How to make plant-based MILK

Method

How to make plant-based MILK

My approach to making plant-based MILK at home; the how’s and why’s

WHAT IS PLANT-BASED MILK
A dairy-alternative made from soaking raw nuts, seeds or grains and blending them with water to create a milk-like liquid.  Plant-based milk is made with raw nuts, seeds or grains.

EASY at-home ingredients;
NUTS: cashews, hazelnuts/filbert, walnuts, pecans, macadamia, brazil, almonds, coconut, pistachio
SEEDS: sunflower, pumpkin | pepita, hemp, sesame, flax
GRAINS: oat groats, steel-cut oats, rolled oats, uncooked rice
LEGUMES: peanuts, 

WHAT I ADD and WHY

A healthy gut is a crucial component of good health from our Immune system to joint inflammation through to mood and mindset our gut health influences how we feel and is an essential part of our overall health and wellness.

*PREBIOTIC FIBRE = green banana flour, cassava flour, acacia fibre powder, tapioca fibre (not starch), chicory root powder, Jerusalem artichoke powder, mesquite powder, baobab powder   Prebiotic fibre passes through the small intestine and into the colon where it feeds our beneficial bacteria and helps colonise our gut.  

FERMENTATION The prebiotic fibre helps with the plant milk fermentation. I make kefir using milk kefir culture grains with my nut and seed milks; the prebiotic fibre helps feed those bacteria which ferments the milk, which in turn helps our gut flora flourish along with adding insoluble fibre to our diets which also helps support a healthy microbiome.

HOW I MAKE PLANT-BASED MILK:

1 – RINSE AND SOAK nuts, seed or grains – except rolled oats as they go slimy = 2 cups water + ideally 8 hrs to overnight.   WHY – Soaking helps release anti-nutrients, improves gut digestibility, and nutrient absorption and also hydrates/softens the ingredient. Hence, they blend better to create lovely “milk”; soaking is a key step in making plant-based milk.

2 – DRAIN discarding soaking water and rinse in a colander.  You do not want to eat or drink this water. 

3 – ADD WATER 4 cups : 1 cup nuts|seeds|grains preferably filtered non-chlorinated water – if you are going to ferment the milk to make Kefir or yoghurt you need to use filtered water as tap water with all the chlorine etc. stops the “good bacteria” growing and fermenting. I have a Berkey Water filter that I adore!!

4 – BLEND 45sec – 1 min in a high-speed blender with filtered water + prebiotic fibre if using + a date or vanilla or any other flavours you are adding.

5 – STRAIN & SQUEEZE – sometimes I strain but not very often as I like the texture and value the fibre it depends on what I used to make the milk and what I am using the milk for.  If you strain you can use a nut-milk bag or muslin or linen cloth and squeeze out all the liquid, a fine-mesh strainer will work too.  Use the pulp that remains once you have squeezed out all the milk to make granola or cookies.

6 – STORE OR FERMENT I store my plant-based milk in a glass jar in the refrigerator and use within 3 days or so. OR I ferment it and make kefir.