Homemade Almond Milk

Today sees the first in the series of The Weekend Edition. I'll be posting under this tag every Sunday morning, with something food-related to get your Sunday kick-started. Sometimes it'll be all about clean-eating, sometimes it'll be something downright dirty - that's just how I roll. First up, homemade almond milk.

Something that's in my shopping basket pretty much every week is almond milk. I first got into the vitamin E-packed stuff a few years ago when reading about its benefits on some of my favourite healthy living blogs. It's amazing for your skin and ideal if you're on the paleo diet (ain't no dairy up in here).

After a bit of investigation, I realised it's actually super quick, easy and canny cheap to make produce your own batch of the nutty stuff. To boot, it's tastes an absolute treat - creamy, sweet and a damn sight better than the shop-bought stuff.

If you, like me, want to have a little weekend experiment and trial your own batch, step right up.

Homemade Almond Milk (makes around 1 pint)

What you'll need:

• 1 cup raw almonds (you can use skins on or blanched)
• 3 cups water
• High-powered blender
• Jelly-straining/ nut milk straining bag (you can get hold of these from Lakeland or Amazon)
• Sterilised glass bottle/Kilner jar

1. First things first, you need to soak your almonds over night. Doing this process plumps them up and makes them super easy to blend.

2. Drain off the almonds. They'll have plumped right up, making blending a walk in the park.

3. Pop the almonds in a high-powered blender with 3 cups water and blitz on the highest setting for 3-5 minutes until the mixture is smooth and frothy. 

4. Now for the hilarious (and little bit messy, hence no photos) bit. You need to strain the mixture through your jelly-straining bag. Depending on the quantity you've made ,you may have to do this in a few batches. Strain this through into a bowl with a lip, or jug, until you're just left with the pulp in the bag. 

5. Transfer the milk into an airtight bottle and store in the fridge. Remember to give it a quick shake before you use it - because it's pure and contains no emulsifiers like it's shop-bought sister, it will separate. The almond milk will keep for 3-5 days, so drink up. 

6. Don't forgot to save the almond pulp. Dry this out at a very low temperature in the oven. This can be used in baking, smoothies or as a yoghurt topping. A double-whammy recipe.

Now, as my this batch went pretty damn successfully, I'll definitely be making this again, but mixing it up with some flavours to complement that creamy nutty goodness. Why not trying adding vanilla extract/powder of a couple of medjool dates for added sweetness? Top notch.

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