DIY: How To Make Almond Milk!

Quickly after I started to aim toward a zero-waste lifestyle, I realized that to reduce waste I had to make the products I wanted to consume myself. And since I can’t start the day without an almond milk latte, I research, tested different ways and bam! Revelation. Not only I can make almond milk at home, it doesn’t take a lot of time and it taste better than the one I usually buy. Full disclosure, if I have a very busy week ahead of me I still buy my milk but I came to reduce by 50/60% the amount of milk I buy and that is what I would call a success in motion.

To make almond (or any other nut) milk you will need only 2 ingredients, though I suggest to let your creativity express itself. I like to add maple sirup or vanilla extract to give a little extra taste to your beverage. After all, this is the beauty of homemade: you custom a recipe according to your taste! And there’s some pride to take when your family can’t stop making compliments

Ingredients

To make your almond milk, you will need:

1. About 1 cup of Almonds (get them at the bulk section of your grocery shop to avoid extra packaging)

2. For 3 to 4 cups of water (purified or filtered is highly advised)

3. 1 Tbsp of Maple Sirup (adapt to your taste) (optional)

4. A few drops of Vanilla extract (optional)

Preparation

First, you must soak your almonds. Put them in a jar and fill with water until the almonds are covered. Let it sit for the night and get back to it the next day. This step is very important as it will remove enzymes from the nuts that can be hard to digest. Doing this will really. The soaking process will also help soften the almonds which will make the mixing part easier. For more info about soaking nuts, read this article by Marysa Walcerz.

Step 2. Wash the almonds & Put in The Mixer Rinse your almonds and then put them in your mixer with the water and extract/ sirup. 

Step 3. Mix in 3 steps Now you want to start mixing ingredients together. Use the slowest option on your mixer for 30 seconds. Pause for 5 seconds and then restart at full power for 45seconds to 1 minute.

Step 4. Filter The Milk Next we want to separate the milk from the almond residue. I use cheese cloth that I put on top of a colander to filter the milk and make sure there’s no residue. This step is probably the longest of the process (after soaking) 

Step 5. Enjoy! Put you milk in a container you can close like this bottle, put in the fridge and enjoy! You can keep you milk for about a week. But since we do not add any conservators, the milk won’t last as long as the ones you can find in grocery stores.

Now you have the basics, feel free to be creative! Either by adding extract, or organic sugar… Adapt your beverage based on your taste. You can save this recipe for later on Pinterest by clicking here.