I’m breaking up with Almond Milk or for that matter any commercially manufactured alternative nut/seed/bean milk.

I know, I know, I have spent a lot of clinical time and effort recommending patients get off dairy milk and try out the alternatives.  I strongly believed that these easy to use, good tasting substitutes were a godsend to help folks get past digestive complaints, poor immune function, asthma, frequent colds and ear infections by taking a break from dairy proteins.

Readily available, the wall of shelf stable cubed alternative milk products is impressive, found at any health food store or regular grocer. Oh, and you can get it ‘fresh’ and chilled also!

When Did Alternative Milks Come on the Scene?

I often recount my quest to find a alternative milk for my dairy sensitive toddler in the mid 1980’s.  All that was available then was basically soy flour. It came dry in a cellophane bag in a cardboard box with directions on how to mix. I chuckle at the faces made by my medical students, when I’d mention this as their lives have always been endowed with ready to drink soy, almond, and hemp milk.

Manufactured liquid nut/seed/bean milks came on the scene in the early 2000’s. Soy milk was predominantly available and also rice milk. I can’t verify the manufacturing recipes or if at anytime they were made from ample amounts of the nut/seed/bean or what fillers and stabilizers were onboard. But those were simpler times right? Maybe they were the real thing?

Where’s the Nuts?

The current news is that many of the alternative milks on the market are less than 2% nut/seed/bean based and the rest is water and food modifiers to create the resemblance of ‘milk’!

What is a Food Modifiers?

A few months ago I wanted to find out more about one of these food modifiers- one in particular listed as ‘natural flavor’. This ingredient is showing up in everything! You cannot find a fruit juice without it. It is in most alternative milks and even unsweetened sparkling water! You like La Croix? Take a closer look.

I learned that it’s an ingredient(s) that “enhance” foods that lack flavor due to poor quality, having lost flavor in processing or just because. The name makes it seem so benign; “natural flavor”. Don’t be fooled by the word “natural” !

Natural flavors are food-derived but lab-manipulated to stimulate your taste buds to eat more. They enhance food so that you want more and more; more than the suggested portion, for sure.

Natural beef flavor, for example, has no beef in it but is composed of wheat and milk solids, which have been processed and preserved. These ingredients can cause and perpetuate food sensitivity, weight gain, and digestive symptoms.
Don’t you think you have the right to know what is in your food? Apparently not as the FDA does not require manufacturers to divulge the exact ingredients in ‘natural flavors’.

But back to commercial nut/seed/bean milks and my divorce from them.  A few months ago an acquaintance describing their health make-over: “I’ve done it all, I have a clean diet, I do intermittent fasting and I now I even make my own almond milk!” I thought now that, making your own almond milk, was going too far!

Little did I know I would be blending up my own REAL NUT MILK and loving it!

It’s Easy! It’s Good! Wow, It’s Great In My Coffee!

Hazelnuts work well and are very tasty. Macadamia nuts and almonds are also some of my favorites! Cashews will work also but beware that the latest cashew craze it not without major issues. Look for my upcoming article: Cashew, Cauliflower and Coconut Not For Everyone!

Back to the Nut Milk Recipe!

-Shop for a good quality unsalted, unseasoned raw nuts in the bulk bins at Sprouts or Whole Foods. You’ll need 1 cup for about a quart of finished milk.

-Soak 1 cup of nuts in filtered water covered overnight in the fridge.
-Take them out the next day and rinse once. Add them to 1 and 1/2 pints of filtered water.
-Add a pinch of sea or Himalayan salt and a sprinkle of organic stevia for a balanced flavor.
-Buzz them up in the blender for about a minute, starting low and going to higher speed toward the end.
-Filter through a very fine tea strainer or you can purchase a culinary straining bag and strain over a large container.
-Pour your finished nut milk into a lidded quart glass container and refrigerate. It’s white and creamy and rich! With a quick shake when you want to use it, it’s ready to drink, pour on cereal or add to a hot beverage.
The remaining coarse nut pulp can be added to baking projects. It’s fiber and nutrient rich! Put it in a sealed container and pop in the freezer if you are not immediately going to use it. Both milk and pulp are best used within a week.

Who said breaking up was hard to do? When a relationship isn’t serving you, vote for yourself and your health! Make it your own way!