NUT MILK MADE EASILY (ISSUE 165) FEBRUARY 10, 2015

By Diane Gold

Nut milk made easily is a fantastic discover. It is tasty, full of nutrients and loaded with fiber and phytochemicals. Yum.

NUT MILK

Nut milk is one of the most delicious, nutritious foods I have ever had the pleasure of ingesting, and, of late, of preparing. Until about a week ago, I had always bought nut milk: almond milk, flax milk, soy milk. The process began when I no longer chose to drink flax milk that was not organic. I had been happily buying this wonderful flax milk whose manufacturers promised they were working on putting out an organic version.

So, I switched to organic almond milk. Through researching the gum ingredients present in both the old flax milk and the new organic almond milk, I came to a conclusion. I no longer wanted to eat xantham gum and gellan gum. More than these gums’ being genetically modified, they were made from bacteria which I no longer chose to buy in my food. (True, when I go out to eat, I get all sorts of GMOs, bacteria and non-organics. But the socialization is worth it!)

TAKE ONE STEP

As with anything to succeed, we have to take one step, only one. With this in mind, I went back to the health food store representative who had talked to me about the ease of making nut milk. She was from that health food store that carries (on average) 70% genetically modified products but has many organics and fair trade principles and is one of not too many choices for consistent organics, some non-GMO certification and fair trade.

The rep I spoke with was raised as a plant-based, raw food eater and makes her own nut milk. She reiterated how easy it was to make it and said that a good proportion of filtered water to nuts or seeds is probably 4:1, that is, 4 measures of water to 1 measure of nuts or seeds. I had a framework and a simple instruction of what to do.

The instruction included the use of some type of straining cloth as for tofu or gauze which I didn’t have so I haven’t been using, plus my smoothies are always very thick and full of seed fiber. Another interesting thing is that it is not very common to find organic cotton tofu cloth. This means the alternative would somewhat defeat the idea of using organically grown, non-GMO, nuts or seeds, since most cotton is genetically modified and would have the distinction of being certified non-GMO if it were organic. So I had hesitated in the past.

But, since my morning breakfast consists of whole seeds, ground seeds and liquid; I have a very un-smooth smoothie and decided straining was unnecessary. And so, I was ready.

By the way, there are phytochemicals in the skin of some nuts that help the body with many functions; therefore, straining them out may reduce their effect.

I put 2 cups of filtered water in a glass with a little more than a half cup of almonds, fulfilling my ratio of 4 to 1 for nut milk. I found some chlorine-free parchment paper and covered the glass. I still haven’t figured out a way to stabilize the covering, but I put the glass in the refrigerator overnight. The next morning, I put the water and the almonds in the blender and blended for about a minute. What I got was thicker than the store bought variety nut milk, was a lovely organic, perfectly fresh nut milk and did not contain any of the gums or supplements possibly made from the synthetics that are allowed by the Organic Board. And, look, Mom and Dad, I made it myself.

I was excited, and I hope you are getting excited. Because nut milk is easy. And, if we use vanilla, cacao, raspberry or any other plant flavors, we can make it exciting for flavor buffs, newcomers and kids.

HEALTH

There’s one great reason to drink nut milk: we love ourselves and care about our health. According to the Physicians Committee For Responsible Medicine, 75% of the world (25% in the US) is lactose intolerant. This is true because most of us lose our lactase enzyme (present in babies and toddlers) which allows us to successfully break down milk for use by the bloodstream. So, some of us, after age 3, cannot break down milk and notice difficulty in drinking it.

(For my mental health, I prefer not to enslave cows, when we have alternate sources of food.)

There’s a lot of research done on the association of the protein in cow’s milk, casein, and the development of cancer. According to T. Colin Campbell’s The China Study and other research by other academic, dietary and cancer institutions; a modest level of casein can activate cancer cells that might otherwise have just lived quietly in our body til the end of time.

CONCLUSION

Aside from the health aspects, nut milk made easily is a supreme convenience for me. It means I can make nut milk as long as I have nuts and a blender.

If we use flax seeds, we can extend our money by 3 times the store bought variety, and there is no organic flax milk I know of without those gums about we spoke. Although I wanted to learn how to make flax milk, I switched from almonds so that I didn’t use up all my money. To make organic almond milk from my rough calculation and dependent upon where we shop the organic almonds) costs about the same as the store bought variety or 25% more, but the almond milk tastes amazing and fresh.

I am going to calculate the cost of flax milk, since that is what I’ve been drinking. I’m using a ratio of 5:1 since flax is thick.

1 bag of organic golden flax seeds costs $4.29 and contains 24 oz, 48 tbsp.

I use 1/2 cup of seeds, which has been turning out to be about 5 tbsp. to my 2.5 cups of water.

If I keep it very rough for math ease, this means I get (almost) 10 servings per bag. (It would be exact if I had 50 tbsp.)

Each serving is 20 oz. (2.5 cups of water).

A container of flax milk (or organic almond milk) at 64 oz. is about $4.29.

Again being rough for math ease, that means I get 3 1/4 servings from the store container.

But I get just under 200 oz. (20 X 10) with my home-made variety. That’s equivalent to just under 3 X the amount of milk.

For people who are watching wallets (and that’s most people), flax milk is the way.

IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT FLAX

I soak flax seeds overnight, and then, I grind them to break open the hulls. This is a mess. But, I like it. It’s less money than buying the high speed machine that devours every part of every food so grinding is not needed.

The reason that grinding wet flax seeds is messy is because their consistency turns into gelatinous substance. Fascinating, but it’s hard to clean out the grinder.

ACTION STEPS

1) Get some organic nuts or seeds.

2) Soak them overnight to break down their walls for easier absorption and to rid them of their natural toxins.

3) If they have hard hulls, grind them first. Then, after grinding or for those hulls that don’t need grinding; put them in the blender, along with their water.

4) Strain the solids out and/or drink them with the milk.

5) Enjoy!

If you wish to share your story, please hit reply in your email program to be contacted.

If you need habit help, go to warriorsofweight-consulting.

FEEDBACK

We value your feedback very much.

Please leave a comment below.

Please LIKE us on the website and at

WarriorsOfWeight on Facebook.

You can also follow us on Twitter: @warriorsoweight.

Thanks.

DIANE GOLD, PUBLISHER AND AUTHOR

Diane Gold, Founder of Warriors of Weight, Turning Habits Into Health, is a mentor in tai chi, kung fu and meditation, a music, fitness and stress expert, dedicated mom, studying plant-based nutrition in certificate course, peaceful conflict resolution and habit replacement.

She finally took a step toward nut milk. She says,

“I am always talking about talking one step. I have been considering making nut milk and finally took the one step. I have only made flax seed milk and almond milk, but I am excited about making more. I also drank the water that was left from cooking my organic chick peas. Because of its deliciousness, I am being stimulated to do more experimenting with foods.

“Many things come from just one step. I will keep everyone posted on the nut milks, and I hope I hear about your adventures, too.

“Finally, let us all take good care of ourselves, because we are so worth it!”