Amazing health benefits of almonds .

Happyflowerlady

Happyflowerlady

Vagabond Flowerchild
Location
Northern Alabama
Although I still use milk and milk products, I am also starting to make my own fresh almond milk, and it is one of those things that seems to grow on you. At first, I bought some from the store just to try it out. I bought the plain unsweetened variety, because it has almost no calories, and very few carbs. Plus almond milk has lots of vitamins and minerals; so the addition of almond milk seemed like a great plan.
Well, it was a great plan; but there was one huge flaw in my planning.......the stuff tasted awful ! Okay, maybe not awful, as much as it seemed watery and tasteless.
Then my daughter got me a Vitamix for Mother's Day, and one of the recipe suggestions was for making almond or coconut milk.
When we went to Sam's club, I got a bag of almonds, soaked some overnight, and the next day I blended the daylights out of them in the Vitamix, just like the instructions said to do.
This resulted in a much creamier almond milk, and after that, I experimented by adding whey protein powder (almond milk is lower in whole protein than dairy milk), and also sweetening it a little bit more with some Splenda
I tried making chocolate almond milk, and vanilla almond milk, and also using it in smoothies and even some in my coffee.
While I do still prefer cream in my coffee, over-all, I am pleased with how the almond milk turns out, and how simple it is to make it fresh.
Aside from the protein content, almond milk is high in calcium, magnesium, and has over 12 grams of fiber in less than a half of a cup.
Of course, you can also get the benefit from all of these nutrients just from eating the almonds; but if you are looking for a low-calorie, low-carb milk substitute, almond milk is worth giving a try.

https://www.organicfacts.net/health-benefits/seed-and-nut/health-benefits-of-almonds.html
 

dpwspringer said:
You might want to do a little research on Splenda versus some other no/low calorie sweeteners, like stevia.
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I think that most of the sugar substitutes, including stevia, have been found to be pretty well treated using chemicals, and they are now saying that even stevia, which comes from a perfectly fine plant, is not good to use.
This is one of those quandaries, where each manufacturer denigrates the other company's product. No matter what kind of sweetener a person uses, natural (like honey) or artificial (sugar included), there are researchers who claim that sweetener is bad for us.
I use a variety of sweeteners, depending on what I want to sweeten. On my yogurt, I like a bit of sorghum, in tea or coffee, I usually use either splenda or plain saccharine, and sometimes, I use honey, or sweet fruit juice as a sweetener. It just depends.
What I have been doing, is trying not to use much of any kind of sweetener, natural, artificial, or otherwise. I think that having a spoon of splenda in my morning coffee is much different than drinking a six-pack of diet pop every day; so I allow it, just regulated.
 

I've used almond milk before on corn flakes, and it's pretty good, but I prefer unsweetened organic rice milk. Too lazy to make my own, nice that your daughter gave you a Vitamix! Almonds are very good for you, we buy them from Costco roasted with sea salt and eat them plain for a snack often. They say raw are most nutritious, but I don't really like any nuts raw.
 
Iam said:
May this ignoramus ask what you do with almond milk besides drink it? Can it be added to - say - coffee?
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I don't know how thick the one that HappyFlowerLady makes is but the one I buy from the store I use in my Fiber One Cereal. I hate milk and almond milk is healthier so I use it. Also less calories than whole milk if you buy the one that's only 30 calories a serving.

Yes, it can be added to coffee and Ive done that sometimes.

Here is what Google says....


Almond milk. Almond milk is made from ground almonds and filtered water. ... Almond milk is lower in calories than other milks, as long as it is unsweetened. It's also free of saturated fat, and it's naturally lactose-free.
 
Happyflowerlady said:
Although I still use milk and milk products, I am also starting to make my own fresh almond milk, and it is one of those things that seems to grow on you. At first, I bought some from the store just to try it out. I bought the plain unsweetened variety, because it has almost no calories, and very few carbs. Plus almond milk has lots of vitamins and minerals; so the addition of almond milk seemed like a great plan.
Well, it was a great plan; but there was one huge flaw in my planning.......the stuff tasted awful ! Okay, maybe not awful, as much as it seemed watery and tasteless.
Then my daughter got me a Vitamix for Mother's Day, and one of the recipe suggestions was for making almond or coconut milk.
When we went to Sam's club, I got a bag of almonds, soaked some overnight, and the next day I blended the daylights out of them in the Vitamix, just like the instructions said to do.
This resulted in a much creamier almond milk, and after that, I experimented by adding whey protein powder (almond milk is lower in whole protein than dairy milk), and also sweetening it a little bit more with some Splenda
I tried making chocolate almond milk, and vanilla almond milk, and also using it in smoothies and even some in my coffee.
While I do still prefer cream in my coffee, over-all, I am pleased with how the almond milk turns out, and how simple it is to make it fresh.
Aside from the protein content, almond milk is high in calcium, magnesium, and has over 12 grams of fiber in less than a half of a cup.
Of course, you can also get the benefit from all of these nutrients just from eating the almonds; but if you are looking for a low-calorie, low-carb milk substitute, almond milk is worth giving a try.

https://www.organicfacts.net/health-benefits/seed-and-nut/health-benefits-of-almonds.html
Click to expand...


Since I only use the almond milk for my cereal, I was thinking of playing around with it and making a healthy frozen treat. Maybe add a banana, peanut butter, etc. I wouldn't add much liquid, just enough to mix the almonds.

How do you think this would freeze, HappyFlowerLady?
 
I am thinking of making plant-based milk again, so I have been looking at the nut milk makers on Amazon. They are having a bog sale for Prime members right now, so there are really good deals on those devices.
I have only ever used my blender to make nut milk, and I gave away my Vitamix to my daughter-in-law when they were out here, so I no longer have that to make almond milk with. (It just got too heavy for me to lift and carry, so I now have a lightweight little Oster blender.)

Has anyone ever used one of the nut milk machines ? It looks like there is a lot less pulp to strain, and the reviews on Youtube seem to say that people really like them.
They come in a lot of sizes, from 20 oz to at least 50 oz. Since I mainly would use it in my coffee or tea, I am thinking of the small size.



IMG_1018.jpeg
 
I had soaked some almonds overnight, so I decided to go ahead and make almond milk with my little Oster blender. After rinsing the soaked almonds, I squeezed them to take off the brown outer skin, leaving just the white inside part.
I used about one cup of almonds and 3/4 quart of filtered water, and blended it all on high speed for 2-3 minutes. When I strained it, there was literally nothing left in the strainer except a little foam !
So, I am not going to bother getting a special device at this time. My next milk is going to be walnut milk, so I am looking forward to seeing how it turns out and how it tastes.
 
I haven’t tried it but I’m wondering if oat milk might be a bit more budget friendly or a combination of nuts and oats.

I’ve noticed that some recipes use a tiny bit of maple syrup as a sweetener. I would probably use SF pancake syrup.

I don’t normally make plant milk at home but it’s nice to have a trick or two up my sleeve in the event of a blizzard or other minor emergency.
 
I was not pleased with the walnut milk. Even after soaking overnight, and then blending really well, it had a lot of pulp, plus the taste was weird. I tried it in my morning coffee, and ended up dumping out the coffee and making another cup with the almond milk instead.
I think that the walnut milk will work when I make fiber cake, so I will use it for that, but not make any more of it. I like walnuts, so if I have them, I will just eat the walnut and not make it into milk.
 
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