There are a million +1 recipes out there about how to make you own almond milk at home & why. We’ll spare you the chit chat & simply say, try it. The trick really is simply nailing down a routine for yourself. See how it goes, you probably won’t go back. It’s that simple, that delicious, that worth it.

Once you develop your own routine with making your own almond milk at home, eventually, you’ll have one of those, ‘why did I ever buy this in the store?’ moments. Then all of the sudden, you have 3 vegan/vegetarian/soy-free/dairy-free, what-have-you & you need to buy almond milk because you simply cannot make that much to survive even two morning rounds of coffee and tea for everyone. It’ll feel a bit weird! As we all know, simply read your labels and do the best you can.

Tips on buying nuts.

If you don’t live in a region that is well suited for growing nuts, they can be pricey. Your best bet usually is to try and find a small health food store or local grocer that offers bulk. Typically, your price per pound will be just around the same as prepackaged nuts, if not cheaper. Trust your grocery store. If you are not sure where the nuts are coming from, or how long they have been sitting because they don’t have a fast bulk turn-over, better safe than sorry. It’s like cooking with wine. If you wouldn’t drink it, don’t use it. If you wouldn’t snack on them, don’t soak them.

Tips on sweeteners.

Dates. Love, love the perfect simplicity of the sweetness that are dates. “They’re nature’s candy”, says every mother. Again, if you’re not in an area that dates grow naturally (ahem, California), they can be tricky to find & of good quality. Sure, you can pick up a giant tub of them at Costco, but once you experience a beautifully ripe, plump, juicy & meaty date, it’ll be hard not to snub your nose at anything less. Enter the beauty of the internet & global shipping. I’m not one to hop online to order, I much prefer to shop in person locally, but if that’s not an option - try to find a grower/supplier that sells online & ships.

K, I’m ready for a coffee now.

Go-To Homemade Almond Milk

Yield: approx. 4 C / Time: 15 minutes (+ overnight soak) / Difficulty: 3/10

Ingredients

1 C Whole almonds

3-4 Dates

1/2 Tsp vanilla extract

1/4 Tsp salt

4 C Water

Steps

1. Put almonds in container with water filled at least 2 inches above the almonds (they will expand). Place in fridge at least 8 hrs, preferably overnight.

2. Strain almonds over the sink & rinse well. Put into a high speed blender with dates, salt, vanilla extract & water. Blend on high until liquified.

3. Pour almond milk through nut milk bag (or cheesecloth) and strain into large bowl. You can let your almond pulp drain on it’s own, or give it some help & squeeze out milk until your almond pulp is as dried out as it can be.

Notes:

Storage: Almond milk will last in the fridge about a week. If it’s gone bad - you’ll know, it’ll smell super wonky.

Added protein: I’ve played around with adding plant based protein powders to almond milk. Whether chocolate or vanilla (depending on your vibe), they can be great for added nutrients, but using sparingly because they can give your almond milk a bit of a malty taste you might not want in your coffee every morning. But, if you’re making for smoothies - I mean, heck, why not!?

Chocolate almond milk: Add 2 Tbsp cocoa powder to the mix prior to blending.