Vitamix Homemade Almond Milk

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I love my Vitamix. It lets me do so much more than my previous blenders. My latest love has been homemade almond milk. I am not lactose intolerant. But with so much news going around to reduce dairy intake, I decided to swap the morning milk with almond milk. I cannot skip having a good portion of my homemade yogurt, so this was a satisfactory swap given all the benefits of almond milk.

Homemade unsweetened almond milk is low is calories, very high in unsaturated fats and contains no cholesterol making it great for healthy heart. Almonds also reduce post meal blood sugar spikes making it beneficial for diabetes. It has very high ranges of essential vitamins, minerals and antioxidants when compared to regular milk. A cup of unsweetened almond milk has only 40 calories as compared to reduced fat milk that has 122 calories and 15% saturated fats. The only thing cow milk offers more is protein. A cup of milk packs 8 g of protein as compared to just 1gm in almond milk.

Given the nutritional data, I like to keep a good mix of both dairy and almond milk to get the best of both worlds. I am not a fan of store bought canned or bottled products if they can be made with ease at home. Almond milk is a super simple recipe.

Recipe
1 cup almonds
4 cups water
3-4 pitted dates (optional)

• Soak the almonds overnight.
• In the morning blend the soaked almonds, 4 cups of water, dates (if you want sweetened) on high fore 1-2 minutes.
• Store if refrigerator for 3-4 days.

I do not peel my almonds as Vitamix purees everything so well that I don't see a point to give away on the nutrition from the almond peels. Also, I do not bother to strain using a nut milk bad. But you may for a silky smooth texture. Enjoy it in smoothies or just a plain glass full of it.