Almond Milk

YUM!  Forget cereal, this has become my go-to snack and dessert when I am home!  Until I started making almond milk routinely, I never realized how easy and delicious this is.  I started making this at home because I noticed that almond milk from the store has different gums and flavoring additives.  The most basic recipe is to blend the soaked almonds with water and strain it, but I really enjoy a jazzed up version.  I add oatmeal for a little thickness and texture, dates for sweetness, and cinnamon/vanilla/salt for flavor. It requires a bit of pre-planning since you have to soak the almonds, but other than that, it's quick.  I also decided to buy a mesh bag to make it easier, but cheesecloth works fine if that is what you have.

Ingredients

1 cup raw almonds

1/2 tbsp oatmeal

1-2 Mehjood dates

4 cups water

pinch sea salt

pinch cinnamon

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions

1.  In a medium bowl, soak the almonds, oatmeal, and dates in water overnight.

2.  The next day: Drain the almonds, oatmeal, and dates.  Place them in a blender with the remaining ingredients.  Blend until it looks uniform and frothy.

3.  Place a cheese cloth or mesh bag inside a large bowl- make sure the edges hang over the sides of the bowl so you can gather them up.  Pour the almond milk into the cheese cloth/mesh bag that is lining the bowl.  Gather the cheese cloth/mesh bag and squeeze out as much of the almond milk as possible.

4.  Keep in fridge up to 5 days in glass bottles.