This blog post is also available in German.
Want to save on packaging? Produce less waste? Or just know exactly what’s in the products you consume? Have you ever thought about making certain foods yourself, such as plantbased milk? It`s super easy and doesn`t require a lot of effort. This week I’ve already told you how you can make vegan yoghurt at home. But even homemade plantbased milk, e.g. from almonds, is a child’s play. I’ll tell you how that works today. All you need is a good blender and a cotton cloth. You don’t own a blender? No problem, then I have a super easy 5-minute method for you as well. So if homemade almond milk is on your to-do list, now is the time to finally give it a try.
Why you should make your own almond or plantbased milk?
Why homemade plantbased milk? There are different reasons for this, depending on your own ideology. Among other things, you always know exactly what`s in your plantbased milk. Additives, preservatives and other unnecessary ingredients are no longer an issue. In addition, there is the problematic of waste. If you make your own plantbased milk, then the packaging waste of the packs you buy is eliminated. The latter one is my number one reason, why I want to make my own plantbased milk. By the way, you can process your homemade plantbased milk into yoghurt as well. Like that you save twice on packaging material.
You should consider the following with homemade plantbased milk. Healthy additives from industrially manufactured products, such as calcium and vitamin B12, will be missing in your homemade milk. It`s therefore essential to ensure sufficient intake from other sources. Furthermore, homemade plantbased milk is not as long-lasting as the storebought ones. According to my knowledge, it should be used up within 3 days.
Homemade plantbased milk from almonds – What is the ecological footprint?
The sustainability of almonds has recently been increasingly questioned. Justifiably, as they are similar to avocados. The problem lies in the high water consumption. One kilogram of almonds requires about 10,000 litres of water. Unfortunately, an organic seal doesn`t change anything. 80% of the almonds on the market are imported from the US, California to be precise. European almonds often come from Spain. Both relatively dry areas. You can find an interesting blog post about this topic here.
In addition there`s the bee problem. Almond blossoms need bees for pollination and in the case of huge monocultures, many bees. The reality in California is that these bees have to be transported in huge quantities to the almond plantations. This is stressful and many bees die. Some people have therefore already started to describe almond milk as non-vegan, as bee transport is equated with mass cattle transport. This doesn`t seem to be the case in Europe, but European almond production only makes 20% of worldwide production. If you want to dive deeper into this topic you should watch the documentary More than Honey.
Almond milk is therefore certainly not the most sustainable choice amongst plantbased alternatives, which is why it`s advisable to limit consumption and choose a product that is as regional as possible. So I advise do go for European almonds if you`re from the Europe and not drink galeons of almonds milk on a regular basis. I consume like one liter once a month or every two months.
More sustainable plant milk alternatives
Maybe you’re wondering which is the most sustainable option now? In principle, the more local the ingredients, the more sustainable the homemade plantbased milk will be. In our latitude, these are mainly oat milk, hazelnut milk and hemp milk. Depending on the origin of the soy, it might be a sustainable option as well. You can always use one of these ingredients instead of almonds. By the way you can find a delicious recipe for hazelnut milk in my free ebook. At the moment I`m also developing recipes for the other types of milk.
Homemade plantbased milk from almonds with my 10 minute method
What motivates you to do something yourself? For me it`s the following aspects, something is simple, fast and prepared without many ingredients. From my point of view it`s the same with homemade food. We are all working, have children, are studying or are otherwise busy. Nobody wants to stand in the kitchen for hours to make yoghurt, cheese, milk and co. themselves. That’s why I’m an advocate of fast methods. And that’s exactly why you can prepare this homemade plantbased milk from almonds within 10 minutes.
On the Internet you often find the statement that you should soak the nuts for several hours. This makes them easier to mix in a blender. However, I`ve found that soaking isn`t absolutely necessary. A good blender will grind the nuts withoutyou needing to soak them. Therefore I`ve gone over to process the nuts immediately.
A little zero-waste tip on the side: Don’t throw away the remaining nut cake. You can use it like ground nuts for baking or bliss balls. For example, this crumble cake or this cherry pie. It`s also suitable for freezing.
The 5 minute method without a blender
You don’t have a blender? No problem, homemade plantbased milk from almonds works just as well without blender. Simply use almond butter instead of fresh almonds. Mix a little of it with water and you have your almond milk.
Now here’s the exact recipe for the homemade plantbased milk from almonds and in the future I’ll certainly share other milk alternatives with you. It’s best if you just write me where you need help, or what you would like to do yourself, but have trouble. Otherwise you can also sign up for my newsletter, then we can communicate more personally with each other and you can contact me directly via email.
I would also like to know if you would like me to get deeper into the topic almonds and sustainability? Let me know in the comments down below.
Read you soon
Sarah
Homemade plantbased milk from almonds
Equipment
- blender (optional)
Ingredients
- 160 g almonds organic
- 350 ml water
- 3-4 dates organic
Instructions
- Pit the dates and put all ingredients into a blender. Mix thoroughly for approx. 2 minutes until the almonds are completely crushed.
- Filter the almond milk through a cotton cloth into a container. Wring out the almond cake well at the end to really collect as much liquid as possible.
- Pour the almond milk into a clean bottle and use within 3 days. Do not forget to store in the refrigerator!