I have been allergic to cow milk ever since my childhood, but I have decided to ignore this fact for some time. Since I wake up every morning with severe congestion, I now think that it might be wise to avoid the consumption of other allergens in the morning.

My belly asking for more.

I started making almond milk not long ago, but also discovered you can pretty much use any nuts. The method to obtain milk is the same whichever nuts you use, the only difference is the soaking time. As I write this, the price of almonds is undergoing a tremendous rise due to the droughts in Califonia. If I can use another nut for my everyday use, it reduces the price of this milk alternative. 

Ingredients

1 cup of raw cashews or other nut,

Enough filtered water to cover the nuts while soaking,

Approximately 4 cups of filtered water,

1 tbls of vanilla extract,

1 tsp sea salt.

Method:

Put the nuts in a covered bowl to soak at rook temperature ( see the chart below for soaking time ),

Once soaked, rinse and strain,

Chop the nuts in a food processor until it forms a puree,

Gradually add the 4 cups of water,

Strain the liquid in the bottle or pitcher of your choice,

Add the vanilla extract and sea salt,

Refrigerate and consume within a week.

"What do I do with the remaining nuts" you ask? Don't throw them away, the are perfectly edible and full of enzymes and minerals. Consult the next post for simple ideas on how to use them before they go bad.

Why soak the nuts? I am neither vegan or a raw-food nut ( no pun intended! ) but if I can obtain a better quality/price/nutritive goodness ratio with a few simple steps, I'm all for it! Just as I have mentioned in the previous post on "veggiefruit" about consumming fruits and vegetable peels:

"Don't buy vitamins! Just keep the ones you already have in your food!"

I now add:

"Don't buy minerals or enzymes, just activate ( or keep ) the ones that are in you food!"

Plants with nuts and seeds contain enzyme blockers ( among others: phytic acid ) to keep the seed sleeping until optimal exterior conditions to sprout, which corresponds to rain season. The natural "soaking" washes away the enzyme blockers and allows the seeds to wake up and grow. When we buy raw nuts ( roasted ones are "dead" ), we get rid of the blockers buy soaking, thus obtaining a living food that contains:

Enzymes that helps with digestion ( no need for pro-biotics ),

More vitamins ( mostly vitamin B ),

Amino-acids ( proteins ) easily absorbed by the body.

Soaking time

Almonds:    8-12 hours

Cashews:    2-3 hours

Oat groats:  8 hours

Quinoa:       3-4 hours

Walnuts:       2-8 hours

Sunflower seeds:   6 hours