I have always been intimidated by the idea of making my own almond milk. Soak your almonds for 10 plus hours then you need a cheese cloth to drain it blah blah…no thank you. I know the homemade version would taste better and it won’t have funky addatives. But I knew there had to an easier way to accomplish this.
It was actually funny the way this recipe came about. I picked up these beautiful strawberries from the farmers’ market. They were so pink and vibrant and I knew I needed to create something amazing with them.
Then I remembered those pink “Strawberry Milk” cartons they would serve at summer camp. So I decided to look up the ingredients to see what was actually in it. No surprise here – there are actually no strawberries in the milk!
Milk , Corn Syrup, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Artificial Flavors ,Calcium Carbonate , Potassium Citrate , Sugar , Blue 1 ,Carrageenan , Citric Acid , Red 40 , Salt. Shocker!!
It always blows my mind that trusted facilities and teachers allow their students and children to drink this. And then they expect kids to sit in school all day and learn! I know if I drank that and tried to study for an exam I would have a mental brain fog. I cant imagine what it must be like as a kid.
After the unsuccessful attempt to be inspired by those ingredients I took things into my own hands and decided to make fresh homemade strawberry milk. No cheese cloth or nut soaking required. Literally minutes to prepare and so tasty. And you can make this drink in any flavor you desire! As part of Dig Inns Wellness Series I created this milk in Strawberry flavor since strawberries are local and in season. Dig Inn is one of my favorite lunch spots in NYC. It is a farm-to-counter restaurant serving up real good food and focusing on what is fresh and local.
I also created this milk in “vanilla” flavor so that you can use it as a base and add whatever fruit is fresh in your town. You can even add a teaspoon or two of cocoa powder to make it chocolate flavored! Plus this recipe is a much cheaper alternative to homemade almond milk.
I enjoyed the strawberry milk with Purely Elizabeth’s new Ancient Grain Muesli , which has no added sugar. This really took milk and cereal to a whole new level. Plus, what kid (or adult heheh) would not want to have strawberry milk with their cereal?! And for the little ones who don’t like pink- fear not! Make it blue by adding blueberries instead! I can even imagine this with my Chocolate Overnight Oats – so perfect! I am actually enjoying a hot cup of the vanilla flavor as I write up this blog post late at night. Just goes to show that you can drink this morning and night 🙂
I love how easy it was to whip this together and also that there are actual strawberries in the strawberry milk this time! Since the common thread among my most popular recipes are that they have have minimal ingredients and are easy to create, I tried to continue that trend here. Hope you enjoy it!
Homemade Vanilla Almond Mylk
- 2 1/2 cups of filtered water
- 2-3 tablespoons of raw almond butter
- 3-4 dates (pitted)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Dash cinnamon
- Dash sea salt
In a high speed blender blend all ingredients till smooth. Store in the refrigerator it may separate shake before drinking.
Homemade Strawberry Mylk
- 2 1/2 cups of filtered water
- 2-3 tablespoons of raw almond butter
- 4-6 dates (pitted)
- 2 cups strawberries or 10 medium size strawberries
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Dash sea salt
In a high speed blender blend all ingredients till smooth. Store in the refrigerator it may separate shake before drinking.
