I was LOVING my homemade pecan milk last night and had to share how simple and lovely making your own nutmilks can be. These can be made with most any nut, seed, and sweetener to fit any food sensitivities you have as well as to provide a variety of flavors and nutrient profiles.
Nut milks are great for cereals, smoothies, or hot chocolate!
I’m also including a basic granola recipe. Granolas can be heavy on the carbs and sugars and those of you out there who are gluten free know how very expensive a certified “gluten-free” granola can be!
Its so easy to make your own and save some money! Both of the recipes use basic liquid to solid ratios and you can choose your ingredients.
NUTMILKS
The nutmilk I made yesterday was made from pecans and used apple juice as a sweetener. The basic 1:3 solid to liquid ratio makes 4 cups of nut milk
- Start with one cup of nuts, soak for 8-12 hours. This can be overnight or during the day when you’re at work; whatever is easiest with your schedule at that time.
- Drain and rinse the nuts
- Blend with either:
- 3 cups of water and a solid or concentrated sweetener (like sugar, xylitol, honey, or maple syrup to taste, up to 2 Tbsp I find is plenty)
- OR 2 cups of water and 1 cup of juice or fruit puree (such as apple or pear)
- Add a dash of vanilla if you want!
In our house “juice” is actually whole fruit pureed with water. I find that peach puree make a nice sweetener for nutmilks or granola.
I prefer not to strain the milk because I like the body of the pureed nuts and want to get as much protein as I can from the solids. Without straining, the solids can separate some, so it needs to be shaken well before serving. The nutmilk will last for up to a week in the refrigerator.
I have added chia seeds in the past to nutmilks, it makes the milk slightly thicker and you probably need to add more water. Right now, I just keep my “chia seed gel” separate and add it to smoothies or on granola.
- Chia seed gel is 1 Tbsp seeds mixed with 4 oz (1/2 cup) water. It forms a thick gel and can be stored in the fridge for about 5 days.
GRANOLA
Granolas are a basic 4:1 solid to liquid ratio with an additional 3 Tbsp of oil. Any spices, dried fruits, or nuts added are all optional and based on your personal preferences or sensitivities. Once you have the basic ratio down- you can get creative!
Preheat your oven to 325 degrees
- Start with 4 cups of rolled grains- GF oats, quinoa flakes or buckwheat flakes (harder to find) for those who are gluten-free or regular oats, spelt, rye, barley, triticale, or wheat flakes for those who are not.
- 1 tsp of flavoring : cinnamon, vanilla (add this to liquid ingredients), ground ginger, etc
- 1/4 tsp salt
- Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl
Here is where the 1 cup liquids comes in:
- 1/3 cup sweetener (sugar, date sugar, rice syrup, honey, agave, molasses, fruit puree)
- 1/3 cup liquid (juice, fruit puree, maple syrup, barley malt, molasses)
- 1/3 cup water. If you are using a dry sweetener such as cane or date sugar, you will need to add slightly more water, up to about 1/3 cup. To keep the sugars to a minimum, I use about 1/3 cup water, 1/2 cup apple juice or fruit puree and make up the rest (about 2 Tbsp) with additional water and/or a touch of maple syrup or sorghum syrup.
- 3 Tbsp oil (almond, walnut, hazelnut, sunflower, etc…)
- Combine wet ingredients (sweeteners and oil)
- When using a dry sweetener, you will need to mix the liquids and sweeteners together and bring them to a boil in a small saucepan on the stove. When using fruit purees or all liquid sweeteners and water, you don’t need to heat, just mix well.
- Add liquid ingredients to dry and mix well to coat all the flakes.
To bake:
- Spread mixture evenly on a greased baking sheet.
- Bake for 30 minutes, until lightly browned, stirring every 10 minutes
After baking, add up to 1 cup of dried fruits and up to 1/2 cup nuts and seeds.
[...] Walnuts, Pecans, Almonds. This is my spot for the whole, raw nuts I soak and roast for snacking, use in smoothies, oatmeal, or to make homemade nutmilk with. [...]