I know it may seem like a hassle to think about making your own almond milk, ketchup, and vegan sour cream. The nut-based recipes do take some planning, as you have to soak them. However, none of these recipes take more than 10 minutes tops. The recipes that have nuts and need soaking only take a couple minutes to start the soaking. Making things yourself have a lot of benefits. One major benefit is knowing exactly what is put into it; no mystery or ingredients you can barely pronounce-let alone spell! Another benefit is in the long run it ends up being much cheaper. Take almond milk for example; to make a full pitcher, it only takes 1/2 cup of raw, unsalted almonds. From that 1/2 cup, you should get at least 7 cups of almond milk, plus, the pulp you extract-don't throw it out! The pulp you just dehydrate and can use in smoothies, on salads, as an almond flour, for raw bread, etc. I'll give you a few ideas and directions as to how to dehydrate the pulp at the end of the recipe. The sour cream has two recipes, one with tofu and one with cashews. Now, I personally favor the cashew recipe in terms of consistency, but since it's made from cashews, I like to use it more sparingly. Day to day, I use the tofu-based sour cream just to cut down on extra fat and such. I like to infuse the sour cream with herbs, which makes it really, really good. But more on that with the recipe. This ketchup recipe will give you a LOT of ketchup. Like, 20 ounces. I used a glass jar that holds 25 ounces and it was over 3/4 full. Best part? No high fructose corn syrup! So without further ado...
Holy Almond Milk
I call this "holy almond milk" because it's pure with no preservatives, no artificial anything, nothing but raw almonds and water. You can sweeten it by adding a Medjool date and some cinnamon and/or vanilla. Now, this does take a bit of early preparation, but nothing drastic. All you need to do is before you go to bed, pour in the half cup of raw, unsalted almonds into a bowl and pour water on top, covering all of the almonds and cover. Let it soak overnight (or for 12 hours) and you're ready to go.
Serves: 7 cups
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup raw, unsalted almonds
-6 1/2-7 cups filtered water
-Optional: Medjool date, cinnamon, vanilla extract
Non-food Ingredients:
-High Speed Blender (I used my Vitamix)
-Nut Milk Bag (Here are some options)
Directions (with photos):
1. Soak 1/2 cup raw unsalted almonds overnight (at least 12 hours- it should double in size and measure to a cup when done). This photo will show you the size difference between a non-soaked almond and a soaked almond after 12 hours:
2. Pour the now cup of raw soaked almonds into blender
3. Pour 6-7 cups filtered water
4. Blend on High setting for about 2 minutes
5. If you are doing this alone, take the nut milk bag and fold it over a large mason jar (doing it this way filled up 2 large mason jars, as I didn't have a pitcher that I could fold the nut milk bag over) and place a rubber band around it to hold it in place while you pour. If you have someone else to help you, have one person hold the nut milk bag over a big bowl, pouring slowly into nut milk bag.
6. Once everything has been poured into the bowl or the mason jar is full, hold a part of the folded bag and remove the rubber band.
7. Pull the strings so the milk bag closes and slowly squeeze (or ‘’milk’’) the bag to get out all of the nut milk. If you do this too fast the milk will squirt all over, so go slow.
8. Pour the nut milk back into the blender. If you have to use two containers, flip the bag inside out and empty out the pulp onto a dehydrator tray (or a cookie sheet if you don't have one). Then wash out the bag and reuse.
9. Add a bit more water (about a cup).
10. Blend for 30ish seconds on high
11. Re-strain to get out all nut pulp, repeating steps 5-7
OPTIONAL: Add real vanilla and pure maple syrup/agave or a medjool date (remember to take out the seed) to taste and blend a bit more- will give you a vanilla almond milk.
*You can also add the real vanilla and sweetener of choice with the water in the first couple steps, especially if you’re planning to make a sweeter type bread with the almond pulp (such as cinnamon raisin, a zucchini ‘’bread’’, etc.).
Since this does not have any preservatives or chemicals, expect this to separate. It's completely normal and should be expected. Just stir it up before serving or pour into bottle and shake, whichever works for you.
Use everywhere you'd use cow milk...Cereals, smoothies, baking, cooking, chia seed pudding, and of course drinking from a glass.
How to dry out the pulp:
OVEN/TOASTER OVEN: Pour out onto a cookie sheet or if using toaster oven, pour onto a piece of aluminum foil and bake at about 350-375 until it does not feel like there is any moisture left (will appear a bit toasted, but do not let it brown too much or it will quickly burn, if some pieces are browned but others are still wet, keep an eye on it, as it will burn extremely fast at this point).
DEHYDRATOR: Spread out evenly on the plastic-like sheet that is non-pourus that comes with the dehydrator at about 115 degrees F for 3 hours.
Ideas for re-using the pulp:
-Add 1-2 Tbs to a smoothie
-Add 1-2 Tbs in the last minute of making stovetop oatmeal
-Dehydrate into almond meal (recipe above)
-Compact in a sealed container and freeze for later use.
Cashew and Tofu Cream
The cashew cream is extremely close to the dairy sour cream from all aspects. I don't know if you'd be able to tell the difference if they were side by side for a taste test. I served the cashew cream over the holidays and everyone who tried it loved it and asked for the recipe. Don't get me wrong, the tofu cream is good, too, and I think it's still much better than the processed vegan sour cream's available. It's also a great option if you don't want to add too much more fat to your day (even though the fat is from a healthy source, it's still best in moderation) or meal.
Cashew Cream
Ingredients:
-1 cup raw unsalted cashews soaked in water for 2 hours
-3/4 of a lemon
-2/3 cup water
-optional: apple cider vinegar (though I find it leaves a slight aftertaste; just the lemon gives a much closer taste)
-1/4 tsp salt
Non-food Ingredients:
-High speed Blender
Directions:
1. Soak 1 cup raw cashews in water for 2 hours
2. Put soaked cashews in blender
3. Squeeze 1/2 lemon to start
4. Add 2/3 cup water
5. Add 1/4 tsp salt
Optional: add 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
6. Blend until creamy!
7. Taste, add more squeezed lemon juice as needed; blend.
A serving is 1 tablespoon.
Nutrition Facts
Serving Size 1 Tablespoon
Per Serving% Daily Value*
Calories 63
Calories from Fat 43
Total Fat 4.8g7%
Saturated Fat 0.8g4%
Cholesterol 0mg0%
Sodium 1mg0%
Carbohydrates 3.5g1%
Dietary Fiber 0.4g2%
Sugars 0.8g
Protein 1.9g
Vitamin A 0% · Vitamin C 3%
Calcium 1% · Iron 4%
Tofu Cream (with Sage Infusion option):
This is a great quick recipe when you don't have the time to wait 2 hours for cashews to soak or want an alternative with even less calories and fat. It's also great to infuse with fresh herbs.
Ingredients:
-1 (10 1/2 ounce) package lite silken firm tofu
-1 Tbs olive oil
- 1-1 1/2 Tbs lemon juice
-1/2 teaspoon salt
Non-food Ingredients:
High speed blender
Directions:
1. Blend all ingredients in blender, adding more lemon juice/salt to taste.
Herb Infusion:
1. For Sage, take about 3 big fresh leaves, bruising first (Click here and scroll to bottom to learn about how to bruise).
2. With herb or kitchen scissors, cut little slices directly into blender.
3. Blend for about 10 seconds.
Nutritional Info (2 Tbs per serving): Calories: 25, Protein: 2 grams, Carbohydrates: 1 gram, Fat: 2 grams
Confident Catsup
This may seem like an odd title, but I call it 'confident catsup' because by making it yourself, you can be completely confident in the ingredients.
Ingredients:
-12 ounces tomato puree (I use Whole Foods brand, 365, as the can's BPA free)
- 1 1/2 cups water
-2 Tbs raw apple cider vinegar or fresh lemon juice
-2 Tbs pure maple syrup or agave
-1/2 tsp garlic powder
-1/2 tsp onion powder
-pink himalayan salt to taste
-Optional: 2-3 sundried tomatoes (Will add a deep flavor)
Non-food Ingredients:
-High speed blender OR
-large pan
Directions:
1. Throw all ingredients in blender, blend until smooth. Taste and modify ingredients as necessary (the acidity, salt, or maple/agave).
OR
1. Pour all ingredients in pan, stir as you cook for about 5 minutes on a medium heat, lowering if it starts to bubble.
Store in a glass container.
Whew! I hope you are able to use at least one of the recipes! While I give you the ingredient amounts, always feel free to add more of something or a bit less based on your preferences and how it tastes to you.
No comments:
Post a Comment