As you know, I am not a fan of dairy products, many of which contain saturated fat, which is bad for our cardiovascular system. Of course skim milk can be okay, although I think it is rather tasteless, which is why I suggest substituting regular milk with vegetable milk.
A vegetable milk is a drink based on vegetarian ingredients: milk from soy, almonds, rice, oats, hazelnuts, or coconut (be sure to choose coconut milk that is non-fat). Vegetable milk is an alternative way of adding a tasty liquid to your cereal, or to any sort of recipe, without having to resort to cow’s milk. It also allows those who are lactose or milk protein intolerant to still enjoy their food.
These milks are rich in plant proteins and bring healthy fat (except for coconut milk which is high in saturated fat), which are essential for our bodies. And the good news is, you can make all these milks yourself! In fact, homemade is even better than store-bought.
Here is a recipe for fresh almond milk—my favorite!
*Note that “fresh almonds” is the official term for dried almonds (ie. not roasted or salted; the plain version that is used for baking).
Ingredients:
- 1 handful of fresh almonds soaked in water overnight.
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (or less, if you prefer a less distinct vanilla taste)
- 2 tablespoon agave nectar (from the agave Cactus) or organic honey
Directions:
- Rinse and drain the almonds. Put in the blender with 2/3 times their volume of water (or according to your taste)
- Blend until the liquid turns white and milky
- Filter the milk through very fine filter paper in order to eliminate pulp
- Discard the pulp (I personally keep the pulp to make raw snack bars, but that’s another story)
- Drink immediately to benefit from all the vitamins!
- You can also add fruit; strawberries go really well with almond milk
Originally published on LeBootCamp
