Laury Makes Nut Milk

(skip to the bottom for the recipe if you want to avoid all my jibber-jabber on milk, why it’s bad, why I drank it, why I didn’t, yada- yada- yada.)

I have no idea why I gave up drinking nut milk the past few years…maybe it was the processing, or I got sick of the taste…no clue! All I know, is that back in 2003 I gave up using cow’s milk in my cereal, and sometime in these past few years I started buying the local organic stuff again. However, things have all changed since I got my Vita-mix

When I was a ~~uneducated~~ young vegetarian (age 12 on) , I drank Soy Milk. (I can get into the reasons I became a veg so young later….I will say it was for mostly the wrong reasons) Then, all those studies came out about how soy was bad, and so on and so on….so, by the time I was 17, I was pretty much an ovo-lacto-pollo-pese veg anyway, so I went back to skim milk for a few years….

A more informed decision. Why I considered giving up cow’s milk the second time:

When I was 19, I worked for an amazing doctor; he made this statement one day that had me considering switching from Cow’s Milk (again):

“We’re drinking milk that has been pasteurized, homogenized, and from another species.” He also stated how it wasn’t even that great of a source of calcium, something to do with the synthetic vitamin D.

I thought, wow…that’s pretty gross.

Why I finally made the switch (after further research and listening to my own body):

I had a slight lactose sensitivity
It goes against nature (drinking the milk meant for the babies of another species!)
Milk from cow is simply not designed for a human
Drugs, antibiotics, forced feeding, and specialized (unnatural) breeding of cows

Mad Cow’s Disease broke out around 2005(?) in the U.S.

I didn’t know (5 years ago) THAT much about bovine growth hormone, or Mad Cow’s disease; all I knew was that it was bad. That it had something to do with the hormones given to cows, and I’m not even sure if I knew how much it had to do with the unnatural, inhumane treatment of factory cows.

I am asking myself right now, as I am typing this, why the hank did I ever go back to cow’s milk AGAIN!?

It may of been I started to become VERY conscious of ALL processed foods…anything that wasn’t from nature. Local, organic milk became more readily available (it was non-existent, hard to find or extremely expensive in years prior). Plus, I think I started to get sick of the taste if the store bought nut milk So, I switched back.

The funny thing is, at first, I went back to skim—and knowing all I know about nutrition, vitamins, and all…and even back to the reasons I gave up milk the FIRST time; and further education since, you would think I’s have more sense!

Vitamin D is a fat soluble vitamin. How do you expect to absorb calcium, and vitamin D when you are drinking SKIM milk?!?!? So I switched to 1%.

Present Day:

Thinking back to all the reasons I ever gave up milk…in addition to the further education I have on the topic…I think I am done with it for good. I can compare my organic milk drinking to someone with a cholesterol problem that eats cheesesteaks; they know it isn’t great for them, but they kind of put the reasons in the back of their mind, and next time they go to the deli they order a chicken-cheesesteak, thinking it’s better for them, but knowing all that cheese, all that bread and the questionable chicken may not be the best, but it’s better than the alternate. I always knew in the back of my head that milk was unnatural…but the occasional splash in my cereal, hormone-free, and organic, made me feel a little better.

Reasons To Chuck the Milk:

It’s the number 1 allergen food in this country–well documented as a cause in diarrhea, cramps, bloating, gas, gastrointestinal bleeding, iron-deficiency anemia, acne, skin rashes, & atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries).

rBGH, rBST, Bovine Growth Hormone–FDA labeling is “suggested” but not “required.” Even though the FDA admits that cows injected with rBGH could suffer from increased udder infections (mastitis), severe reproductive problems, digestive disorders, foot and leg ailments, and persistent sores and lacerations.

Correlation between Cow’s Milk & Diabetes-both childhoodand adult onset diabetes are rarestin the world where a plant-based diets are prevelant. Researchers speculate that an early introductions of cow’s milk may cause an immune reaction in the body.

Cancer- The American Cancer Society points out that “about one-third of the 500,000 cancer deaths that occur in the United States each year is due to dietary factors.” Profound studies have been done showing how casein, which makes up 85% of cows milk, promoted cancer in all stages of it’s development

Link to Autism?–Studies show that a reduction in gluten and dairy have improved behavior, and in some cases reversed the symptoms of autism.

Blood, Puss, Pesticides? If you are a mother who has breastfed, you know how important it is to watch your diet, and everything you put into your body when breastfeeding your child.Any lactating mammal excretes toxins through her milk. This includes antibiotics, pesticides, chemicals and hormones. Cows milk also excretes blood and pus!!

Other health problem milk consumption are linked to are Crohn’s disease, Obesity, Heart Disease, Osteoporosis, Ear Infections constipation,headaches, asthma, intestinal bleeding, prostate problems and Acne.

* No Idea why my fonts and format are so screwy today…but it’s quite annoying * (SCREAM!) Cutting and pasting from “word” to blogger spells MAJOR trouble.

~~this will not go away~~

so I have been searching online for a good recipe…found a few different ones..and the one I used was similar to Gena’s from Choosing Raw…..

*****************************************************************************

so….

I FINALLY made my own Almond Milk!

Ye Yeah =)

Ingredients:

1 1/2 Cups Almonds

5-6 Pitted Dates (or your fav sweetener)

1 Teaspoon Vanilla (if you want that flavor)

6 Cups Filtered Water

Blender (preferably Vita-mix)

Cheese cloth

I soaked my almonds overnight...although a few

hours is OK if you don't have time (the longer the better

if using a regular blender)

Drain and place the above ingredients in the blender.

If using a Vitamix, place the tamper in the center, start on

Variable I,

then quickly move up to

High level 10 and blend for a minute or so.

Then, strain the milk through a cheese cloth into a container

….to get rid of all the icky stuff (I like my milk smooth)

And Voila!

Delish!!!

***

But not without making a bit of a mess

…that wasn’t the worst of it.

***

Happy Sunday!

I am off to do massive amounts of cleaning –and I have NO idea where to start…where do I put STUFF??? I need to utilize my space better, and I am HORRIBLE at that…any personal organizers wanna come help???? I pay in Almond Milk and Cookies!??

Plz. Thnx.

Let’s see if I get it done…

{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }

1 thehealthyapron November 23, 2010 at 1:42 pm

How many cups of almond milk can you get from this mix!! Looks like a great recipe! will be trying it!

2 laury November 23, 2010 at 4:53 pm: I am not sure exactly how many cups..I think this recipe made a mason jar and about a quarter…if you use a nut milk bag

https://shopopensky.com/thefitnessdish/buy/excalibur-nut-milk-bag

you will get more, a cheesecloth, a little less unless you manage to squeeze it out!

3 Leila @ Spinach and Skittles February 6, 2011 at 3:30 pm

I’m lactose intolerant, (although that doesn’t stop me from popping lactaid and devouring cheese…), and I cannot stand the taste of milk. Bleh! I always buy Almond Breeze Unsweetened Vanilla – but I want to try making this! I don’t have a vitamix, do you think a food processor would work better than my cheapie Oyster blender?
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