The varieties of commercial non-dairy milk are mind-boggling. A shopper can select from Hemp Seed, Almond, Soy, Flax Seed, White Rice, Brown Rice, Oats, Quinoa, Hazelnut, Chia, and blends, etc. They come sweetened or unsweetened. Flavored with chocolate, vanilla, coffee, pumpkin, eggnog or plain. Refrigerated or shelf stable. Organic or conventional.
If you are loyal to a brand, that can narrow what you purchase: White Wave Silk, Blue Diamond Almond Breeze, Pacific Natural, Foods, 365, SO Delicious, Living Harvest Tempt, WestSoy, EdenSoy, and Dream Blends.
So you think you found a good one. That is, until you read the label: Evaporated cane juice, cane sugar, dried cane syrup, pea protein, potassium citrate, calcium carbonate, calcium phosphate, magnesium phosphate, sea salt, kosher sea salt, locust bean gum, potassium citrate, carrageenan, sunflower lecithin, gellan gum, Vitamin A palmitate, Vitamin D2, L-selenomethionine, D-Alpha-Tocopherol, Vitamin E Acetate, zinc gluconate, zinc oxide, folic acid, riboflavin, and Vitamin B12.
If you want less controversial chemicals including vitamins and minerals with unknown absorbability in your non-dairy milk, then seek out the shelf stable products. I prefer to consume pure whole food. Thus, the above ingredient and additive list turns me off. So if I can’t buy what I want, I make it. And you can too. Here’s my recipe for making your own almond milk at home – it’s delicious and easy. Enjoy!
- 1 cup organic, raw almonds
- 4 cups water
- Pinch of sea salt
- 1 -2 tablespoons natural sweetener (i.e. maple syrup, raw honey, maple or coconut sap, or sugar in the raw)
- Soak the almonds in a bowl of water overnight. Water should completely cover almonds.
- Drain water and rinse almonds.
- Into a blender, add the almonds, 4 cups water, pinch of sea salt, natural sweetener (both optional)
- Blend until smooth.
- Pour into nut bag and squeeze and twist the bag until the nuts are dry.
- When squeezing the milk from the nut bag, make sure you are collecting the milk in a large, deep bowl. Occasionally pour the milk in the bowl into your storage jar. This process works for me and helps to minimize squirting almond milk across the counter (which has happened to me in the past!). Good luck and enjoy!