Dairy Alternative- Hazelnut Almond Milk

Today I'm going to share with you my new FAVORITE milk alternative recipe. Wait for it...

Hazelnut-Almond Milk

I am not kidding when I say that this is the best thing that has ever happened to my morning coffee. It. Is. Amazing. And more importantly, it got Yoga Baby's seal of approval.

Just check out that side-eye. Stay away from my Hazelnut milk, Mom.

I've been on the dairy-alternative bandwagon for awhile now. I wanted to cut back on the amount of dairy I consume, I'm not too keen on soy products, and buying organic milk can get pretty pricey. So, I came around to almond milk. The stuff that you can buy in stores is OK, but please believe me when I say that it is SO much better homemade.

Almond milk is jam-packed with vitamins and minerals- plus, it has very high levels of antioxidants. It's a great alternative for people who are lactose intolerant, gluten intolerant, vegan, or follow a strict Paleo diet. One drawback I've found is that almond trees are often treated with dangerously high levels of pesticides- so it's especially important to buy organic almond milk, or just skip a step like I did and make it yourself from organic, raw nuts.

Now to the important part: how to make it!

Ingredients:

3/4 cup hazelnuts (raw, unsalted, organic)

1/4 cup almonds (raw, unsalted, organic)

1/2 tsp. sea salt

3-4 pitted medjool dates

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 tsp. vanilla extract 

3-4 cups of filtered water (I used about 3 1/2)

Soak the hazelnuts and almonds in water overnight or for 6-8 hours. 

Pour the nuts, water, and dates into a blender. Blend until all the nuts have been chopped very finely.

Place a cheesecloth/ grain bag/ nut milk bag (you can laugh...my husband still laughs every time I say "nut milk") into a large bowl. Pour the nut mixture into the bag.

You can use a mesh strainer in a pinch, but the milk will end up much thinner and less creamy. Definitely not as good. Trust me on this one.

Now squeeze the hell out of that nut milk bag. The hazelnut/almond meal that remains in the bag should be pretty dry by the time you're done with it. I'm firmly convinced that the very best tasting drops of milk are the last ones you can manage to squeeze out of the bag. 

Rinse out the blender and pour the strained milk back in, add the sea salt, vanilla extract, and cinnamon. Blend to mix it all up, and then you are good to go.

The good stuff.

Enjoy it! The salt helps to keep it a bit longer, but I've found that it goes so quickly in my house that it never has a chance to go bad. I'd say it would be good for up to 5 days or so. 

This hazelnut-almond milk is PERFECT for a cup of coffee or tea. But it's great for a milk alternative in baking, in your cereal, fueling your wild toddler... 

Try it out! Let me know what you think of it! If you have a great dairy alternative milk, feel free to share the recipe! I think that next time I make this, I'll try adding some hemp seeds for some protein.