Almond milk is low in both fat and calories and can be an appropriate milk substitute for those on a heart healthy diet or have lactose intolerance. There is no cholesterol or saturated fat in almond milk and it’s low in sodium and high in healthy fats such as omega fatty acids which helps to prevent high blood pressure and heart disease.
It can help with weight management as one cup of almond milk contains only 60 calories, where whole milk has 146 calories, 122 calories in 2% and 102 calories for 1% and 86 calories in skim milk.
It is low in carbs which means it won’t significantly increase your blood blood sugar levels reducing your risk for diabetes.
It helps to contribute to muscle strength and healing because it contains plenty of B vitamins and riboflavin. In addition, almonds are rich in phosphorus, potassium, Vitamin E and zinc.
It is easy to make by soaking almonds for 10 hours or more then placing them in a high speed blender with water, blending them until thick and creamy, then straining the milk to separate the pulp from the liquid. But if making homemade almond milk seems too time-consuming you can purchase almond milk in the store. Be sure to read the labels as many of the store brands are loaded with sugar, stabilizers and other not so natural ingredients whereas fresh raw almond milk contains live enzymes with no additives or preservatives.
Try my easy recipe and let me know what you think! Enjoy!
Almond Milk
Ingredients
- 1 cup raw almonds
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 madjool dates pitted
- 3 cups water
Instructions
- Soak 1 cup of raw almonds in water for 10 hours or overnight. Rinse.
- Add rinsed, soaked almonds to high speed blender along with remaining 3 ingredients. Process until thick and creamy.
- Cover a medium size bowl with cheese cloth or a mesh bag and pour in processed almonds. Gently squeeze the almond milk through the mesh bag, separating the almond pulp from the liquid. Makes 3 cups.
- Pour the almond milk into a large mason jar with lid and store in the fridge for up to 5 days.
- To serve - shake well ! It is normal for some separation to occur in storage.