Almond Milk - Even My Children Like It

Children are picky eaters. When my kids were younger, when their corn touched their potatoes on their plate, they became upset. Taco after my daughter broke in two before she could bite it and she refused to eat more. When I switched from whole milk to milk-two per cent, we fought about the taste difference is so that, for some time, I bought two percent for me and whole milk for them. When I decided to buy the milk of almonds, I thought the same battle would ensue. I thought at the time of transition for at least three months. Boy was I wrong.
The first day I introduced the almond milk, my older daughter loved it and asked for more after the first cup. My youngest daughter tried it and gave her approval as well. They began to drink almond milk alone and with grain. Soon they began to drink as much as five cups a day each. When I saw the milk disappear so quickly, I cornered my daughter and asked why they drank so much milk. My eldest daughter said: "This milk is good. I can just drink it with my cereal," My youngest daughter said: "Yes, I like it with grain and with my pop tarts." I told my daughter, did not finish that bother you? They both said, "What finish? Apparently, the almond flavor was so mild, my daughters were not bothered him.
In the end, my daughter did something that I did not expect. Instead of drinking milk from the almonds until it was completely gone, when supplies ran low, they saved some for the next day. They would then have to replace cow's milk (my husband still drinks) in their grain to the almond milk was replenished. I asked them about it, too. They were told that we can not waste good milk almond cereal, when supply is low. So we eat cow's milk with our cereal from time to time just to help the milk of almonds longer.
Of course, I realized that it was necessary to increase the amount of almond milk to buy at the grocery store trip. Now I know to stock up, especially when there is a good sale. Frankly, I'm glad this issue. I'm glad I found a milk product that tastes good, is nutritious and well accepted by my kids.

The Perfect Recipe For Making Raw Living Sprouted Almond Milk in 5 Easy Steps

If you've never tried nut mylk, you're in for a treat! It tastes so much better than cow's milk and is easy to make. Today I've outlined, 5 easy steps to making the most nutritious and delicious almond mylk.

1) Soak 1 cup of raw organic almonds in 2 cups of filtered water with a few spritzes of food-grade 3% H2O2 to kill off any bacteria. Soak for 2 days, changing the water twice per day - once in the morning and once in the evening. (Double the quantity if you want to make a larger batch.)

2) Most almond mylk recipes call for soaking only between 4 hours or overnight in the fridge. I recommend 48 hours because it allows the almonds to begin sprouting which changes the nutritional composition.

Have you ever eaten shelled sunflower seeds? Then you know that they are slightly oily and contain fat. How about that same sunflower seed 10 days later after it's sprouted into a sunflower green? Now it's green crunchy, fresh and plump with water. Where did the fat go? The process of sprouting changed the nutritional composition of the seed.

When you sprout almonds, you will see a tiny bud starting to form at the tip of the almond and a crack down the center where the almond is about to split so the sprout can emerge. This will only happen if the almonds are truly raw, fresh and viable.

3) Although not necessary, I usually remove the skins from the almonds before making mylk because it makes the mylk smoother and less gritty. The skins are easier to peel after they've been soaking for a couple of days but to make it even easier, you can blanch the almonds quickly by putting them in boiling water and then into an ice water bath. I usually prefer not to cook them at all and just peel them by hand, but blanching is a quicker option.

4) Place the cup of almonds in a high-speed blender like the HP3 Blentec with two cups of water, a pinch of Celtic Sea Salt and an optional sweetener like vanilla bean seeds, honey, agave nectar, stevia or yacon syrup. I prefer just vanilla bean seeds scraped from an inch long piece of a vanilla pod. If you are making a flavored mylk like chocolate milk or chai, now is a good time to add the raw cacao or spices. Blend at high speed. Taste test your mylk and adjust to desired flavor.

5) Pour the almond mylk through a nut mylk bag and squeeze to separate the almond pulp from the mylk. The almond pulp can be used to make other treats like raw almond cookies, but the pulp will only keep fresh for 1-2 days refrigerated unless you dehydrate it into almond flour.

Yay! You're done and now you can enjoy your almond mylk straight or use it to make a creamy smoothie, soup, dessert, etc. Sky's the limit!

Rosemary "Kali Lilla" Vargas has been a raw food enthusiast for several years. She received her Living Food Lifestyle Total Well-Being Certification in 2003 from the Ann Wigmore Center in Puerto Rico and in 2006 went on to work for the prestigious Tree of Life Rejuvenation and Raw Food Center in Arizona. In 2007, she moved to Kauai to learn organic farming at the LaOla Health Center in Kilauea. Kali Lilla is also a certified yoga instructor and former owner of Yoga Bums Studio in NJ. In 2005, she went to India to study Ashtanga Yoga with Pattabhi Jois and published the book "Ashtanga City" shortly thereafter. She runs two websites currently. A health-related website entitled Healthy Simple Living and an Ashtanga website entitled Mysore Ashtanga.

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How to Make Almond Milk - In 8 Easy Steps!

In this article I will show you how easy it is to make almond milk in your own kitchen!
Nut milk is a creamy delicious alternative to cows milk full of vitamin E and heart healthy fats! And it's really easy to make.
1. Measure out a cup of raw almonds and rinse them really well.
2. Soak them in water to cover in the refrigerator or overnight.
3. Rinse the soaked almonds really well.
4. Put them in the blender with 3 cups of cold filtered water.
5. Blend them in the blender for about 30 seconds.
6. Strain the mixture through a sprout bag/nut milk bag, strainer, or cheese cloth into a big bowl.
7. Pour the milk back into the blender pitcher.
8. Blend the milk with your sweetener of choice such as dates, honey, or stevia. You can also add other flavorings such as lemon peel, vanilla, cinnamon, chocolate, and carob powder.
Use the milk quickly as it will only last a few days in the fridge. Use it as a base for smoothies, soups, desserts, or just drink as is. Don't put it in your hot tea as it will separate but you can easily pour it into your ice tea or iced coffee.
The best smoothie is when you take a cup of the nut milk, two frozen bananas, and a teaspoon of vanilla extract. You can also freeze the vanilla banana smoothie and make popsicles for the kids.
Hope you enjoyed this recipe. For more easy recipes please check out the links below.

Is Almond Milk More Expensive Than Cow's (Dairy) Milk?

I drink almond milk regularly. Three of the four people in my family enjoy it. If you have read other articles I have written on the subject, you know that I have tried dairy, soy and rice milk prior to settling on almond milk as my preference. I was motivated mostly by my desire to avoid the nasal congestion that I often experienced with dairy products.
The issue of cost often surfaces with non-dairy beverage substitutes. The retail price of substitutes is usually higher than dairy products. Recently, in a local grocery store, the price was $2.94 for a half-gallon of refrigerated Silk almond milk. Fortunately, after a previous purchase of refrigerated Almond Breeze almond milk, I received a coupon for $1.00 toward my next purchase of Silk's brand. I gave my coupon to the cashier and, low and behold, the coupon doubled. Instead of having $1.00 off, I received $2.00 off Silk's brand! My final price was $.94 for the half-gallon. That is less than what I pay for a half-gallon of cow's milk (my husband's preference). Clearly, in this example almond milk was not expensive at all.
Coupon offerings from Silk and Almond Breeze manufacturers happen regularly--at least for now. I do not necessarily pay $.94 per half-gallon every time. Yet, the two companies are clearly battling for sales. Apparently, in 2008 Blue Diamond tested their almond non-dairy product on a segment of the Hispanic population, who were known to be lactose intolerant (CHAKER, 2011). The product was received with open arms. Blue Diamond later launched their product in 2009. Silk introduced their product in 2010.
With the stiff competition between the two brands creating an affordable environment for consumers, almond milk is more expensive than cow's milk sometimes but not all of the time. When there are no sales promotions and I have to fork over $3.00 per half-gallon, I still make a purchase because I like the health benefits. However, I may opt to buy less.
When I go to the store, I look to see which brand is on sale or has a coupon dispenser nearby. I also pay attention when I check out because sometimes coupons print along with the receipt. Although I prefer the taste of Almond Breeze Original, I usually get whatever is on sale because the products taste so similar. As for cost, I can only say to watch for price changes and special offers. They can help improve the price significantly.