almond milk

Peppermint Almond Milk Hot Chocolate

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It’s snowing out and the first thing the kids want is always hot chocolate!  Actually, me too.  It’s just so warm and soothing on a cold snowy day.  I love this hot chocolate because it’s not totally indulgent, but it’s so good. I am not eating sugar right now, but I allowed myself this teaspoon of maple syrup, which of course is sugar! It’s snowing, what can I do?  I make it with regular milk for the kids and almond milk for me.  I do not make mine very sweet, so adjust the maple syrup as you need to.  This is one serving, so it’s really easy to make a cup for yourself or adjust for more servings.

Ingredients

1 tsp real maple syrup

2 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder

2 tbsp water

1 cup almond milk (or milk of your choice)

dash of peppermint extract

In a small saucepan, add the water, maple syrup and cocoa powder and bring to a boil and mix together to make a chocolate sauce.  Add the milk and heat to desired temperature, add the dash of peppermint extract.  You can also make in the microwave in a glass mug, add the water, maple syrup and cocoa powder and heat for 30 seconds.  Stir in the milk and heat.  Add the peppermint extract.  Add crushed candy candy cane bits and marshmallows if you desire! Enjoy!

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Blueberry Breakfast Cookies (using the almond pulp from making almond milk)

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I never knew that one cup of raw almonds could go such a long way!  In a previous post, I posted how to make homemade almond milk.  It’s so easy!  Just soak a cup of raw almonds overnight, drain the almonds and place in blender with 4 cups of water, a pinch of salt and a pitted dried date (if you don’t have a date, omit it!). Blend until milky and then strain the almond pulp from the milk using a find mesh sieve and cheese cloth or a milk nut bag.  I just bought a nut milk bag (I know, it sounds weird) and it is amazing!!  Totally worth the $6 I spent.  I just bought it off of Amazon, but I’m sure a kitchen store would have it too.  Anyway, it works great.  Here’s what it looks like….

milk nut bag 1 milk nut bag 2

Once the milk is finished, you are left with about a cup of almond pulp.  I hate to waste it, so I use it in recipes that call for almond meal.  I use it in my granola bars, in a berry crisp and these awesome breakfast cookies!!  This recipe is from the book Bread and Wine by Shauna Niequist.  These are so good for a quick breakfast or snack and there is NO added sugar.  Add seasonal berries, dried fruit or use chocolate chips.

Ingredients:

3 large ripe bananas

1/4 cup coconut oil (warmed so it is not solid) or use olive oil

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups of rolled oats

2/3 cup almond meal (I used the almond pulp here)

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

2/3 cup shredded unsweetened coconut

1/2 cup chopped walnuts (or I’ve used slivered almonds)

1/4-1/2 cup blueberries (or chocolate chips)

Mash the bananas and add in coconut oil and vanilla.  Then mix the dry ingredients and combine.  Fold in the berries. I use an ice cream scoop to scoop out balls and place on a parchment lined baking sheet.  Flatten them a bit and bake at 350 degrees for 14-16 minutes.  Then enjoy some right away with your almond milk!

breakfast cookie

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Maple mocha iced coffee with homemade almond milk

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I love coffee! And every year when it’s starts to get warm, it seems like there is a switch that makes me crave iced coffee over warm coffee. There is nothing more refreshing then a good iced coffee on a warm day.  But watered down iced coffee is no good. This coffee is concentrated and keeps it’s taste when ice is added. You can make a big batch and keep it in the fridge for days.

Iced Coffee

Ingredients

1/2 lb of your favorite coffee, ground

1 gallon of water

Mix the coffee and water in a large container and let it sit on the counter overnight or at least 8 hours. Using a fine mesh sieve and cheese cloth (or I have used a coffee filter on the sieve) strain coffee grounds from the mixture. What’s left is a lovely coffee concentrate. Chill the coffee then enjoy over ice and your favorite add in.  I added homemade almond milk and a tsp of cocoa and a 1/2 tsp to 1 tsp maple syrup. Here’s how I make the almond milk. There’s different variations of the basic process to make almond milk, but I use the recipe from the cookbook “Against all Grain” by Danielle Walker.

Almond Milk

Ingredients

1 cup raw almonds

8 cups of water

Sea salt

1 small date

imageimageSoak the almonds and a pinch of sea salt in water overnight. Drain the nuts and rinse. Place almonds and date in blender with 4 cups of water.  Purée until smooth. Strain the milk through a fine mesh sieve and cheese cloth. Squeeze to remove all the liquid. Store in refrigerator for up to 5 days.  Save the pulp and use in your baking. I’ll be posting a berry cobbler recipe soon where I used the almond pulp. image