for you and your loved ones as regularly as possible. While at it, be sure to maintain the highest level of hygiene. Thank me later.