milk

Oat Milk

Homemade Creamy Oat Milk

I’ve been trying to make my own plant-based milks at home for a while now – to reduce waste, save money, and believe it or not, for the convenience. If you have the right ingredients and equipment at home, it’s much easier to just whip up a batch when you need it rather than going to the store. Some, like almond milk and cashew cream, are better and have a higher yield when the nuts are soaked. And let’s face it, nuts are expensive. Oat milk is a great alternative. It’s super cheap–we’re talking less than five cents a cup–and requires no advance planning. And it can be made in minutes. It’s great in a pinch. For example when you’re about to bake and realize you’re out of milk.

The downside: it’s best when consumed within 2 days and it does become a bit glue-y. I use it in coffee, but it does leave a little slurry at the bottom of the cup. In this video, I don’t strain mine, but you can strain it through a  mesh strainer or nut milk bag to get rid of some of the graininess. Bottom line: this is an easy, quick, and cheap plant-based milk and a great one to have in your repertoire.

Enjoy!

Creamy Oat Milk

Ingredients

1/2 cup rolled oats

1 to 1-1/2 cup water, depending on desired thickness

Directions

Add water and oats to high powered blender. Blend on high until creamy, about 1 minute. Optionally strain through a mesh sieve or nut milk bag. Refrigerate and consume within 2 days.

Soy Milk

Homemade soy milk is sooo simple. I simply use soybeans and water in my soy milk maker, but you can add sweetener, vanilla, chocolate, etc. to your liking. I love that it saves money and keeps packaging out of the landfill. I simply use 1/3 cup soy beans (soaked) and 5 cups water and always have soy milk on hand. Enjoy!

Here’s the Joyoung Cts-1078s Easy-clean Automatic Hot Soy Milk Maker. Mine is about 10 years old, so it looks slightly different, but it’s a solid choice!

Almond Milk

Ever made almond milk? It’s so quick, easy and much less expensive than buying it from the store; not to mention there’s no packaging to have to dispose of. Here’s how to do it.

 

Ingredients:

1/2 cup raw, unsalted almonds soaked for at least an hour, up to overnight

3 cups water

Optional: 1 pitted date, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions:

Rinse the almonds. Add almonds and water (and date and or vanilla, if using) to a high-powered blender and blend on high for 1-2 minutes until smooth.

Stain through a nut milk bag or a thin mesh sieve. Enjoy immediately. Will keep for 4-5 days in the refrigerator. Shake well before using once stored.