Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Homemade Almond Milk, Flavored Almond Milk, and Almond Flour

Almond Milk (makes 1 quart)
   We love Almond milk! We are (mostly) dairy free, so we love that almonds are naturally a good source of calcium. Of course remember that almonds are high in omega 6s so don't go too ape-y crazy on the stuff! Please remember to soak your almonds over night and rinse well before making almond milk. Almonds contain toxic enzyme inhibitors and can cause digestive issues, soaking them mostly eliminates this issue. In addition soaking almonds also makes them taste better, makes them easier to digest, better absorption of nutrition from them, increases enzyme activity, and soaking starts the sprouting process which bumps up their nutritional value considerably. So always soak your nuts!!
    If you wish you may remove the skins from the almonds first. These naked almonds are called "blanched." Its really easy to do after they have been soaked, just pinch the almond between your thumb and forefinger and with a snapping motion the seed pops right out of the skin. I like to do it this way because I think the milk tastes better and I like the flour made from the pulp better with out skins.


2 cups raw almonds, soaked over night (discard soaking water and rinse nuts well)
4 cups filtered water

Place almonds and water in blender. Blend well. I like to leave the blender on for at least a minute. Once the almonds are all blended well strain through a nut milky bag, several layers of cheese cloth, or a muslin cheese making bag (I use a muslin bag). Make sure to squeeze out as much of the liquid as possible. Add filtered water to make 4 cups (I usually have to add about 1/4c)

Flavored Almond Milk
Vanilla-
1-2 Tbs Honey (optional)
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
      
        OR
Chocolate-
1-2 Tbs Honey (optional)
6T unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cinnamon

   After making your fresh Almond milk give yourself a big pat on the back. After your done doing that rinse your blender and pour the almond milk back into the blender. Add desired ingredients and blend. Voila!!

Almond Flour (yields approx 2 cups)
After  straining your almond puree you will be left with "almond pulp". Spread out the pulp on a cookie sheet and place in an oven on its lowest setting (mine says WARM). Leave in the oven for 12-24 hrs until completely dry. Then grind dried pulp in a food processor, coffee grinder, or blender.

Monday, January 30, 2012

Blueberry Coconut Milk Ice Cream

1 1/2 cups homemade coconut milk (or you can use 1 can of canned coconut milk)
1c of thawed frozen blueberries (you can use fresh too)
1-2 TBS of maple syrup to sweeten to taste (yes taste it and add more 1 Tbs at a time till you like it).
1 Gallon size freezer bag, filled 1/2 full of ice cubes
1 cup rock salt
1 quart size freezer bag
Mix frist 3 ingredients in a large bowl and then pour mixture into a quart baggie and seal well, place the quart baggie into a gallon baggie (fill gallon baggie about half way with ice and 1 cup rock salt first) and then shaaaaaaaaaake until the mixture solidifies (about 5 minutes is all it took). Oh and wear your winter gloves because you will look cool because its really cold!

Paleo Apple Crisp with Coconut Milk Whipped Cream



serves 5
Apple filling:
5 Apples (Pears work well too)
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
2 Tbs Honey (optional)
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground ginger

Crisp Topping:
1 1/2 cups almond meal/flour
1/2 c coconut flakes
2 Tbs honey
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup melted coconut oil

Whipped Topping:
1 can chilled coconut milk

Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 350F
peel and slice apples (or pears) and toss with blueberries in a 1 qrt oven save dish
drizzle 2T honey across the fruit and sprinkle with cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger
in a separate bowl mix together almond flour, coconut flakes and cinnamon, then add in coconut oil and honey and mix well. Top fruit with crisp mixture. Cover with foil and bake for 30min, uncover and bake an additional 30min until fruit mixture is gooey and bubbling around the edges
While crisp is baking take scoop cream out of the chilled coconut milk. leave the coconut water in the can (you can drink this later, but we will not be using this in the recipe). whip the coconut cream with a whisk or an electric beater until stiff. You may sweeten the whipped cream with a little honey if you wish (and whip again) but I don't think it needs any sweetener. Top each serving with a dollop of whipped cream and a sprinkle of Cinnamon and enjoy!