This is my idea of heaven in a glass. Sweet, refreshing and delicious, a nice treat on a lazy summer weekend morning. Of course you could use store bought almond milk but I suggest trying homemade because most off-the-shelf varieties contain preservatives and stabilizers such as carrageenan, a red seaweed derived thickener. Even the organic brands use this, a vegan alternative to gelatin, but many recent studies have shown that it is inflammatory and linked to a range of gastrointestinal cancers. On a larger scale, the increased farming of this specific red seaweed is invading and ravaging entire colonies of coral reef, which are already severely endangered. The almond milk has an overnight soaking process and requires a few different containers to prepare but it is pretty easy to make once you get the hang of it. I like to add dates for sweetener, and coconut oil as a thickener. This recipe makes 4 cups of almond milk but the yield is easy to increase or decrease with an adjustment of the ingredients. You can use coffee or espresso for the frozen cubes and the amount you make completely comes down to personal preference and the size of your trays. I use 1 cup of coffee per person, which made 6 cubes.
- Almond milk
- 4 cups water
- 1 cup plain almonds (cannot be roasted or salted) soaked overnight
- 4 dates
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- ½-1 teaspoon vanilla (1 teaspoon will impart a very strong flavor so use only ½ teaspoon if you prefer)
- Cubes
- Coffee or espresso frozen in ice cube trays
- Almond milk
- Soak the almonds around 8 hours or overnight in a large bowl full of water. In the morning they should be plump and soft. Blend them on high speed in a blender with the water, dates, coconut oil and vanilla. Strain through a nut milk bag or cheese cloth (see the cheese cloth in sieve contraption I use below). You can freeze the solid bits to use later in baking or smoothies. The milk will stay fresh in the fridge for 2-3 days.
