When I first started my paleo journey 3 years ago (wow, time flies.), one of the hardest things for me to eliminate was dairy, specifically milk. I had spent the majority of my life drinking at least 1 glass of milk per day so when the ‘No grains, dairy or legumes’ rule came out, I was more worried about staying away from milk than I was from bread and other grain products. It was tough to get through but I made it and have to say, I notice a difference if I have any dairy now.
Lately, I’ve been tinkering with an almond milk recipe just so I can possibly get that occasional glass of ‘milk’ in these days. What I came up with was a very simple yet delicious almond milk that I put in my coffee or tea pretty regularly now.
- 2 cups raw almonds
- 4 cups filtered water
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ tsp sea salt
- Place almonds in a container and cover with water 1 inch above almonds and place in the fridge to soak overnight up to 12 hours
- Remove almonds from the fridge and strain water out
- Working in 2 batches, add half the soaked almonds and 2 cups of filtered water to a blender and blend on high for 5 minutes
- Strain almond mixture through a milk nut bag or cheesecloth to separate almond pulp from milk. Don't be afraid to squeeze out as much milk as possible with your hands.
- Transfer milk to a pitcher or other container, add vanilla and sea salt and mix well.
- Almond milk will keep for 5-6 days in the refrigerator.
- Remove almond pulp from cheesecloth and spread out on an aluminum foil lined sheet pan. Place pan in the oven at the lowest setting to dry out almond pulp making sure to stir occasionally.
- Once almond pulp has been dried, remove from oven and place in an airtight container. You now have about 2 cups of almond flour!
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