Nut milk 2 ways - straight up almond & cash-pistach

Nut milk is one of the most easy but satisfying things to make. The thought of making milk from nuts might seem strange or difficult at first, but with a couple of simple tools it's a breeze.

You can make plain milks to use everyday in porridge or smoothies, or more fancy versions for something a bit more indulgent. Either way, it goes without saying that fresh homemade nut milk tastes miles better than anything you'll buy pre-packaged. And it contains only the whole food ingredients that you choose; no added sugar or weird preservatives.

It's also fun to experiment with different nuts. My current favourites are almond, pistachio and cashew, as featured in these recipes. Next on my list to try are hazelnuts, macadamia and Brazils - the possibilities are endless!

Not only does nut milk taste amazing, but it's also a nutrient-dense alternative to dairy. As well as being a fantastic plant-based source of protein and good fats, almonds, pistachios and cashews are fibre-rich sources of a number of vitamins and minerals, including vitamin E, copper, magnesium and zinc. Whether you follow a dairy free diet or not, I urge you to try it. 

In this post I'm going to share the recipe for straight up almond milk and also something a bit more special. My cashew & pistachio milk with cinnamon, cardamom and date is a kind of plant based, wholefoods milkshake. Perfect as a mid afternoon treat or a decadent addition to a weekend breakfast.

The only kitchen tools you'll need for these recipes are a blender and a nut milk bag or muslin cloth to strain your milk. You can buy nut milk bags online or they're stocked in many health food shops. 

Both these recipes call for soaking the nuts overnight before using them. This is to make them more digestible and their nutrients more available for absorption. Soaking nuts also softens them and makes them plumper, improving the texture of the nut milk.

Straight up almond milk

Makes approx 600ml/1 pint

Ingredients

1 cup almonds (soaked)
3 cups cold water
Pinch of salt

Cover the almonds in cold water and soak overnight. Drain, rinse well (removing any skins that have separated from the almonds) and place in the blender with the water and salt. Blend on high speed until the mixture is smooth.

Put your nut milk bag/muslin over a large bowl or jug and pour the liquid through. You'll need to squeeze the bag/cloth really well until only pulp is left behind.

Pour your strained nut milk into an airtight container and keep in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Cash-pistach nut milk

Makes approx 600ml/1 pint

Ingredients

1/2 cup cashews (soaked)
1/2 cup pistachios (soaked)
1tsp cinnamon
1/4tsp ground cardamom
1 medjool date
2 cups cold water
Pinch of salt

Cover the cashews and pistachios in cold water and soak overnight. Drain, rinse well (removing any skins that have separated from the pistachios) and place in the blender with the water and salt. Blend on high speed until the mixture looks smooth.

Put your nut milk bag/muslin over a large bowl or jug and pour the liquid through. You'll need to squeeze the bag/cloth really well until only pulp is left behind. Now rinse out your blender to remove any bits of ground nuts and pour the strained milk back in with the spices and date. Blend until smooth.

Serve immediately or pour into an airtight container and keep in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Note: It's normal for nut milk to separate a little, just give it a shake or stir if it does. You can use the pulp from straining the milk in energy balls or truffles

Drink the rainbow

Juicing is a brilliant way of getting lots of vitamins, minerals and plant nutrients into your body. You'll see from the recipes below that you can pack a lot of fruit and veg into a glass with each juice. Because the nutrients in fruit and veg juices are easily absorbed, they're kind on the digestive system. This makes juices ideal to have at the start of the day or to pep you up when you're feeling sluggish, tired or like you've over-indulged.

There's a big difference between buying a carton of OJ and the kinds of juices I'm talking about here. Not only are homemade juices fresh and without any dodgy additives, but when you make your own, you can choose ingredients that won't cause the same sugar spike that pure fruit juices do.  

The key to making a balanced juice is always combining fruit and veg when you juice - with the focus on including as much or more veg than fruit. Carrots, beets and sweet potatoes that I use in these recipes all work well to add sweetness, and cucumber, watercress and mint are refreshing.

Buying a juicer is an investment, but one that's definitely worthwhile. Juicing is such an easy way to introduce more fruit and veg into your diet, and experimenting with different flavours and combinations can be really creative! You could start with a book like the brilliant Super Juice by Michael van Straten for inspiration.

Just to be clear, I think juicing is a great addition to your diet, but not a replacement for solid food. Juicing removes fibre from fruit and veg, so you need to make sure you're still getting this along with all the other nutrients your body needs from a varied, wholefoods diet.

The three juice recipes here are some of my favourites. Each recipe serves 2.

Green 

Cucumber and mint soothe and cool, while watercress is anti-bacterial and rich in vitamins C and E. Lime adds freshness an extra vitamin C boost.

• 1 handful watercress
• 1 handful mint leaves
• 1 apple
• 1 pear
• 1 lime (peeled_
• 3 baby cucumbers / 3/4 big cucumber (peeled if not organic)

Wash all ingredients. Put the watercress and mint through the juicer, then the lime and cucumber(s) and lastly the apple and pear.

Pink

Beets support the liver and help to cleanse the blood. They also contain iron and folic acid, especially important in pregnancy. Ginger is anti-bacterial and stimulates circulation.

• 2 beetroots (peeled)
• 1 apple (washed and cored)
• 1 thumb of ginger (peeled)

Put all ingredients through the juicer.

Orange

This juice is a beta-carotene party in a glass. Beta-carotene is a powerful antioxidant and boosts the immune system as well as supporting eye health and the skin.

• 1 small sweet potato (peeled)
• 2 satsumas (peeled)
• 3 carrots (peeled if not organic)
• Thumb of ginger (peeled)

 Put the satsumas through the juicer first, followed by the other ingredients.

Hummus from the heart

I was at a family lunch recently when the conversation turned to hummus. Before this, my mum had been telling my cousins and me our grandfather's incredible life story. As we listened with amazement to the twists and turns of his early life, we nibbled on warm pitta smeared with creamy, nutty hummus.

When my mum had finished the story, our full attention turned to what we were eating and a debate started about how to create the perfect hummus. Things got heated and big questions were posed: what's the right ratio of chickpeas to tahini? Do you blend the chickpeas coarse or smooth? Lemon or no lemon? Everyone had a different opinion.

That family lunch was one I always want to remember for lots of reasons, and this hummus recipe will keep it alive in my memory. It's a combination of the passionate views expressed at the table and creates a fusion that I think is perfection.

Healthier hummus

Making your own hummus is so easy. And while shop bought varieties can be heaving with salt, additives and preservatives, the stuff you make yourself will only contain whole foods. You can also experiment with methods (like sprouting, as I do here) to increase its nutritional benefits and different ingredients to find the flavours and consistency you like best.

I won't try to deny that hummus with freshly baked, fluffy white pitta is one of life's great pleasures. But there are other ways to eat hummus that are equally delicious and provide more nutrients, a more sustained energy release and better digestion. Try with salad, carrot, pepper and celery sticks or on dark rye toast or whole grain crackers.

Hummus and nutrients

In the Middle East, hummus is traditionally eaten for breakfast as an energy dense meal to set you up for the day. As chickpeas are a good source of protein and fibre, they support blood sugar balance and keep you fuller for longer. Their high fibre content also aids healthy digestion and supports cholesterol balance.

Chickpeas are a phytoestrogenic food. Phytoestrogens are substances that can mimic or inhibit the effects of the female sex hormone oestrogen in the body. The gently phytoestrogenic properties of chickpeas may support the balance of oestrogen levels in women, so including them in your diet (along with other hormone balancing foods) could help reduce PMS symptoms or support post-menopausal hormone balance.

Tahini, an essential ingredient in hummus, is made from ground sesame seeds. These small white seeds are a fantastic source of calcium making them ideal for dairy-free diets. Sesame seeds also have good levels of protein and other minerals including zinc and magnesium.

Soak 'n' sprout

Soaking legumes such as chickpeas is an important step in their preparation. Soaking helps to remove phytic acid, making the precious minerals in the legumes  available for us to absorb. It also gets legumes ready for sprouting and reduces cooking time. Soak for 8-12 hours in plenty of clean water for best results. 

Sprouting chickpeas before cooking them is a method my cousin's husband uses in his hummus to increase nutritional benefits and make them even more digestible. Once sprouted, you can also use the chickpeas raw, as I have done here. The raw chickpea sprouts have a grassy flavour and crunchy texture, a bit like raw peas. Sprouting transforms the dried chickpeas into live plants, and this boosts their protein, B vitamin and vitamin C content. Watching your sprouts appear and grow is also pretty fun!

The right balance

I like my hummus creamy, so I've gone for my cousin's 50/50 ratio of chickpeas to tahini, but you can experiment with this to find your own perfect balance. My mum's hummus is always lemony, which I love, so I've added lemon juice for taste and an additional hit of vitamin C. I've kept to one clove of garlic, but you could try more (although it may be a bit anti-social).

Sprouted hummus

Makes a big plate - around 4 servings

Ingredients

1/2 cup dried chickpeas
1/2 cup light tahini (mix well as the oil naturally separates)
Juice of half a lemon
1 large clove of garlic
2 tbsp pine nuts
1/4 tsp smoked paprika
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil plus a bit extra for drizzling
6 tbsp water (room temperature)
Generous pinch of sea salt (adjust to taste)

Soak the chickpeas in a bowl with plenty of clean water overnight or for 8-12 hours. Use enough water to completely cover them. After soaking rinse well and place in a large colander with a plate underneath. Keep out of direct sunlight and cover with a clean tea towel. Rinse the chickpeas 3 times a day (every 6-8 hours). After a day or so the chickpeas will begin to sprout. Continue the rinsing process for another day or two, or until the shoots are more developed. Rinse the sprouted chickpeas well and discard any skins that have come away. Reserve 2 tbsp of the sprouted chickpeas for the garnish and put the rest in a food processor with the tahini, crushed garlic clove, lemon juice, olive oil, salt and water. Blend until completely smooth.

Mix the reserved chickpeas and pine nuts with the paprika and toast on a low heat in a pan for a minute or two until the pine nuts turn lightly golden.

Put the hummus in a dish, sprinkle the chickpeas and pine nuts on top and drizzle with olive oil. Serve with rye toast, crackers, veg sticks or whatever you like!

Fig & avocado green smoothie

I'm a bit obsessed with smoothies. In the warmer months they are my ideal breakfast. They're light and cool, and with the right ingredients they're substantial enough to give me the energy I need for the morning ahead. Smoothies are a great option if you're someone who doesn't always feel like eating breakfast. They're a really quick and easy way of packing lots of nutrients into your diet. But a smoothie's not just for breakfast! They can also replace lost nutrients after a workout, or fill you up any other time of the day.

It's all in the balance

The trick with smoothies is to balance the sweetness of any fruit you add with other ingredients that make it more filling and give a sustained release of energy. This is where smoothies have the edge on juices. Because the whole fruit and vegetable is blended, smoothies include fibre, and fibre slows down digestion keeping you fuller for longer. With juicing the fibre is removed, so although fruit and vegetable juices can give a big hit of vitamins and minerals, their sugar content is un-buffered.

So, with that in mind and to mark the end of summer, I proudly present to you the fig and avocado green smoothie.

The addition of avocado in a smoothie may seem a little unusual, but it adds protein and essential fatty acids as well as a creamy, silky texture which I love. Along with the spinach, it also counteracts the sweetness of the banana and figs.

Achey or stressed? Eat a fig

Fresh figs contain fibre, good levels of vitamin B6 and the minerals Magnesium, Calcium and Potassium, which are important for maintaining bone strength and muscle function. Magnesium in particular is a nutrient that the average western diet lacks, but that we all need more of to counteract the effects of our busy lives. Its role in muscle function also relates to the nervous system and the body's ability to relax and de-stress.

Drink your greens

I've previously raved about how avocado helps us absorb nutrients from other foods here. Because it's a low-sugar, high fibre food it also helps to regulate blood sugar and has anti-inflammatory properties.

Spinach deserves a mention for it's antioxidant and immune-boosting Vitamin C content. Spinach is a good source of folate (especially important for pre-conception and pregnancy), Vitamin K for bone health, and carotenoids, which our body converts to Vitamin A. Chlorophyll in spinach gives this smoothie its bright green colour, and also helps to cleanse the blood.

See what I mean about packing in the nutrients?

Pollen power

Bee pollen is flower pollen that is collected from the legs of worker bees. I sprinkle it on smoothies to add an intense flowery flavour alongside energy-boosting vitamins, minerals and amino acids. If you're new to bee pollen, build up your intake slowly to get used to its taste and effects. Try starting with half a teaspoon and work upwards towards a teaspoon or two over time.

If you're interested in finding out more, Sarah Britton at My New Roots wrote a great post on the wonders of bee pollen that first got me hooked. 

Note: if you have a severe pollen allergy, bee pollen may cause a reaction. I'd recommend researching the risks more fully before trying it.   

Fig & avocado green smoothie

Makes 2 large smoothies

Ingredients

2 ripe figs
1 banana 
1/2 a ripe avocado
1 cup washed spinach leaves 
1 cup almond milk
1 cup water
1-2 teaspoons of bee pollen for sprinkling

Add all ingredients (except bee pollen) to a blender and blend until completely smooth. Pour into glasses and sprinkle over the bee pollen.

Sugar - our weakness for sweetness

Sugar cravings can feel overwhelming and low blood sugar can make you feel terrible. Ditch the highs and lows and restore balance.

Tired, stressed, starving, in need of a hug... at times like these, the yearning for a biscuit, cake or chocolate can be so powerful, we convince ourselves that we need it; that by reaching for that sugar-laden comfort, we’re ‘listening to our body’. 

Well, not quite. While succumbing to the sugar urge might make you feel more awake or content in the short term, the crash that inevitably follows is less fun. The sugar hangover can leave you feeling drowsy, bloated and irritable. Sugar is powerful and addictive, which is why the cravings can be so strong.  

Why do we crave it? We’re introduced to sugar and all its comforting connotations as soon as we’re born. Breast milk, our first food, contains the milk sugar lactose. Glucose, the simple form of sugar, is what our brains and bodies rely on for fuel. But the way our bodies respond to sugar depends on how much we eat, the sources we get it from and how quickly we break it down. 

What happens when we eat it? When we eat simple sugars, like those in sweets or cakes, or refined carbohydrates, like white bread or pasta, the glucose from these foods enters our bloodstream quickly. This causes a blood sugar spike and we rely on the hormone insulin to get the glucose from our blood into our cells. Eating a diet high in sugar makes our insulin work harder, which can lead to health problems, like insulin resistance and Type 2 Diabetes. Recent studies have also linked high sugar intake to the development of heart disease. Not so sweet.

Don't cave when you crave

Stick to un-refined carbohydrates. Brown rice, bread and pasta are higher in fibre than the white versions, taking longer to break down and giving a steadier release of energy.

Eat the whole fruit. Fruit contains sugar (fructose) but also fibre, which helps to slow down carbohydrate digestion. Fibre is removed when fruits are juiced, so better to eat fruit than drink it.

Go for good quality protein with every meal and snack. Nuts, seeds, legumes, eggs and avocado are good options. Protein takes longer to digest, keeping you fuller for longer and reducing sugar cravings.

Foods that will love you back
When you crave something sweet, try one of these snacks instead:

• A handful of raw, unsalted nuts or seeds
• An oatcake with cottage cheese, almond butter or hummus
• A handful of carrot sticks or sugar snap peas

Recipe: Apple, cinnamon, almond & walnut paste

Delicious eaten alone, as a topping on porridge or spread on a cracker. As well as adding warmth and sweetness, cinnamon also contains Chromium which helps regulate blood sugar. This is really easy to make  - perfect for a quick snack or dessert.

Serves 2

Ingredients

2 apples, washed and grated
Handful of walnuts, roughly chopped
Handful of flaked almonds, roughly chopped
1/2tsp ground cinnamon (add more to taste)
1tsp apple cider vinegar

Mix ingredients by hand or blend for a smoother paste. Eat immediately or refrigerate for up to 2 days.

Pot by Tina Vlassopulos