Five years ago, I loved milk. I put it in my coffee, cereal and even drank it straight. Although, I could never drink milk on an empty stomach and most of the time, I would become nauseous and in pain after consuming dairy products. Usually, I just ignored these symptoms. I was obsessed with milk, cheese and ice cream and those things were worth a little discomfort (or so I thought!)
I didn’t realize how negatively dairy was affecting me until I cut it out of my diet completely. Once I stopped consuming dairy products, I felt much less bloated and rarely experienced an upset stomach. My acne cleared up and my skin looked better than it had in 10 years.
Even though I gave up dairy products altogether, I didn’t want to deprive myself of the foods I loved. I did some research and discovered nut & plant based “milk”.
I began with coconut milk which then expanded to almond and cashew milk. Each plant based milk has a unique flavor and consistency; I like to use them each for different things.
Coconut milk is great to use in cooking/baking, especially for more savory dishes. It is generally a little thicker than other plant based milks and in my opinion, has the closest flavor to cows milk. I buy unsweetened coconut milk so there is no sweetness to it. I love to use coconut milk when making pesto, nut cheeses or other creamy sauces.
Almond milk is a great milk alternative and is one of the more popular nut milks. Many people use almond milk in their coffee but personally, I prefer cashew milk.
Over the past few months, cashew milk has definitely become my favorite plant based milks. Cashew milk has a delicious creamy flavor and is especially tasty in matcha lattes, coffee and tea.
A few weeks ago, I started making my own organic cashew milk and I was so surprised at how easy it was.
How to make cashew milk:
-Soak cashews overnight (one full mason jar)
-Rinse cashews and blend with water (2-2.5 mason jars of water. Also, feel free to add dates or vanilla to the mix at this point!)
-Strain the mixture using a nut milk bag, gently squeezing out the water
-Once you have separated the pulp, remove it from your nut bag and put it into a separate container (you can use the pulp to make tasty treats later!)
-Rinse the nut milk bag and strain the cashew milk one more time
-Store in an airtight container (I like to use mason jars…obviously ;))
