....even if you don't have " everything" you need.
If I had my way, I 'd make everything from scratch. In fact, I'd like to grow most of my fruits and vegetables in my own backyard. That would be perfection.
So, when I switched to a vegan diet I bought Almond Milk as a milk alternative. But lets face it, they have so many other items added in and they are processed if they have such a long shelf life.
Here is the ingredient list of various Almond Milk's created by Blue Diamond:
Original
Ingredients: almondmilk (filtered water, almonds), evaporated cane juice, calcium carbonate, sea salt, potassium citrate, carrageenan, sunflower lecithin, vitamin A palmitate, vitamin D2, d-alpha-tocopherol (natural vitamin E)
Vanilla
Ingredients: almondmilk (filtered water, almonds), evaporated cane juice, calcium carbonate, natural vanilla flavor with other natural flavors, sea salt, potassium citrate, carrageenan, sunflower lecithin, vitamin A palmitate, vitamin D2, d-alpha-tocopherol (natural vitamin E)
Chocolate
Ingredients: almondmilk (filtered water, almonds), evaporated cane juice, cocoa (dutch process), calcium carbonate, sea salt, potassium citrate, carrageenan, natural flavors, sunflower lecithin, vitamin A palmitate, vitamin D2, d-alpha-tocopherol (natural vitamin E)
Unsweetened Original
Ingredients: almondmilk (filtered water, almonds), calcium carbonate, tapioca starch, sea salt, potassium citrate, carrageenan, sunflower lecithin, natural flavor, vitamin A palmitate, vitamin D2 and d-alpha-tocopherol (natural vitamin E)
Unsweetened Vanilla
Ingredients: almondmilk (filtered water, almonds), calcium carbonate, tapioca starch, natural vanilla flavor with other natural flavors, sea salt, potassium citrate, carrageenan, sunflower lecithin, vitamin A palmitate, vitamin D2 and d-alpha-tocopherol (natural vitamin E)
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Yes, they add a few vitamins to the mix -- true. But nearly every vegan I know take precautionary vitamin supplements anyways -- so do we want a multivitamin mixed into our almond milk?? I do not.
I like things pure and simple.
After a bit of research I set about to making my own small batch of almond milk. Now, most people say you need a cheese cloth and another recipe suggested using dates to sweeten the mix which sounds amazing but I didn't have any.
Did I let these little hiccups get in the way? Nope! I worked around them and was happy with the result.
Many middle easterners will often soak their almonds in water at least overnight before eating them. (Soaking them in the water makes it easy to peel as well)
We happened to have a tiny container of almonds soaking in the fridge and I decided they would fall victim to my experiments in Almond Milk making.
It turned out to be about 3/4 cup of almond.
I added about 1 3/4 cold water to the blender, but if you add less you will get a much more creamy consistency. I've read that if you keep a 1:1 ratio you will get more of an "almond cream" instead of an "almond milk"
Anyhow, blend away I did -- adding a dash of vanilla an pinch of sweetner. Then, since I didn't have a cheese cloth, I just put it through a sieve. Pushing the liquid through, leaving me with this almond pulp which is begging to be used in a recipe.
Rather than pour the milk into my jar and save it for later like a good girl I decided to consume it for breakfast.
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| Note the creamy almond milk foam on top |
I poured it back into the blender along with a bit more vanilla, frozen bananas and a teaspoon of peanut butter and breakfast was served!
Shortly thereafter I made my way over to the gym for a yoga class and the funniest thing happened during the Savasana pose -- one of my classmates fell asleep and started snoring! I know that pose is supposed to be about ultimate relaxation but you can bet that her snore jolted me out of whatever " lala land" I had managed to drift off to.
Have you had any yoga bloopers?
Rinse the rice thoroughly once. Then place the rice and the water in a big pot and bring it to a boil. Once it begins to boil stir the mix regularly allowing for the rice to expand and the excess water to evaporate. It will begin to resemble Congee. Once the mixture begins to thicken and adopts a uniform opaque color add the sugar, oil, rosewater and saffron.
