Prep Time: 12 hours

I love homemade things. It gives me a sense of accomplishment and I feel like I’m saving a lot of money by doing it myself. Store bought plant drinks or ‘milks’ as we like to call these concoctions taste a bit better since they have some extra ingredients, but homemade is still so much better and of course cheaper.

I make all of my ‘milks’ plain, and add extras later if I want to. These extras include: a pinch of salt, a few teaspoons of brown unrefined sugar, vanilla bean seeds, cinnamon, cocoa and/or cardamom.

The base for these is really simple and you only need two ingredients.

These are my three (or four) favorite ‘milks’ and they are all gluten-free! Some of you may wonder why there is no recipe for a rice drink here and that is because rice drink is the only one I buy since I usually only drink it in my coffee and other plant drinks just don’t taste as good for me.

All of these are great for baking and cooking and that is mainly what I use them for.

So here are the recipes:

Almond milk

1 cup organic almonds, soaked overnight, rinsed and peeled

2-3 cups fresh (filtered if possible) cold water

Directions:

Place ingredients in a blender and blend for two minutes. To strain use a cheese cloth or a nut bag. You can add up to 4 cups of water, but I like it a bit thicker and creamier. Pour it in a glass container or bottle and store in the fridge for up to 4 days. You can also use hazelnuts, the process is the same, but you do not have to peel them.

Hemp milk

1 cup organic hemp seeds, soaked overnight, rinsed

2-3 cups fresh (filtered) cold water

Directions:

Blend together for about two minutes, use a cheese cloth or a nut bag to strain and keep in a glass container refrigerated for up to 4 days. Again, you can add an extra cup of water if you want. I like to use this one with my morning smoothie to get the omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids in my system.

Coconut milk

1 cup organic shredded coconut

2 cups warm (filtered) water

Directions:

Place in your blender and blend for at least two minutes. Strain with a cheese cloth or a nut bag. I use warm water for this one because the coconut it rich in fat and it just blends better with warm water. When it’s cooled it will separate so heat it up a bit before using. Keep in mind that a tablespoon of this can contain as much as 35 calories. This is also great for smoothies and baking.

I make these about every three days. It takes about five minutes to make your own milk so why wouldn’t you?

Try it out. I hope you like it!