Lactose intolerance at any age is not a problem for a long time. And all thanks to vegetable milk. This is not only a reasonable alternative to cow’s milk, but also an opportunity to diversify your daily diet with health benefits. How to make vegetable milk at home? How and how long is it stored? What dishes can it be added to? Read about all this in our article.
Almond milk
Let’s start with the recipe for almond milk. We wash 200 g of raw almonds well, pour a lot of water and leave it overnight. In the morning, drain the water and steam the swollen kernels with boiling water for 15 minutes — it will be easier to remove the skin. The peeled nuts are transferred to the bowl of a blender, pour 200 ml of filtered water, grind into a pulp. Pour in another 400 ml of filtered water and continue to beat for another 30 seconds. The resulting mass is filtered through a clean linen cloth or gauze in several layers. The almond milk is ready. For sweets, you can add a little honey to taste and a pinch of vanilla. The drink is stored in the refrigerator for no longer than 3 days.
Do not throw away the remaining cake. Dry it properly and use it to make homemade sweets or pate. On the basis of almond milk itself, you can make delicious smoothies, mousses and cocktails for children. It can also be added to homemade cakes instead of regular milk.
Rice milk
Brown rice is most suitable for the recipe of rice milk. It will make the taste of the drink as rich as possible. But you can also take any other variety.
We brown 100 g of rice in a dry frying pan, so that it better reveals the flavor. Fill with water in a glass container so that it completely covers the grains. We soak the rice all night, wash it in the morning and mix it in a blender bowl with 250 ml of filtered water. Beat thoroughly for 2 minutes. The resulting mixture is put on medium heat and, stirring constantly, cook until thickened. Then pour in another 700 ml of water, mix, filter and pour into a jar with a tight lid. Keep the drink in the refrigerator for 3-5 days and shake it before each use.
Rice milk can be drunk in its pure form — it tastes sweet in itself. You can add it to coffee or cook cocoa and hot chocolate on its basis. And this milk makes delicious ruddy pancakes.
Oat milk
You can also make a delicious and quite satisfying drink from oat flakes. Just be sure to choose flakes of the “Hercules” type, which require cooking. Instant flakes are not suitable.
Pour 100 g of dry oatmeal with a liter of cooled boiled water and leave to swell for 10-12 hours. Then we transfer the soaked mass to the bowl of a blender and whisk until a light homogeneous mass is obtained. We pass it through a fine sieve or a clean gauze folded in several layers, then pour it into a container with a tight lid. It is best to keep oat milk in the refrigerator. There it will retain its taste and useful properties for a week.
In the recipe for oat milk, you can add a pinch of nutmeg — then it will acquire a light nutty taste and a subtle aroma. Porridge, mashed potatoes and vegetable cream soups can be prepared with oatmeal milk. Fruit and berry smoothies with his participation are very useful.
Sesame milk
The recipe for cooking sesame milk is designed for very little time and effort. And the result will pleasantly surprise those who like to try new things. Fill 100 g of light sesame seeds with a small amount of water and leave for 2-3 hours. During this time, it is advisable to change the water several times. Mix the soaked seeds with 1-2 tablespoons of honey in a blender bowl, dilute 300 ml of boiling water, thoroughly grind. In the process, pour another 700 ml of hot water and continue to beat until the drink is completely homogeneous. At the end, as usual, we filter it through cheesecloth and pour it into cans. The shelf life of sesame milk in the refrigerator is no longer than 3 days.
Instead of honey, you can sweeten it with maple syrup and vanilla sugar — you will get a richer flavor combination. Sesame milk is suitable for making sauces for fish and seafood dishes. Adherents of a healthy diet add it to light vegetable salads and soups as a dressing.
Walnut milk
Have you ever cooked vegetable milk from walnuts at home? Try it — it is a natural energy drink without any harm to health. Carefully we sort through 200 g of purified kernels, remove the damaged ones to the side. Fill the nuts with water in a ratio of 1:2 and leave them in the refrigerator overnight. In the morning, we drain the water, and pour the kernels into the bowl of a blender. Pour 600 ml of fresh clean water here and whisk everything into a homogeneous mass. We pass it through cheesecloth, if desired, add a little honey to taste and vanilla on the tip of the knife. This drink will retain its valuable properties in a chilled form for 3-4 days.
Those who are actively engaged in sports can prepare a protein shake with milk from walnuts. Oatmeal porridge with this milk will turn out very tasty, especially if you serve it with pieces of bananas or dried berries. Homemade muffin with nut milk will also acquire unusual notes.
Sunflower milk
Ordinary sunflower seeds can find an interesting application — they can be used for the preparation of vegetable milk. A little fry 100 g of peeled seeds in a dry frying pan and grind in a coffee grinder. We take a small handful and grind it no longer than 30 seconds. You do not need to make a paste from seeds. Pour the resulting mass into a blender, pour 400 ml of pure water, add a pinch of vanilla and 1-2 tsp.molasses. Beat everything into a homogeneous mass for 5 minutes. Then we pass the drink through cheesecloth, whisk in a blender for another couple of minutes and filter again. A pinch of ginger, cardamom, cloves or cumin will harmoniously complement it. The finished milk is stored in the refrigerator for 5-6 days.
On the basis of sunflower milk, it is easy to knead a liquid dough with the addition of flour, eggs and sugar. And already from it you can fry pancakes and pancakes for breakfast. Smoothies, smoothies and sauces based on it — just lick your fingers.
Flaxseed milk
Flaxseed milk is famous for its valuable nutritional properties. The lighter the flax seeds, the softer the taste of the finished drink. However, this does not affect the benefits in any way.
And here is the recipe for flaxseed milk. We wash 100 g of raw flax seeds, pour them into a blender, pour 600 ml of filtered water and whisk until a liquid homogeneous gruel is obtained. Filter the drink through several layers of cotton cloth, pour it back into the blender bowl, put 4-5 pitted dates. Whisk for another 2-3 minutes. For a brighter flavor, you can add a pinch of cinnamon, ground cloves or ginger. It is recommended to store flaxseed milk in the refrigerator in a closed container for no longer than 5 days.
If you add to it 2-3 tsp. of apricot seed urbech and jam to taste, you will get an excellent jelly. For making smoothies, the drink is also suitable. Use flaxseed milk instead of cow’s milk in any home baking — it will become tastier and healthier.
Before you stock up on nuts, seeds and cereals, learn more about the benefits and harms of vegetable milk. Some of these products can cause allergic reactions in both children and adults. Otherwise, all these drinks have a beneficial effect on the body and are absorbed better than cow’s milk. And what kind of vegetable milk do you like the most? Share your favorite recipes in the comments.