Carob Milk and Homemade Almond Milk

I've been drinking unsweetened almond milk since I've gone on this diet, using it every day in my breakfast porridge, in smoothies, creamed spinach, and what-have-you. I love the stuff, so much that I'm starting to experiment with making my own. I thought it would take some working out to get it right, but it's amazingly simple to make. Here's how:

Soak 1 part raw almonds in water overnight, just as you would dried beans.
Rinse almonds and place in blender (I used an immersion blender, so I put them in a tall glass)
Add 3 parts water
Blend for a minute or two
Drain the milk with a fine sieve - all the recipes I've seen have said to use cheesecloth or a "nut milk bag," but I had neither and this worked fine for me. I just made sure to press out the excess milk from the pulp with the back of a spoon.

And that's it! Most recipes will call for a date or some sweetener, but that's completely optional and is only there for the taste. You could add some stevia or xylitol if you wanted, but I just kept mine plain. You'll be left with the pulp of the almonds once you're finished, and I'm currently working on what I'll be doing with mine. I mixed a small into my porridge this morning, which was alright, but I'm going to try some more interesting recipes with it.



As for the almond milk - you can drink it as is, but being unsweetened it won't taste too great. I've gotten really into having nice cold glasses of carob milk. I can't stop, really. I just fill up a glass with the milk and vigorously stir a few teaspoons of unsweetened carob powder into it. The carob powder is naturally kind of sweet, so unlike chocolate you won't need to add any sweetener.