How To Make Almond Milk and Almond Smoothie Recipes

I couldn't to much toward making my own milk - cow's milk that is.  But when it come to almond milk, which is my preference, I can do this.  I have been checking out all kinds of recipes for this and have decided which I like best.  If you have ever checked this out too, you know that I am truly joking since the recipe is pretty much just almonds and milk and maybe a little bit of sweetener.  So it's all about the presentation.  The photos.  The entertainment factor.  Sometimes, the options.

I found the recipe on the site The Shiksa in the Kitchen to be amazing.  Not just the pics and description but the follow up recipe on what to do with the 'almond solids' that remain after making your almond milk.  Many or most would throw out these solids.  I would have throw it into the yard for the wild to enjoy.  But not after reading Tori's post.  Super cool, as you will see when you go to her site.

The recipe is simple -

1 cup raw unsalted almonds, skin on  (the skin part surprised me)
4 cups filtered water, plus the water for soaking
1  1/2 tsp honey or agave nectar, or one whole pitted date
Dash of salt - optional

The process is simple.  You soak, and blend, and drain and save the 'solids' and before doing any of this, just read her full explanation.  Click here to go directly to her site. 

I've journeyed around her site for quit a while and love a lot of Tori's recipes.  Please check it out.

I want to share a thought here that is really important to me.  I do a little prepping.  I'm a bit of a Mini Prepper.  Is this not perfect for me?  I have nuts stored in a Food Saver bag that will be good for years.  Now, I will be storing more almonds than anything else because of the many uses I will get from them.  If I have no access to fresh milk for the kids, or off the shelf almond milk, I will be able to make it.  How great will it be to have this wonderful treat!  Then to top it off, I will have a bit of almond meal for cooking.  This is a preppers dream food.

Now for a couple of recipes.  And just a couple for now. If we are making almond milk, we might as well make some smoothies too.

Cherry Vanilla Almond Smoothie 

 

Ingredients

2 cups frozen pitted cherries
3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
1 pitted Medjool date
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Combine all ingredients in blender and blend until completely smooth. Serve immediately.

Almond Apple Smoothie

Ingredients

2 Cups Almond milk
1 Banana
2 Apples
¼ Cup Pecans
½ Cup Dates or Raisins
1 teaspoon Cinnamon
½ teaspoon Allspice

Blend the dry ingredients and liquid first
Blend the fruit and the rest of the ingredients until smooth
Done!

Tropical Smoothie 

Ingredients

1 Cups Almond Milk
1 Cup Kale or Spinach
2 Cups Melon
3 Cups Pineapple
1 Banana
1 Cup Oats
2 Tablespoons Ground Flax seed

Blend all ingredients completely; make sure you use ground flax seed.  If you are in the mood to be a bit more adventuresome, add a couple more different fruits.  And a little umbrella in the drink too.

Here's one that I found, but have not tried.  It comes from Green Thickies.  You really should check out their site for many great recipes and a ton of into about the health benefits of their suggested foods.

This one is for Blackberry Smoothie with Basil -

Ingredients

2 Cups Water (If you are drinking this straight away substitute one cup of water for ice)
1 Cup Basil, loosely packed (Or any other mild green if you really can’t face basil but it really is delicious with the basil)
¼ Cup Almonds (or any plain seeds if you don’t eat nuts, or leave out for less calories)
1 teaspoon Vanilla extract (Pure or ground vanilla has a better flavour)
½ Cup Raisins (or any other dried fruit which can also be pre-soaked for a smoother blend)
1 Cup link Oats Or one cup of Quinoa
4 Cups Blackberries (I used one punnet of frozen blackberries)
1 Banana

Instructions

Blend the ingredients in the order listed. Blend the greens and liquid first and then blend the rest of the ingredients. This creates more space in your blender. Add more water if required to thin it out. Substitute any of the ingredients for whatever you already have. If your smoothie is too warm, you can cool it down in the fridge or freeze some of your ingredients before blending.

I think when I make this one, I will replace the water and almonds with 2 cups of almond milk.

There you've got it.  A few recipes for smoothies, nutritional facts, and the even instructions on how to make your very own almond milk.  With my new obsession, that began with making the fresh stuff from raw almonds, I am sure there will be more post on this subject to follow.