Raw Almond Milk

I have been feeling dietarily stagnant lately, so I decided to make a new goal for myself. I would like to try being completely raw for the summer—from May to August—while fresh vegetables and fruit are more local, plentiful and, of course, cheaper.

In preparation, I have been collecting and trying recipes, and slowly replacing certain staples of my diet with raw-friendly equivalents. Milk seemed like an easy target, so I started there, replacing it with almond milk—an ideal choice, as I have a 5lb bag of raw almonds from Real Raw Food, which I had yet to open.

I had never tasted almond milk before, but I was sure I would love it. The switch was not as easy as I imagined.

Unfortunately, my first few attempts at making almond milk yielded... disappointing results. It may sound silly that any attempt at nut milk should go awry, as the method and recipe are pretty standard, but using the typical 1:3 ratio really didn't work for me—I found it...not to my tastes, and I was sad.

As I use it primarily for my tea in the morning—I'm clinging to tea...I'm not raw yet—I thought maybe it was just becoming too watery. So, I now use a 1:2 ratio instead, and am satisfied with the results—I have been able to drink it every morning for the past 2 weeks. I don't know if I'll ever love the taste of almond milk...but, as I write this post, all I can think of is this.

I have not experimented with any additional ingredients, as I'm not looking for a sweetened beverage, but I include some common possibilities.

Almond Milk
(makes 2-3 cups)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup raw almonds, soaked for 6 hours, or so
• 2-2.5 cups water (3 cups seems to be standard, but I prefer it thicker; the water can be replaced with other liquids—apple juice is one example I've read)
• Optional ingredients:
• a couple of dates
• vanilla
• liquid sweetener of choice
• spices

Instructions:

1. Blend together soaked almonds and water.

2. Strain through a nut milk bag, a jelly bag (what I use) or a couple layers of cheese cloth. Squeeze tightly to get all the liquid out. Store in refrigerator—it will keep for a couple of days.

3. Reserve pulp—you can dehydrate it to make flour (which I keep doing...yeesh, I have so much almond flour), or use it in any number of recipes that call for almond pulp.