When you flip over your almond milk carton you might find yourself asking, ‘What are all those “gums” on the almond milk label? Are these an exciting new superfood?!’ Unfortunately…..not. Guar Gum, Gellan Gum, Locust Bean Gum and Xanthan Gum (to name a few) are ingredients that are all too often added to “health foods” as thickeners. Some are derived from foods while others are derived from bacteria. Generally, gums can be problematic for those with digestive issues simply because they’re mostly indigestible. In a perfect world, we would avoid food additives altogether, but it’s not realistic for everyone to prepare all food from scratch. Since my roommate and I love almond milk and both try to avoid gums, we thought we would make our own. So she bought the nut bag, I bought the almonds, and we went to work! The Verdict: Great Taste! But keep in mind, this is a pretty big process for only a small reward. A true labor of almond milk love!

Almond Milk

• 1 cup raw Almonds, soaked overnight in 3 cups purified water (drained and rinsed)
• 2 dates (pitted)
• 2 tsp of vanilla extract
• ½ tsp sea salt
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 4 cups purified water
• 1 Nut Mik Bag (use code ELLIE15 for 15% off)

 

Yields 2 Cups

1. Combine in Vitamix, blend on high speed until the mixture is finely blended, about 1 minute.

2. Position nut bag over a large bowl and pour in the nut milk puree

3. Twist and knead contents until all liquid is removed and the pulp is dry

4. Refrigerate immediately and serve chilled

 

How to knead the bag:

Don’t just squeeze… KNEAD! Twist the bag until it is not bulbous but somewhat kneadable. Hold the twisted top end of the bag between the thumb and base of the forefinger (to prevent contents from escaping out of the top), then begin kneading the contents of the bag back and forth mixing the pulp in with the liquid as you knead.