Ever wanted to try making your own almond milk but been turned off by the process? Look no further; making your own nut milk might seem intimidating but it's actually quite the opposite.

Almond and other nut milks are a great alternative if you're looking to remove dairy from your diet. I love this recipe because it's unsweetened and so versatile as a milk replacement in any recipe, plus it only takes 2 ingredients! If you've tried store-bought almond milk and not been a fan, I highly recommend giving the homemade stuff a shot. It's so creamy and delicious compared to its watered-down, store-bought counterpart and it actually tastes like almonds (who knew?!). You also don't have to worry about questionable ingredients like sweeteners, thickeners, stabilizers and preservatives that are almost always found in store-bought nut milks. Once you start making your own, you'll never want go back.

Really, you can make any nut or seed into a milk by using this same recipe and technique. Some of my other favourites include hazlenut milk and cashew milk (the creamiest of them all and it doesn't even need to be strained!).

The only part that takes some time is soaking the nuts, but if you're organized and start soaking the night before, they'll be ready to go the next day and your milk will only take a matter of minutes. Why should you soak the nuts? Nuts and seeds - like other plant foods - contain enzyme inhibitors and phytic acid which protect the plant during growth but also interfere with digestion and absorption of the plant's nutrients. Soaking them and rinsing them really well will help to remove some of these "anti-nutrients", making them easier to digest and absorb.

To start, you'll need a blender and a nut milk bag. I got my bag here and its the best one I've used so far. Most health food stores will carry nut milk bags as well. You can also use a few layers of cheesecloth over a fine mesh strainer but I've personally never had much luck with this method. If you'll be making your own milk regularly then a reusable nut milk bag is an affordable purchase that will last you a long time and also save you a lot of waste.

Milking the nuts (laugh all you want, it's a thing!) is the best part of the whole process. In my opinion, getting hands on in the kitchen is an important part of mindful eating and connecting with the food you consume; straining nut milk is quite literally, hands on!

Once you've squeezed all the liquid out of the nuts, my tip is to rinse your blender and pour the nut milk from your bowl back into the blender. From experience, I can tell you that it's much easier to pour from the spout of a blender into your container than straight from the bowl. If you want to know what it's like to cry over spilt milk then feel free to skip this step.

The secret to making the creamiest almond milk is to actually peel your almonds. Once they've soaked overnight, the skins become loose and easy to remove. Just squeeze the almond and it should pop right out of the skin. Honestly though, who really has time for that? Making your milk with the skins on still does the trick and makes a perfectly acceptable and delicious milk!

Homemade Almond Milk

Ingredients:

1 cup raw almonds
4 cups filtered water

Directions:

Place nuts in a bowl or mason jar and cover them with water. Cover container and let nuts soak for at least 8 hours, preferable overnight.
Strain almonds and rinse well.
Place almonds in blender with 4 cups of filtered water and begin to blend on low for about 10 seconds. Slowly turn speed up to high and blend for about 1 minute.
Carefully pour milk into nut milk bag over a large bowl. Hold top of bag shut and gently squeeze until all liquid has been removed from the pulp.
Pour strained milk into a jar or container and refrigerate for up to 4-5 days.

If you like a thicker milk or plan on using it as a creamer in coffee, try reducing the amount of water to 3 cups. You can adjust the amount of water depending on how thick or thin you like it or on how far you want your almond milk to go.

Vanilla Almond Milk

As mentioned, I usually choose to make a plain, unsweetened milk because I like having the option to use it in any recipe. If you prefer a lightly sweetened milk or are just in the mood for something extra delicious, try making this vanilla version. This is perfect option if you're using your milk for lattes and elixirs or in sweet recipes.

Once you've blended and strained your plain almond milk, rinse the blender and place the milk back inside.
Add in 1-2 pitted dates (I recommend chopping them small if you don't have a high speed blender), 1 tsp of vanilla extract and a pinch of sea salt. Alternatively, you can scrape out half the pod of a vanilla bean.
Blend again on high for another minute and voila!

For the best of both worlds (plain and sweet), reserve half of the plain milk and blend the rest with half the amount of dates and vanilla.