Natural Always

There is only one way to top the Good-For-You Granola with this heavenly delicious nut milk! This recipe shows you how to do this in a quick and easy way. Just soak your nuts overnight, and you will be able to quickly do your own nut milk the next morning without any hassle. The only thing you need is the nut you love, water, a blender and a sieve. As a sieve you can even use an old t-shirt, of course a cheesecloth or even a nut milk bag is the luxurious way to go, but anything similar will do a great job as well. So everyone can be the creator of her/his own nut milk according to its personal choice and taste. You can even delicately sweeten and flavour your milk with some dates, agave nectar and natural spices. It will never ever compare to the one you might have bought in a shop. You’re in full control of the ingredient list, so your nut milk will be free of any bad stuff and totally raw, additive-free, preservative-free and sugar-free. This creamy nut milk with its wonderful rich flavour will be full of goodness and the best choice for your body and soul – natural always.

The nut milk is especially lovely with my homemade Good-For-You Granola, to pour over porridge, to use in smoothies, for baking or to drink on its own.

Today I'm happy to show you my first video. I’m excited about your feedback, so please feel free to use the comment section below to tell me how you like it and what I can do better for the next video.

My love for nut milk evolved when I started to find out about my lactose-intolerance and was therefore looking for alternatives. Some years ago I was only familiar with soy milk, which was perfectly fine for me at the time as I have found an alternative to diary milk. As I educated myself more and more about food and its properties I came across a more natural and healthy substitute of soy milk, namely nut milk. For a while I was trying different store-bought brands with different variations in nuts and flavours. The one thing which disturbed me the most was the endless list at the back of most packages. I don’t understand why you put sugar in a natural product such as almond milk, when it doesn’t need any or could be substituted by a natural sweetener? Not to mention adding any additives and preservatives. Well, for me it was clear this wouldn’t be a longterm solution, so the obvious step was to create my own nut milk. Although I imagined it to be quite time-consuming and difficult, I was surprised how easy and quick it all went. Even better, you can decide what will be in your nut milk and vary the taste according to your taste butts.

When you do your own nut milk it’s very important to soak the nuts with a pinch of salt. And here’s why: Raw nuts contain substances which lock up all of its nutritions inside to prevent the nuts from sprouting and becoming a plant. Two of these substances are called phytic acid and enzyme inhibitors. If we consume phytic acid it binds to minerals in the digestive system which makes it impossible for our body to absorb the valuable minerals inside the nuts. Moreover, phytic acid can even cause mineral deficiencies. While enzyme inhabitors prevent our bodies enzymes from breaking down the food we are eating. In order to absorb the minerals, vitamins and proteins containing in nuts you should always soak the nuts in warm water with added salt to get rid of these substances.

Almonds: Out of all nuts, almonds are the highest in calcium and fibre. Countless studies have proven that almonds are the perfect source for weight loss, regulating blood sugar and lowering cholesterol. Because almond milk doesn’t contain any cholesterol or saturated fat at all, it’s the perfect daily choice for people who are looking after their heart.

Cashews: Cashews are bursting with vitamins, minerals and fibre. In a vegetarian diet, cashews serve an excellent choice as they contribute a good level of protein and are a useful source of minerals such as iron and zinc. They’re also rich in magnesium, which improves brain function and is important for good health and vitality. As a special property, cashews are very high in the heart-healthy monounsaturated fat named “oleic acid”, which helps to reduce bad LDL cholesterol and increase the good HDL cholesterol.

Hazelnuts: Hazelnuts are a good source of vitamin B and E, as well as a good source of folate, which prevents heart problems and conditions such as Parkinsons.

Brazil Nuts: are highly nutritious nuts with a rich source of selenium, which helps prevent cellular damage from free radicals that contribute to the development of chronic diseases such as cancer. The brazil nut is a rich source of calcium and magnesium, needed for healthy nerve and heart function, iron for red blood cell production, and zinc for a strong immune system. They’re also a good source of vitamin E and vitamin B needed for energy production.

Homemade Nut Milk

Ingredients
180g raw nuts (almonds, cashew nuts, hazelnuts, brazil nuts or pecans etc.) or 150g whole oat groats
1 litre water
pinch of fine sea salt
1 tsp spices you like (as whole pieces or grounded: cardamom seeds, cinnamon sticks, vanilla bean etc.)
Sweetener to your taste: 2-3 pitted fresh dates or a couple of spoonfuls of agave nectar

Equipment
1 large jar
1 litre sealable bottle
1 piece of cheesecloth or a fine sieve

(Makes: 1 litre; Preparation time: 10min; Soaking time: 6-8 hours or overnight)

The process of soaking the nuts in advance is crucial and absolutely essential for doing nut milk. Put the nuts in a container, cover with water and add the right amount of salt depending on the nuts you soak (see note below). Soak for 6-8 hours or overnight .
Drain the nuts and rinse well. Add the nuts to a blender with 1 litre of fresh water, add dates if you wish, blend on high speed for about a minute until milk becomes smoothly.
Place the cloth or sieve over a jar. Strain the milk until only pulp is left and squeeze the rest of the liquid out with your hands.
Pour the strained milk into a sealable bottle. Add a punch of fine sea salt. If your using the ground spices and extra sweetener such as agave nectar add them to the milk and shake the bottle. Another option is to just add the whole spices to the milk bottle before placing into the fridge. Store in the fridge for 3-4 days.

Note: Salt amount for soaking the nuts: Soft nuts such as cashews, walnuts, pecans require 1 tsp of fine sea salt, while hard nuts such as almonds and hazelnuts need 1 1/2 tsp of fine sea salt.

Watch my video for inspiration and have fun creating your very own nut milk!

Stay happy and healthy.
With lots of Love, Fabienne.

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