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Attention: MontanaVegan: Re: Nutmilks...


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Main thing to remember is that 2 C water:1/2 C nuts will give you a basic milk. The rest is up to you; you make it more nutty, thinner, thicker, sweeter, etc.; do it to your taste. Hopefully you have a good blender

 

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Okay, long and verbose; but that's me at times

 

 

Some raw nuts come with that flaky little jacket covering them which can contribute to a bitterness sometimes.

 

Some peolple call for blanching the nuts with these (like almonds), which is dunking them in boiling water for 30 seconds, then removing them to cool. Then rub all the nuts in a dry towel and the skin comes right off. This is often done just to make the milk white instead of light beige. You'll have to decide what you like.

Some nuts are not truly raw because their shells are so hard they must be steamed to open; for example, most pecans, pistachios and cashews are not; you must buy them in shell to be sure, or trust raw-foods companies,such as Nature's First Law. The test would be if they actually sprout. I'vepurchased theirs, and they do sprout. So, if it matters to you, there's a resource.

 

The majority of recipes seem to agree on the ratio for a general 'milk: that is 2 C liquid to 1/2 C Nuts or seeds.

 

Variations are up to you -- sweetness, thickness, texture, various additions. Adding bananas (other fruits), dates (or other dried fruit -- apricots, raisins, etc.) will make them thicker than a liquid sweetener or sugar. You could also roast the nuts for a different and more intense nut flavor. Add tofu to cut down on fat, or commercial milks, etc.

 

Maple is really yummy, if raw isn't a concern; otherwise you can get

raw agave nectar, dark agave nectar, yacon syrup, (there's another one, but I can't remember right now )But all are good; I've tried them. Yacon is more of a dark syrup; agave is light and honey-like. For raw chocolate, then you'll need raw cacao

 

Just nuts blended with dates to taste is enough, really.

 

There are a lot of recipes that call for various ingredients for various purposes: flax, lecithin, gums or other thickeners; cocoa; or superfoods, like, cacao, maca, mesquite powder, (see below for descriptions and sources); protein isolates, etc. Their purposes vary. It's up to you! Do what you like.

 

 

Blend bananas with water to taste is basic and simple; or blend with nuts for a banana nutmilk. Bananas with dates is sweeter. You can also blend banana with a juice or fruit, if you like: Strawberry milk is yummy!

 

Soaking some nuts makes them more nutritious and easier to digest. They must be raw to soak (look up a chart online)

Basic rules: do not soak macadamia nuts, pine nuts, walnuts, or pecans --If the nut has a hard shell, they don't need to be soaked; If the nut has a soft shell, soak, if that helps. If not, it's no biggie anyway

It's up to you; but it's not "necessary."

 

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Here are some to help you; all are from online or sent by internet "friends." Some additional notes and adjustments by me on some of them :

 

Basic:

 

1/2 cup raw nuts or seeds

2 cups pure water

1 tbsp pure maple syrup or other liquid sweetener (optional)

1/4 tsp vanilla extract (optional)

Pinch of Salt (optional, to taste)

 

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Coconut Milk

 

1 cup water

1/2 cup shredded, unsweetened coconut meat (preferably fresh)

 

Blend ingredients thoroughly and strain if desired.

 

**If you do use a fresh coconut USE the coconut water! It is SO good and sweet. (if it's not good and sweet, the coconut is not fresh; but the meat may still be usable). It is also my favorite truly natural "gatorade"; and it is excellent as a drink for after a work out, providing electrolytes in perfect balance. **

---

 

Coconut-Almond Milk

 

1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

1/2 cup whole almonds

2 cups water

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups cold water

 

Blend almonds and coconut with one cup of water until very smooth,

adding as much water as necessary to blend. Add remaining water and

blend.

 

Strain through a cheesecloth or very fine mesh strainer if desired.

Add remaining ingredients according to taste and desired thickness.

Chill.

 

---

 

Velvety Vanilla Cashew Milk

 

1/3 cup organic raw cashew nuts

1 Tbsp. flaxseeds

1 tsp. lecithin granules

Stevia or sweetener of choice - to taste

1 1/2 - 2 tsp. vanilla extract - use good vanilla

3-3 1/4 cup water

pinch of cinnamon

 

--

 

Nutmilk:

 

2 cups of water

10 almonds

10 cashews

1/4 cup of maple syrup

 

 

Put everything into a blender; blend on high; strain

 

--

 

Basic Nutmilk:

 

1/2 cup chopped nuts (cashews, almonds or other nut os your choice,raw)

2 cups water, best if warm

1 tsp. honey or other sweetner

vanilla wxtract (or almond if you wish)

 

Blend nuts and all other indredients in a blender until smooth. Strain

mix and refrigerate for up to 3 days. You can use the strained material

as a thickener for a soup or stew as long as its not too sweet. It is a

shame to throw it out so find a way to use it. At the very least throw

it in the compost heap not the trash.

 

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Cashew Milk

 

1/2 cup raw cashew pieces

1 tablespoon maple syrup(sweetener of choice)

2 cups water

 

1. Combine cashews with 1 cup water and sweetener in blender. Blend on

high to form a thick cream.

2. Slowly add remaining water and blend on high for 2 minutes. Strain if

necessary.

Yields 2 cups.

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Basic Almond Milk

 

serves 2-4 people

Ingredients

2 cups almonds (soaked for about 6-8 hrs)

4 cups water

Sea salt to taste

How to: Blend everything till smooth. Strain through a nut milk bag or

cheese cloth.

 

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Vanilla Brazil Nutmilk:

 

1 c. nuts to 4c. water

agave syrup (and/or stevia to taste)

vanilla (to taste, I'd say, start with 1/4 tsp)

1 tbsp. of coconut butter (a.k.a coconut oil.)

 

Blend. Strain, if desired.

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Fruitmilk ideas: experiment, if you wish. Use with nutmilks to make them milkier/ creamier. (I *love* pearmilk!):

 

Banana Milk

1 date, peeled and seeded, or 1 tsp maple syrup

1 cup pure water

1 large, ripe banana, peeled

 

Cantaloupe Milk:

1 ripe cantaloupe, peeled, halved and seeded

 

Honeydew Milk:

1/2 ripe honeydew, peeled, halved and seeded

 

Watermelon Cream:

2 to 3 cups watermelon chunks, seeds removed

 

_*anything blended to heck will get creamy *

 

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These are a little more fancy recipes, if you you ever happen to buy any of these ingredients. I like Mesquite, raw cacao and maca myself; but they can be an acquired taste, and they should be used sparingly

 

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Almond Milk

 

1C Almonds

2C Water

1/2C Young Coconut Water

2tsp Tree of Life Mesquite

1/2tsp Celtic Sea Salt

 

Blend almonds with water using a high speed blender such as a Vitamix. Strain mixture through a sprout or nut bag. Blend resulting milk with rest of ingredients and serve. Resulting almond meal can be dehydrated and used for essene breads.

 

_from Tree of Life rainbow green cuisine.

 

 

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Almond Mesquite Milk

 

1 C almonds, soaked 12 – 48 hours

3 C coconut water

1 T raw mesquite powder

1 t cinnamon

 

Process all ingredients in a blender until smooth; strain in a piece of cheesecloth, a nut milk bag

 

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Chocolate Nut-Milk (*you could add spices to make any chocolate milk a Chai, or instant coffee for a mocha*)

 

1 liter (4 cups) of coconut water

20 raw cacao beans (preferably peeled)

10 raw cashews

3-5 tablespoons of carob powder and/or maca powder (maca is a powdered root from Peru that is an amazing high-protein superfood aphrodisiac, strengthener, and fertility enhancer)

3-5 tablespoons agave nectar

2 tablespoons of hempseed oil

2 tablespoons of coconut oil/butter

2-3 pinches salt (good quality)

2-3 sprinkles of cinnamon

 

Blend all ingredients

 

by David Wolfe

 

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There are also tons of recipes online; just type in "nut milks" or "nutmilks" and you'll find a lot. They are basically the same,though; you'll find more unique stuff from "raw" sources.

**Frozen bananas make excellent bases for shakes and malts. They are also good for raw icecream base (scroll down to see it **

 

Here is a pic of some walnut milk I made. I actually prefer it without sweetener for the taste of a regular milk; I think it's delicious that way. I would only use sweetener for a specific reason or for guests However, bananas, dates, agave -- all are good choices.

I've even used good-quality tea as a base instead of water. Lighter are best. A good Jasmine tea is SO good in a creamy nutmilk like cashew -- reminiscent of bubble tea. A splash of rosewater or orangeflower water is llovely for a Middle Eastern milk (and great in tea, by the way)

Unstrained Walnut Milk:

 

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a247/Raven_PZ/Food%20Album/RAW/Walnutmilk_unstrained.jpg

 

Strained Pecanmilk:

 

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a247/Raven_PZ/Food%20Album/RAW/Pecanmilk_strained.jpg

 

Pecan Chocolatemilk:

 

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a247/Raven_PZ/Food%20Album/RAW/xocolatl_pecan.jpg

 

Nutmilks will separate if you choose not to add lecithin, gums or other emulsifiers; just shake before using :

 

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a247/Raven_PZ/Food%20Album/RAW/Nutmilk_separate.jpg

 

 

If you don't want to hassle with cheese cloth (and who does?) you can buy a nut bag which is really just an inexpensive (like 99-cents some places) paint strainer bag; you can also use some clean pantyhose ; or buy a good-quality, fine mesh strainer like this:

 

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a247/Raven_PZ/Food%20Album/RAW/Fine_Cone_Strainer.jpg

 

For a less expensive one, but smaller, a very, very fine tea strainer (for powdered teas) is okay; just takes longer:

 

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a247/Raven_PZ/Food%20Album/RAW/Fine_Tea_Strainer.jpg

 

_________WHEW! I think I covered it

 

If you need any resources or have any questions, just lemme know ! Also share your experiments/successes and failures! Okay?

 

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Ah, well were the bananas really ripe? If you want an intense flavor and for them to be sweet they have to be nice and ripe.

 

I've taken a pic of everything at some point

They should be at least this spotted, if not more:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v391/Strixy/Food%20Album/RAW%20FOODS/Bananas_n_Apples1.jpg

 

Or perhaps they needed some dates or other sweetener? Maple syrup? Agave nectar?

 

Dash of salt? Splash of vanilla? These additionals might help if using bananas that aren't too yummy.

You can usually save any 'milk by adjusting to taste

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Haha, hey Crystal! I have been vegan so long I've accumulated a ton of stuff

These are some of the raw 'milks I have; I didn't create these, by the way.(I noted from where they came; the ones I knew, anyway)

All my recipes are mostly cooked recipes from the past (like the ones I have on VF); I don't cook anymore, though ... unless it's for company, that is

I make raw 'milks just by throwing stuff together to my taste.

 

Okay, MV, guess you don't like banana milk, then

 

If you want, I have some non-raw vegan milks stored away too. Let me know if you want those.

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Okay, long and verbose; but that's me at times

But oh so informative and useful!

 

I'm planning to experiment with some nut/seed milks to replace the rice or soy milk I use now (once I use them up). I though almond, sunflower and sesame sounded like a good combo (for calcium and vitamin D). Every try a combo like that? (I thought I'd make a small amount of each of the separate 'milks,' then play mad scientist and try different combos until I hit one (or more) that I like.

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Thanks Kat! (is it wrong to call you "kat"?)

 

I love mad scientists! Be sure to come back here and post your results! I've made some raw "cheeses" with sunflower seed combos -- sunflower has an element to it that makes it good for cheesey stuff. I'm not a big fan of them, however. It is so fun to experiment, though If I were more into raw recipes, I'd be all over it I've just gone very basic and simple. Strange, too; since, when it comes to cooking and baking, I love complicated recipes

 

I happen to love sesame milk. I realize it is an acquired taste, though. It has that chalkiness; but I've always liked that from sesame. Anything sesame is Mmmm...ooh, like halvah.

 

Using hulled versus unhulled will make a difference too; the latter rendering a slight bitterness.

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