I just changed from dairy to nut milks a couple of weeks ago. This is expensive to buy, it’s cheaper and very easy to make. I will be making the walnut milk in future as we have heaps of these already. A bonus using the almonds is the leftover pulp which is delicious and can be used to lots of different ways.
Almond Milk:
Take one cup of almonds and soak in two cups of water for a minimum of four hours (overnight is fine).
Drain and rinse the nuts. I leave the skins on feeling no need to remove them, the resulting milk is still white.
Put the nuts in a blender with 3 cups of fresh water. Blend till milky and almonds quite fine. Strain through a fine sieve or
muslin.
That’s it 🙂
(Edited) see Narf’s interesting comments below about how she makes her almond milk.
Walnut Milk:
Made the same way as above but us 4 cups water. The walnuts are alot softer and I find very little pulp remains at the end.
Almond Meal:
This can be used as is or dried in the oven on a low temperature for several hours. It can also be frozen if desired for later use. I have been using it in smoothies, porridge and baking but am wanting to try some “cheeses” and pates. Below are some links for some recipes I have tried that are both delicious (the pulp must be dried for both) and a link for some others that sound nice.
Coconut and Almond Macaroons:
8oz dried almond meal
3/4 cup toasted coconut
2 egg whites
1 1/4 cups sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
Preheat oven to 300 deg. Toast coconut by putting into small fring pan and cooking over lowish heat, stirring till golden. Line a baking tray with baking paper. Whisk the egg whites, sugar and vanilla together till blended and add to combined nut mixture. Drop heaped tablespoonsful (is that a word?) onto tray and bake till browned around edges and golden on top.
Quinoa Almond Joy Bars:
The recipe can be found here http://skinnyms.com/skinny-mini-desserts-quinoa-almond-joy-bars/
And a link with a few nice recipes is here http://cafe-janae.blogspot.co.nz/2008/07/what-to-do-with-nut-pulp.html
And one for Banana Bread courtesy of Jamie 🙂 http://www.elanaspantry.com/paleo-banana-bread/
quarteracrelifestyle 
Yum…need to try this one like the cinnamon Honey roast one,too…:-) robbie
LikeLike
Hi Wendy, good to see you have come over to the nutty side ;). I use homemade almond and oat milk in my hot drinks. I am a tea addict and unless I get at least 2 big mugs a day my brain doesn’t work and I am like a bear with a sore ear so the milk that I put into it needs to enhance it. I tried plain almond milk but it was a bit too watery and tended to separate and curdle in hot tea (I like to drink my tea HOT) so ended up with a mix of almonds and about 1/2 cup minute oats, blended together and the oats stabilise the mix. I skin my almonds because the resulting milk lasts longer. The skins must have natural cultures in them because skinning them adds an extra couple of days to the life of the milk. I haven’t tried walnut milk yet but have some stored for a “sunny day” (it’s been raining forever here) and this looks like a fine use for them :).
If you dry the resulting almond pulp out it’s lovely in cakes and adds a really delicious luxurious taste and texture. I used to love macaroons. I might mess about and add some coconut sugar that Steve picked up for me at the local health food shop to try. It’s a bit too sweet for me but I could use a bit less? Cheers for the links and the info and I am going to try walnut milk this week 🙂
LikeLike
Hi Fran 🙂
Thanks for all that, I will add something in the post to read your comments. I have tried making oat milk before but wasn’t keen on that on it’s own, too floury. I have been drinking my coffee and tea black but have a hot chocolate made with the almond milk alone which is really nice.
LikeLike
I can’t drink black tea, too much tannin (might also be something to do with me drinking 600ml at a time and smoking hot and as black as the ace of spades but I digress 😉 ). I didn’t like oat milk either. It turned into porridge in the bottom of my cup (curse you boiling hot tea! 😉 ) but making 1 1/2 litres at a time and using mostly almonds with about 1/4 minute oats seems to give the best results for using with tea/coffee. I am all for experimentation to get where you want to be and without my tea, I am nothing! 😉 (well I “am” but no-one wants to be there with me if you get my drift 😉 )
LikeLike
lol, I am like that with coffee 🙂 No one should ever ask me to give that up but I do limit it now, too much is a bad thing too!
LikeLike
I only limit my tea drinking because if I drink more than 3 cups I am up all night to the loo. Best I get some sleep occasionally, I don’t think I have the constitution of Mozart 😉
LikeLike
Almond and walnut milks. My favorites! Good, helpful post.
LikeLike
Cool, thank you 🙂
LikeLike
I read this blog this morning, and this afternoon I’m drinking almond milk from these instructions! Thank you!
LikeLike
Awesome 🙂 I hope you enjoyed it!!
LikeLike
I love making my own almond milk. It’s one of those things that is really easy, and it is not a huge time commitment. And the flavor? Delicious! Far better than what you can find in a store, and you control the ingredients. Also, it steams really well(for lattes, etc.)
If you prefer a sweetened version, just add a date and a touch of vanilla.
Thank you for the recipes, as I regularly make it, but do not always know what to do with the leftover pulp. It’s too coarse for many recipes calling for flour, but I did find a banana bread recipe and a lactation cookie recipe that it worked well in.
LikeLike
You can use it for lattes?! I have wanted to try that but didn’t want to waste it if it didn’t work out. I am so pleased to know that!
Yes, I had seen people sweeten it but haven’t bothered myself – mostly using it for smoothies and on porridge with date sugar. I am really enjoying the taste of it, a convert well and truly.
Do you have your banana bread on your blog?
LikeLike
It’s awesome for lattes. I was worried when I first did it, thinking it probably needed one of the thickeners usually added, but it doesn’t. The flavor is good, and you can get a really nice and creamy microfoam. I steam it to about 150 F, which is pretty much the standard temperature for dairy milks. You don’t need to shut it off early like you do with soy and hemp.
I don’t have the recipe on my blog. I’m thinking I got it off of Gluten Free Goddess’s page. It’s been a while since I made it, so I can’t remember. I’ll poke around and see if I can find it.
LikeLike
I don’t have a machine myself, I just love coffee made with boiling milk so was happy to see this because I have missed it terribly. In fact, I am going to make one now, with walnut milk and see how I go with it. Thanks for that 🙂
LikeLike
Okay, I fibbed, the recipe is here: http://www.elanaspantry.com/paleo-banana-bread/
Obviously my almond meal wasn’t blanched, and I think I used coconut oil for the shortening. It’s very dense, so it will not bake properly in a normal loaf pan. I used a few of those mini loaf pans, and it gave the right texture, without gooey spots. I honestly don’t remember how long I had them in the oven, though.
LikeLike
Oh, cool, ta for that. I shall add to the post so I will know where to find it 🙂 Thanks Jamie.
LikeLike