DIY Dairy Free Milk

Ingredients

• Choice of base: 2 cups coconut flakes, 1 cup of any nut/seed (i.e. almond, cashew, walnut, sunflower, etc.), or 1/2 cup hemp hearts, rice or oats

• 3-4 cups water (less = creamier)

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• 1/8 tsp sea salt

• 1/2 - 1 tsp each: maple syrup, cardamom, cinnamon (or other fav sweetener/spices)

• 1 pitted date (optional - I don't use but most recipes recommend it)

Instructions:

• If using nuts/seeds soak overnight, strain and rinse the next day

• Add base of choice and additional ingredients to a blender.

• Blend for 30-60 seconds.

• Pour the mixture through a cheese cloth into a large bowl.

• Twist and strain the cloth allowing all the liquid to come out.

• Leftover pulp can be used for baking, energy bites or composted.

Note

With the spices and sweetener, start with a 1/2 teaspoon of each and add more to taste (I tend to do more spices and less sweetener). You can also use flour (i.e. almond flour) instead of the whole nut/seed/grain. For an added profile, infuse boiled water with dried herbal leaves (lavender, rose, chamomile, etc.), let it cool and use this to replace the regular water.

Nutritional Benefits

Why make your own dairy-free milk? Packaged dairy-free milks contain additives, preservatives and synthetic minerals and vitamins that our bodies can't recognize or process. A common additive, calcium carbonate, a rock based calcium (also commonly found in supplements, multivitamins and antacids). Add-ons like these can increase the toxic load in our body, compromise our internal systems, and exacerbate or contribute to more chronic health issues.