Thursday, March 7, 2013

Make Your Own Almond Milk To Avoid This Ingredient


A real blogger would have their own photos, this from Vitamix
I am not one of those people who feels I have to make everything myself. Part of me would like to be that person. Realistically, I’m of the belief if someone else can do it better I will defer to them. I buy Rao’s tomato sauce, Purely Elizabeth granola and Siggi’s yogurt. I could technically make of each of these things but not like Raos, Elizabeth or Siggi. There are other foods I make at home either because it tastes better or has better ingredients.  I like my smoothies better than any shop or juice bar; I also make my own almond milk.

Homemade almond milk is delicious and incredibly easy (if you own a good blender). You can use it in smoothies or oatmeal, for chia pudding or steamed with matcha. Almond milk is a good source of magnesium. Warm it up, add some cinnamon or lightly sweeten and it’s amazing after dinner.

I didn’t always make my own almond milk but started when I read the ingredients on my unsweetened almond milk and saw carrageenan. Carrageenan is a thickener derived from seaweed; it’s related to Irish Moss and very difficult to digest. Research has confirmed it’s inflammatory and can affect insulin function. Dr Tobacman is one of the primary carrageenan researchers; it’s hard to believe carrageenan is so widely used once you start reading her work. When you make almond milk at home, simply shaking the jar avoids the need for any additive of this type, what would you prefer?

So, to make your own almond milk you’ll need
1 cup raw almonds
3 to 4 cups filtered water
pinch of Himalayan salt
optional: stevia or maple syrup
optional: cinnamon, vanilla bean, cardamom, nutmeg, cacao powder

What you’ll do:
  1. Place almonds in a bowl or jar and cover with water. Soak almonds overnight (some at the Foodtrainers’ office rush this soaking but I like an overnight soak). The almonds plump up nicely.
  2. Rinse the almonds and put in the blender (Vitamix plug, works beautifully for this) cover with 3-4 cups of water.
  3. Add sweetener or spices if you’d like. I was burned by a potent vanilla bean one time so I often make the milk plain and spice/flavor when I add it to a recipe..
  4. Blend 1-2 minutes or until smooth.
  5. You can stop here but I suggest straining through a fine sieve. There also are such things as nut milk bags for this process but I’ve never gone there. I have been known to strain twice.I know people do amazing things with the almond meal (baking and such). Mine goes bye bye.
Store in a large Mason jar for 3-5 days.
Yield is approximately 3 cups and in the vicinity of 100 calories per cup.

If you’re not interested in DIY-ing; OMilk in NYC and 365/Whole Foods make nut milks without carrageenan.
http://foodtrainers.blogspot.com/2012/05/foodtrainers-favorite-milk.html
Where do you stand on the DIY spectrum? What do you make yourself? Which foods to you purchase premade? Are you aware of carrageenan? Any nut milk variations to suggest?
While I have no almond milk photos I do have some recent celebration pictures. A thank you to Fat Witch bakery for these football-themed brownies and blondies (see I didn’t make my own) and a shout out to Hint, kids loved it.







25 comments:

  1. Oh my, I didn't know this about carrageenan. Interesting. But, I love my TJs almond milk! It's so rich and creamy. I have to go look at the ingredient list now.....

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  2. TJ does make almond milk (chilled version I think) without it BUT no packaged holds a candle to homemade when it comes to creaminess, I swear to you.

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  3. How disappointing that there is carrageenan in Pacific Organic unsweetened almond milk. I've never heard of carrageenan before. The word sounds so much like something natural -- I never thought it could be dangerous. We've been buying a ton of this almond milk from Amazon Prime. I will switch to something else asap. Thanks Lauren!

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  4. It's interesting that you don't make your own granola, it's so easy to make! And so easy to customize. You must really love that Purely Elizabeth kind, I've never tried it but maybe I should. I like making my own granola though because it makes the house smell so nice and I can control what goes in it and how sweet it is. My favorite of the moment uses the juice from macerated strawberries as a sweetener (just sprinkle a bowl of sliced strawberries with sugar, let it sit for an hour or two, and then squeeze out some juice - you can use the slices for something else, like ice cream topping!). Makes it really nice and crunchy.

    We don't drink a ton of almond milk in our house so I am not really up on the ingredient problems you mention but it's good to know. I could probably try making this myself with the food processor (my blender is not that great, it's no vitamix!).

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  5. I'm with you Lauren - I've realized that I'd rather make things myself because it's just better. Was reading about carrageenan the other day and it's so prevalent - even in "organic" products. So food fear kicks in and I've been wanting to add it to my DIY skills, but in the meantime, carrying this list with me - there are a lot of unhappy surprises on it: http://www.cornucopia.org/shopping-guide-to-avoiding-organic-foods-with-carrageenan/

    I try to stay away from store bought anything when I can but it's a time/accessibility equation...but if I had access to a cows and a cheese cave I'd probably make my own cheese (FYI - homemade ricotta is so easy and delicious).

    Love Om Cashew milk (having it right now actually) - it's awesome. Have been wanting to make my own, but kept reading about "nut bags" and just didn't want to go there - so thanks for clearing that up!



    And I'll send you a recipe for tomato sauce - it's one of the easiest things ever!

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  6. Thanks for confirming the concerns around carrageenan. I would love to make my own almond milk, but it seems like a lot of work for 3 cups of milk. I discovered that the "Silk" brand of unsweetened almond milk uses sunflower lecithin instead of carrageenan. Too bad about the Almond Breeze brand...why don't big companies just make food that doesn't include scary, processed ingredients??

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  7. It's really 5 min of "work" trust me and I'm a work avoider. The taste will convince you, promise.

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  8. i have my mom's tomato sauce recipe, I love it but I love Rao's too. A cheese cave Jen, get one and I'll come make cheese with you.

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  9. truth about granola is I am more of a smoothie person. Husband loves "elizabeth" with his granola. It's not an I can't make, more that I like that product, ingredients are good...macerated strawberries- yum.

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  10. It's actually used on mice to test anti inflammatory meds, they give them carrageenan first, how sad is that?

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  11. I also buy the Silk unsweetened version. I have about 1-2 cups a week and I like that it lasts in the fridge for a while. I don't think I would have the patience to whip up a batch for when I want cereal (which is randomly 1-2 times a week).


    Is sunflower lecithin a concern?

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  12. Great suggestion and recipe. Always looking for a healthy after dinner treat!

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  13. All very scary. I thought Almond milk was better than regular or soy milk. Oh well, will try making my own.

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  14. Almond is better than soy (for sure) but have to make sure right almond milk whether from store or homemade.

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  15. just not too treaty jeannette, right?

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  16. If only using 1/2 weeks may not be worth it but my guess is if you liked it you could use in beverages, oatmeal and other things. The question is lecithin is whether it has to be there at all...

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  17. I just learned about issues w/ carrageenan a few weeks ago. Sigh...We probably use more dairy milk-cow or goat-in our house, but I so buy almond milk from time to time as well. Of course the brand I like (Calafia) has carrageenan in it :-(. I haven't jumped on the DIY nut milks, but will give it a try. I'm like you with everything else-make a lot of homemade, but you'll always find marinara jars in my pantry, plus a few other staples as well. Looks like someone had a fun party-9???

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  18. We must have been on the same wave length because I just wrote a post on carrageenan myself. I've been looking to make my own almond milk too :) great post.

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  19. And you don't have a concern about the number of calories in the homemade version? 100 vs 35 calories for the unsweetened Silk brand. Would you just add more water to it? (I usually use 2 cups in my morning smoothie). Didn't know about the carrageenan - I'll be on the lookout for that!

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  20. Thanks for writing about carrageenan! It is incredibly frustrating how widespread it is. I'm sort of lazy with this so I wind up not drinking any almond milk at all for long stretches of time. But when the mood strikes, sometimes it's fun to play around with hazelnuts, pistachios or Brazil Nuts too!

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  21. Just checked and Whole Foods' organic almond milk doesn't contain carrageenan (though it does contain xanthan gum; not sure how healthy that is). On an unrelated note, Lauren, any thoughts on the Wahls diet?

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  22. I never realized how easy making your own almond milk was! I'd probably need to invest in a better blender though!

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  23. hmm i thought it was in TJ's almond milk?

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  24. Enjoyed your article on making your own Almond Milk. I used the remaining strained almond meal for facials. It was divine!

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  25. if
    carrageenan is from seaweed and the seaweed is harvested from the pacific ocean, where fukushima is leaking atleast 300 tons of radioactive water per day since 2011, wouldnt carrageenan be highly radioactive?

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