Making Your Own Almond Milk
Making your own almond milk is super simple, and I do it at least once a week. We drink a lot of smoothies around here! I also use it in my coffee and tea occasionally, and I sometimes just like to chug a bit for a little Vitamin E boost! I decided to start making my own when I couldn’t find any, including organic brands, that didn’t have additives. The organic brands have fewer additives, but this is so simple and actually quite fun! Plus, the FDA requires almonds sold in the U.S. to be pasteurized, so when buying almond milk at the store, you are definitely getting pasteurized almonds. I buy raw/unpasteurized organic almonds from Sunfood to use in my milk. Unfortunately, even the almonds I’ve found locally are pasteurized, so here’s a link to my Favorite Things Store for the Sunfood Almonds 
in case you haven’t found a local source either.
Here is all you’ll need for the process:
* At least one quart size mason jar. I use two, because I’m too lazy to clean out the first one after soaking the almonds before pouring the milk in…you’ll see!
* 1 Cup of Raw Organic Almonds
* Enough filtered water for soaking
* About 3 cups filtered water for the actual milk. You can use anywhere from 2-5 cups. It just depends on how intensely you’d like the almond to come through. NOT the water used from soaking.
* A handheld sieve or fine strainer. Cheesecloth works too, although I haven’t tried that out yet.
* A powerful blender. I have a Blendtec and am in LOVE with it…seriously, I’m thinking about naming it and considering it one of my children! Blendtec and VitaMix are the two you always hear about, but if you don’t have either of those, I’d try it out with a regular blender. The almonds are soaked, and I really don’t think it would be a problem. You might end up with a thicker pulp, but that’s fine. If you really, really, really want a Blendtec, here’s a link through Amazon!
* Organic Ground Cinnamon, Raw Local Honey, Liquid Stevia, Vanilla Extract…these are all optional for a touch of sweetness or flavor. I use about 3 squirts of honey and a few shakes of cinnamon each time.
OK, Let’s Get This Thing Started! 
* The first step is to soak the almonds. Just put one cup of the almonds into your quart jar and fill until covered with filtered water. I then place a thin cloth(paper towel would work too) over the top and loosely screw the ring on over it. I say LOOSLEY, because I had to use the jaws of life to get my ring off once after the soaking! I’m not really sure why the cloth is a good idea rather than the jar lid, but that’s what I read when I started doing this, so I’ve just stuck with it…maybe the soaking almonds need to breathe, who knows!
* Now, stick those babies in the fridge and let them sit for 24 hours.
* When you’re ready to get started, drain and rinse the almonds. Throw the almonds and 3 cups filtered water into the blender and add any sweeteners in. I’ve read some recipes that do that after it’s been strained, but I just throw it all together at the beginning and blend. Blend on HIGH speed for at least 50 seconds. This is usually plenty, especially with the Blendtec, but just give it a look to see how well blended it is. It will look like the pic at the top of the page, all white and frothy!
* Now, you’ll need to get your second quart jar (or the one you washed after soaking the almonds) and strain the mixture into the jar. 
This is a bit slow, because you’ll need to use a spoon to scoop away the pulp blocking the sieve, so it can flow freely. 
Just dump the leftover pulp into a bowl, as you go along and keep straining away! 
At the end you should have a jar with around 3 cups of delicious, fresh Almond Milk!!! ENJOY!
