how make nut milk + what to do with leftover nut pulp

Fun fact 1: My mom used to make soy milk and almond milk at home, and add ground up calcium pills for a DIY dairy free milk.

Fun fact 2: I refused to drink said milk.

Fun fact 3: I staunchly believed that it was too difficult to make your own milk as a college student.

Fun fact 4: I now appreciate fun fact 1, regret fun fact 2, and was very, very wrong about fun fact 3.

As a crazy busy college student, I didn't try making my own nut milk until Ellie's Best sent me a couple of nut milk bags to try. I read their instructions and was a little skeptical of how easy it was. Like, I just had to soak some nuts, blend them up, strain them through the bag, and I'd have my own nut milk?

Joke's on me. Of course it was that easy.

I kicked myself for not realizing it sooner and making my own nut milk sooner. It's creamy, pure, and doesn't contain any of the gums, lecithins, or carrageenan that store-bought milks have.

Below are two recipes — one for making your own almond milk, one for crackers you can make with the pulp, and a bunch of links from fellow bloggers on other things you can make with nut milk pulp!

Enjoy, and happy nut-milking ;)

If you want to try making your own, you can use my code nancy10 for 10% off your purchase on Ellie's Best bags!

Easy Homemade Almond Milk

nut milk

Ingredients

Directions

  1. Soak 1 cup of raw almonds in a mason jar — fill jar up to the top with water — for 8-12 hours. I like doing this in the morning and then making the nut milk when I come back home, or doing it before bed and making the nut milk in the morning.
  2. Drain the almonds and place in blender. Add 4 1/2 cups filtered water, vanilla extract, and sea salt, and blend on high for 1-2 minutes (depending on how powerful the blender is).
  3. In a large bowl, slowly pour the nut milk into the nut milk bag, making sure to squeeze occasionally to get the excess liquid out.
  4. Store in an airtight container (I like the large mason jars) and enjoy!

Recipe adapted from Ellie's Best Nut Milk Recipes book — you can get your free PDF copy here!


Simple Almond Pulp Crackers

flaxseed crackers

Ingredients

  • Leftover almond pulp from making 4 cups of almond milk (about 1 cup)
  • 2 tbsp flaxseed meal
  • Salt, to taste
  • Enough water to bind it together
  • Optional: nutritional yeast, cayenne, and pepper for savory crackers

Directions

  1. Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl. Add enough water enough it forms a dough-like consistency.
  2. On a flat baking pan with parchment paper on top, spread out the dough until it's very thin (about 1/4 inch).
  3. Bake at 350 degrees F until golden brown (about 25 minutes). After 15 minutes, check every 5 minutes to make sure the crackers aren't burning.


Disclaimer: I received the nut milk bags for free from Ellie's Best in return for reviews on their product.