Easy Peasy Almond Squeezy - A quick recipe for almond milk

Speedy-Fast Almond Milk

This is a yummy almond milk from my mother's recipe archive. We often have pre-soaked almonds in a jar in the fridge, which makes preparing this delicious almond milk a 'breeze'. This recipe requires no straining, so it saves you time. This is not as smooth as my previous almond milk recipe, because of the almond fiber, but you gotta do what you gotta do...


QUICK ALMOND MILK Recipe:

Difficulty level: Easy Peasy Almond Squeezy
Yield: 1 quart

1 1/2 c. raw almonds
4 c. warm water
1-2 t. raw organic honey or organic agave nectar (use xylitol for a sugar-free version)
a few drops of real vanilla extract (or clear vanilla to keep the milk white)
a pinch of sea salt or BioSalt (recipe on this blog)
a pinch of fresh ground nutmeg


Method:

To prepare the almonds:

Rinse and soak 1 1/2 cups raw, shelled almonds in water for a total of 24 hours, rinsing every so often until the soaking water is no longer colored. Drain. The almonds will have expanded in size a bit. Store in a sealed jar in the fridge until use.

You can plan ahead and pre-soak the almonds and keep them in the refrigerator until needed.

For the whitest almond milk, peel off the brown skins, if you care to....I don't.


To make the almond milk:

In a high-powered blender, thoroughly puree the soaked almonds with 4 cups of warm water. While blending, add the sweetener of choice, vanilla, salt and nutmeg.

Taste and pour into a 1-quart jar with tight fitting lid. Keep chilled.



Note: 

If you only have a regular blender, puree the almonds in 2 batches, using 2 cups warm water per batch.


Enjoy! 

Leila

Better than Almond Breeze (Copy-Cat Recipe)

Smooth and Delicious Almond Milk

This is a recipe I created and demonstrated when I was teaching healthy cooking classes. This formulation tastes much better than the other almond milks out there (with the exception of my mom's). You may drink this as a beverage, or pour over breakfast cereals, and use as a healthy replacement for pasteurized commercial almond milk. You can also make a sweetened almond milk with out all the sugar that commercial almond milk has. A key to making good almond milk is to remember to add a touch of BioSalt, as it brings out the flavor.

Almond milk is an excellent choice for people who are health conscious, watching their dairy and sugar intake or are on low-carb or paleo diets. This is also great for people on cleansing raw-food diets.


ALMOND MILK Recipe:

Yield: 1 gallon

3 c. soaked raw almonds (see how to do this below)
purified water to make a total of 1 gallon
2 T. xylitol or Lakanto zero-cal granular sweetener
20 to 25 drops stevia glycerite (like NOW brand or the stevia glycerite recipe on this blog)
2 t. real vanilla extract
1/2 t. BioSalt (recipe on this blog)
1/2 t. almond extract, optional


Equipment Needed:

High-powered blender
Fine mesh cloth bag, for straining
1-gallon jug with tight-fitting lid, for almond milk storage


Method:

To soak the almonds:

Rinse and soak about 3 cups raw, shelled almonds in water for a total of 24 hours, rinsing every so often until the soaking water is no longer colored. Drain. The almonds will have expanded in size a bit. Store in a sealed jar in the fridge until use.


To make the almond milk:

Put 3 cups soaked almonds into a VitaMix or BlendTec blender and add enough purified water to reach the 6-cup line on the blender container. Secure lid tightly.

Puree the almonds very well on high speed.

Strain by pouring the almond slurry into a finely woven cloth bag, placed inside a large bowl. (Or you can put the cloth bag inside a strainer that is placed over a bowl.)

Wring out and squeeze the pulp in the cloth bag well.

Place the almond pulp back into the blender, add water and puree again. Pour back into the cloth bag and squeeze it as dry as you can.

Rinse out your blender container. Pour in some of the nut milk and add the xylitol, stevia, vanilla, BioSalt, and almond extract, if using. Blend a few seconds more.

Pour into a 1-gallon jug and add the rest of the almond milk that's left in the bowl and then add enough purified water to make a total of 1 gallon. Shake to blend.

Taste the almond milk for sweetness and salt. if it tastes flat, add a pinch more Biosalt.

Store in the refrigerator. Shake before use.



Variations:

For a sweeter almond milk add a total of 3 T. xylitol, and no more than 30 drops stevia glycerite. you may also add a pinch of fresh ground nutmeg, if desired.

For a creamier almond milk that doesn't separate as easily, add 1 t. guar gum and 2 t. liquid lecithin.

Squeezing the almond pulp dry in a cloth bag

Notes: 

Reserve the almond pulp for other uses or compost it.

You can freeze the almond pulp and add to foods to increase the fiber content. Try adding a little to hot cereals, baked goods, pancakes...

You may also dehydrate the almond pulp and then grind it finely, so that you can add it to gluten-free/paleo baking mixes, home made granola, etc...  If you are on a raw-food diet, dry the pulp at or below 110 degrees F.


Enjoy!

Leila

Home Made Nut Butters with Added Protein - Great for Low Carb Diets

Protein-Packed Nut Butter 

This is a cool recipe. This protein-enriched nut butter resists that oily separation, that can be messy and annoying, even when stored at room temperature. Nuts stay fresher longer when kept in the refrigerator however, so I recommend doing that.

This recipe uses no unhealthy hydrogenated fats or starches, which are usually used in commercial peanut butters to prevent separation. You can tweak the recipe to reflect your tastes. If you add the xylitol, you have a sugar-free nut butter (most peanut butters contain sugar too).

Try this recipe if you are eating a low-carb, low sugar diet, or high protein diet. If you are a vegetarian or vegan, using a vegetarian or vegan protein powder, will immensely enhance your needed protein consumption.


PROTEIN-PACKED NUT BUTTER RECIPE:

Difficulty level: Easy


1 1/3 c. Fresh roasted nut butter of choice (almond, cashew, peanut...)
1/2 c. Unflavored, unsweetened protein powder of choice
1/4 t. Powdered BioSalt (recipe on this blog), to taste
1 T. Powdered xylitol, optional
1/2 c. Coarsely ground roasted nuts, optional


Method:

In a seed or coffee mill, grind together the BioSalt and xylitol to make a fine powder. You may add some of the protein powder to this,
to make grinding easier. (A Krupps Seed mill is the best.)

In a food processor, place the room temperature nut butter, protein powder, and xylitol/BioSalt mixture. Process to blend well. Taste for salt and adjust if needed.

Blend the mixture until it makes a smooth paste.

If you like a chunky-style nut butter, add the coarsely ground nuts of choice and pulse the food processor to just mix in.

Transfer to a container with an air-tight lid and store until needed.


Variation:

In the finished nut butter, you can swirl in 1/2 cup commercially prepared xylitol-sweetened jam or jelly. Do not use a raw jam or freezer jam, or it will spoil. Grape jelly would be good, for example.


Note: 

You could add a touch of GOLDEN OIL (recipe on this blog), if the mixture seems a bit too thick. It will make the fat content of the nut butter even healthier.

Ruby Red Raw Beet & Apple Salad - Nourishing for your body

Raw Beet & Apple Salad

My mom used to make this for us when I was little, using beets from our garden. The sweet crisp apple compliments the earthy taste of the beet beautifully, and the lemon brings it all together.

This is a refreshing, detoxifying salad. Besides being high in fiber, the beets are known to be a blood and liver cleanser. A Dr. friend of mine recommends eating a raw beet a day for a week to cleanse and nourish the body. This is a delicious way to do that. And you know what they say about apples...



RAW BEET & APPLE SALAD Recipe:

1 large raw beet, grated
4 medium apples, cored and grated
zest of 1/2 organic lemon, optional
1/2 organic lemon, juiced


Method:

Mix the raw shredded beet and apples together. It should be about equal parts beet to apple.
Add the lemon zest, if using and fresh lemon juice. Toss well to mix.
Taste the salad, it should be a little tangy from the lemon juice, add more if its not.
Eat immediately or chill. This salad lasts a few days in the refrigerator.


Enjoy,

Leila

The Best Agave Nectar Ever - Recipe with a new lower sugar content!

The Best Agave Nectar (Lower Carb - Vegan - Gluten Free)

This is my amazing mother's creation. We have been using agave this way for years now and it works great. We love this easy formula because the added vegetable glycerine cuts way down on the sugar and carb count of the agave, yet, you still get the delicious taste of the agave shining through. It is a great alternative to using honey, and it doesn't crystallize like honey does.

We like to use this nectar in fruit salads, salad dressings, beverages and smoothies, sauces, desserts, hot cereals, and anywhere else where you want a touch of sweetness.

You may know already that vegetable glycerine is naturally quite sweet, it is also warming in the mouth, and it acts as a natural preservative. Glycerine has been traditionally used to make very gentle herbal tinctures for children, so it is very safe and time tested. This is just a cool new way to use it!



AGAVE NECTAR Recipe:

Difficulty Level: Easy peasy!
Yield: 16 ounces

8 ounces raw organic agave nectar
8 ounces natural vegetable glycerine

Method:

In a clean bowl, mix equal parts agave and glycerine thoroughly.
Pour into suitable bottles with tight fitting lids. Store in a cool, dark place.


Tip: We like to store this blend in a glass jar, and refill a convenient to use squeeze bottle from that.



Enjoy,

Leila

Stevia Glycerite Recipe (Now brand copy-cat)

Stevia Glycerite (Now brand copy-cat recipe)



This is an awesome recipe - and so easy!

Stevia glycerite is a kitchen staple you will use all the time. Our whole family has used liquid stevia glycerite for years. I have also recommended it to many of my clients and friends, as a natural sugar substitute. For along time, our family purchased +Now brand stevia glycerite from the health food store. It is a bit expensive, so we researched a way to make our own. We found nothing online to help us, so a few years ago, we experimented and created this reliable formula, which we are now very excited to share with you!

This is a very valuable formula and it will save you a lot of money. The vegetable glycerine in this formula is a natural preservative, so no additional preservatives are needed. It is shelf stable too. We like to make up a larger batch and put it into squeeze bottles, old (washed) Now brand stevia glycerite bottles, or dark amber glass bottles with droppers.

We like to use this to sweeten smoothies, protein drinks, herbal teas, and other beverages. You only need about 3 to 4 drops to sweeten a large mug of herbal tea. I will use a little to sweeten applesauce, other fruit sauces and jams. There are lots of creative ways to use this healthy sugar alternative. It is also great to extend the sweetening power of other sugar-free sweeteners like xylitol or erythritol, or use to cut down on sugar sweeteners used like raw agave nectar, raw honey, maple syrup, and evaporated cane juice...We do not recommend using this alone in baked goods, as it does not give the necessary structure that sugar does.


STEVIA GLYCERITE Recipe:

4 C. natural vegetable glycerine, divided
1 C. purified or distilled water
150 grams 90% stevia powder (a white stevioside powder at 90% concentration)


Method:

Pour 2 cups of the glycerine and 1 cup water into a tall pot. Blend together well.
Add the 90% stevia powder while whisking with a wire whisk, to blend well.
Cook the mixture on high heat while whisking vigorously and constantly until it comes to a full boil.
Continue whisking vigorously while boiling for 1 full minute, then turn off  the heat.
Continue whisking vigorously for 5 full minutes.
Allow to cool, whisking occasionally.
When cooled, blend in the last 2 cups vegetable glycerine. Mix together well.
When it is completely cooled, package into air-tight bottles, and store in a cool, dark place.


Tip: This recipe easily doubles.


Note: Stevia leaves are an herb that is naturally very sweet, yet completely sugar-free. Stevioside powder is a concentrated and purified form of the stevia leaf. Very small amounts are needed to sweeten foods and beverages. it is a very good low-carb, sugar-free alternative for those who are concerned about their health.

Stevia leaf - the source for stevioside powder

Stevioside powder

Now brand stevia glycerite (Now you don't need to buy it anymore!)

Enjoy!

Leila

Addicting Spinach Cucumber Salad

Spinach Cucumber Salad (Sugar-Free, Gluten-Free)

Spinach

My mom made this delicious and healthy salad for us all the time when I was growing up. I remember planting a spinach patch next to our chives just for this salad. I'd go outside and check the growing spinach to check to see if there was enough to make this salad yet. Good thing spinach grows fast. We would pinch off the outside leaves, allowing for the continued growth of the plant. We would then snip off a few fresh chives and mince them up.

We always made this dressing (recipe below) for this salad. It is perfect. This recipe would make a meal for the two of us. If you use it as a side, it will serve at least 4.



SPINACH CUCUMBER SALAD Recipe:

1 large bunch spinach, washed and dried, destemmed
1 medium cucumber, peeled and sliced thin

DRESSING:

1/2 plain yogurt
1/4 c. mayonnaise
2 T. olive oil
1 to 2 T. fresh squeezed lemon juice
1/4 c. fresh chives, minced
1 T. fresh dill weed, minced
1/2 t. xylitol
onion salt, to taste
dash garlic powder
fresh ground black pepper, to taste


Method:

Mix the dressing ingredients to taste.

The dressing should have a nice tang and have enough onion salt added so that it isn't flat tasting.

Toss the dressing with the prepared spinach and cucumber and serve immediately.


Options:

You can use frozen minced chives. I harvest chives from my herb garden in the summer and mince them up and freeze them in a zip-lock bag. Then they are ready for me year-round.

You can add 2 to 3 T. finely minced scallion tops (the green part) for the chives.

You can substitute about 1 T. dried dill weed for the fresh dill weed, to taste.


Enjoy!

Leila

Cucumber