Dairy-free milk can be made at home
Spring is here (according to the calendar…) and that means it’s time to think about lightening up our diets. It makes perfect sense to eat heavier foods in the colder months. We need to keep our bodies warm. But the arrival of Spring means we can start shifting back to lighter and cooler foods.
I have always found dairy to be one of the heaviest foods in our diets. It leaves me feeling heavy, which is one of the many reasons why I try to avoid it, especially during the warmer months.
More and more of my clients are eliminating dairy from their diets too. It’s easy to be dairy-free these days. There are dairy-free milks, cheeses, ice creams, and much more at the health food store, bulk food store, and even at the grocery store.
The increase is dairy-free products makes it much easier to change our diets for the better. Spring is a perfect time for new beginnings, so perhaps now would be a good time for you to try giving up dairy.
My clients always ask me for help finding the right dairy-free milk. There’s plenty on the market, but they’re usually sweetened and not nearly as good as homemade milks. I’ve been making homemade dairy-free milk for a few years now. It’s quite simple and requires just a few healthy ingredients (and a good blender). I much prefer the taste of homemade dairy-free milks to the taste of store-bought.
Homemade Coconut Milk
1 ¼ coconut 4 cups filtered water a pinch of high quality sea salt ½ teaspoon vanilla extract Optional: 1 tablespoon maple syrup or 1 pitted medjool date
1. Combine all the ingredients in your blender. Blend on high for 2 minutes – you may need to blend longer if you’re not using a high-speed blender.
2. Place nut milk bag into a large pitcher or jug. I secure mine with an elastic band. If you don’t have a nut milk bag you can use cheesecloth.
Secure a piece over the opening of a jug or a bowl. Make sure it’s on tight as the pulp might cause the cheesecloth to fall in.
3. Slowly pour blended mixture into nut milk bag or over cheesecloth.
4. Let sit until all of the liquid has run through (about 30 minutes). You can squeeze and use some of the liquid right away, or you can leave it to sit. Make sure to do one last squeeze to make sure you get as much of the milk as possible.
5. Remove nut milk bag or cheesecloth and store your milk in the fridge. Yield: Approximately 4 cups. Where to get a good nut milk bag: Locally at The Food Forest or online at Upaya Naturals and Amazon.ca. Find homemade cashew milk or homemade almond milk recipes on my website. cups shredded unsweetened