Now that I have my own nut milk bag, I am a nut milk fanatic. I have made three batches of almond milk this week and marvel at the easy process every time. Well, easy as long as you have the nut milk bag at least… I am telling you this is one vital component. My first attempt without one was well, you saw in –> this post, messy and gritty.
I don’t know if stores carry them, but I got my nut milk bag off Amazon.
Everything else, I still do everything the same as in my previous post:
- Soak the almonds over night
- Drain the almonds
- Fill the Vitamix with 3-3.5 cups of water
- Add the almonds (+ any other flavorings)
- and blend for 1 minute on high
Once the almonds are well blended, I place my nut milk bag into the bowl and pour half the blended almonds in at a time.
I use a large flexible mixing bowl to collect my creamy almond milk. I got this bowl as a wedding gift and LOVE it. It makes pouring liquid into different containers SO easy. You can find this bowl at Bed Bath and Beyond.
Now for the messy part… I try not to get over anxious and squeeze the milk everywhere in this step… I have found it is best to let it drain some and then gently squeeze starting at the top and work your way down the bag.
When you are through you are left with a bowl full of almond milk and a good amount of almond meal.
(on the left is the almond meal)
After that, I just take my flexible bowl and pour it into a sealable container or bottle!
A few tips:
- Always soak your almonds! This serves the purpose of softening them up so it doesn’t kill your blender! Not only is it good to soak almonds for milk but it is also good to soak all tree nuts in general. This post explains way –> Raw Food 101: Why You Should Always Soak Almonds
- Strain your almonds into a big bowl (preferably a flexible one) before storing it in a smaller container. This is a less messy approach, so the milk doesn’t escape everywhere.
- Use a nut milk bag! My only option!!
- Strain half the milk at a time. This also makes less mess and avoids almond meal falling out of the top of the bag into your freshly squeezed milk (yes, I learned the hard way).
- Store for 3-4 days max and shake before use.
- The almond milk can be used in smoothies, baking, coffee, oatmeal, cereals, or whatever your heart desires.
- Save the almond meal and use it in place of flour! Nothing wasted!
