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Nut Milks
When I first became dairy (casein) free, my first thought was what was I going to do for milk? Since we are also gluten free, we cannot use oat milk (not certified GF). It wasn’t until later that I discovered nut milks!
My husband, Malcolm, is a huge lover of nut milks. He usually makes walnut milk — which is his favorite. (Personally, I am very fond of coconut milk, but that is a subject for another post).
So how, do you make nut milks? Believe it or not, they are easier to make than it sounds.
1. Soak 1 cup of your favorite unsalted nuts overnight in filtered water
2. Drain the water and rinse nuts
3. Add 3-4 cups of fresh filtered water to your 1 cup of nuts, 2 tsp. vanilla and 4-5 drops of stevia (Note: If you pl
an to drink your milk right away, substitute one cup of water with ice cubes.)
4. Blend well in your VitaMix.
5. Run nut milk through cheese cloth or fine stainer to remove the pulp or, if you are like my husband, leave nut pulp in the milk.
6. Refrigerate until chilled before drinking.
Nut milks are delicious and nutritious.
But why soak them first? My friends at Tasty Yummies explains the reason:
How-to Make Nut Milks
Most nuts, seeds, grains and beans are covered in natural chemicals – enzyme inhibitors and toxins – that protect them while growing, both from sprouting prematurely and also from predators. … Once harvested, those same chemicals, the major one being phytic acid – are indigestible to the human body and must be broken down before consumption. When food containing phytic acid is consumed, the acid combines with important minerals like calcium, magnesium, copper, iron and especially zinc in the intestinal tract and blocks their absorption which inhibits our digestive systems’ ability to break the nut down properly.
The very simple process of soaking releases these chemicals, helping you to absorb your food’s essential minerals and nutrients. Additionally, by soaking the nuts with the removal of these nutritional inhibitors and toxic substances, the flavor and taste is much more ideal and appealing.
Read more about nut milks in the Tasty Yummies article!
Halloween No-Bake Pumpkin Spice Cookies
Since today is Halloween, I could not resist posting this cute No-Bake Pumpkin Spice Cookie Ball recipe.
Our featured recipe is, once again, from Tasty Yummies and posted on the Free People blog.
Image courtesy of the Free People Blog
- 8 Medjool Dates, pitted
- 1/4 cup creamy almond butter
- 2 tablespoons pumpkin purée (canned or fresh, if you use fresh be sure to drain as much water out as you can)
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- Dash of ground cloves
- Pinch of salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup raw walnuts
- 1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut plus more for rolling
- Optional Add-ins: raisins (I used raisins in half of the recipe, about 1/4 cup), additional coconut for rolling, additional chopped walnuts for rolling or mini chocolate chips
- Add just the pitted dates to the food processor and process for a minute or two until a thick paste forms – if they are quite dry, you may need to add a teaspoon or two of water to get it moving. If they are pureed and form a large ball in the food processor, don’t worry too much, the other ingredients will thin it out.
- Next, add the almond butter, pumpkin puree, the spices, salt and the vanilla extract. Process for a minute or two again until thick and creamy.
- Add in the nuts and coconut and pulse a few times until the nuts are chopped and it all comes together into a thick dough.
- Try to roll a little in your hand, if it is holding together it is ready, if it is too crumbly try adding more almond butter and/or pumpkin. If it is too creamy and sticky, add more nuts and coconut. If you are adding raisins, just fold them in by hand with a spoon or spatula.
- Take the blade out of the processor and roll the dough into balls, about 1 1/2-inches in diameter. Roll into shredded coconut, if you wish. You should end up with approximately 18 cookie balls. You can eat them right away, or place them in the fridge for a bit to firm up (which is what I prefer
- Source: No-Bake Pumpkin Spice Cookie Balls (Gluten-Free, Vegan + Sugar-Free) | Free People Blog http://blog.freepeople.com/2012/10/nobake-pumpkin-spice-cookie-balls/#ixzz2AttbFeac
To make this a bit easier to make, I would suggest soaking the dates for a few hours or overnight and squeeze out as much water as possible before you make the cookies. Too much water would make these nice little balls more like a puddle!!
Enjoy and Happy Halloween!!
Pumpkin Chia Pudding
With the cooler temps this week, my brain is moving into fall mode — in other words, I am thinking about seasonal fall dishes. This Pumpkin Chia Pudding fits the bill in my book. Not only that, my husband loves anything pumpkin, so I am always on the look-out for pumpkin recipes.
Hope you like this one from the Free People Blog (we have been featuring quite a few recipes from there lately!)
Picture courtesy of Free People Blog
- 1 cup coconut milk (the canned kind – lite or full-fat)
- 1 cup unsweetened almond milk (or other non-dairy milk of your choice)
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- pinch of ground cloves
- 5 medjool dates, pits removed
- 3 tablespoons chia seeds
- Puree everything but the chia seeds in a blender until smooth, combined and thick. You may see a few little bits of the dates still, it’s OK. Pour the mixture into a glass bowl or a mason jar, stir in the chia seeds. Make sure to stir well to combine. Cover the bowl or put the lid on the jar. Keep in the refrigerator overnight or for at least 4 hours.
- Spoon or pour into bowls, top with a sprinkle of cinnamon and maybe even some fresh whipped coconut cream, if you wish. Serve cool or room temperature.
Beth recommends making your own pumpkin puree from scratch. That is very doable, but having done it before, it was way more work than I would want to do again!!
But do read her comments about Chia seeds. They are very nutritious and give thickening to the pudding.
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