The other morning I woke up so excited to have a big bowl of Nature’s Path Millet Puffs with chopped dates and ice cold almond milk!  Sounds amazing right? Well… I woke up to a nearly empty/completely empty carton and a big ol’ bowl of disappointment.  I didn’t want this to happen again, so I decided to make my own milk.

The cool thing about making your own milk is you can put one certain type of nut or seed in or you can make a mixture!  I’ve found that putting a mixture of nuts and seeds gives a more full bodied milk when compared to just almond or rice milk.  Also, with all the different nuts and seeds you are receiving a much more varied vitamin and mineral content.

So here’s how I made my milk…

Raw Mixed Nut and Seed Milk

Yields 8 cups

1/3 cup raw cashews

1/4 cup raw pumpkin seeds

1/4 cup sunflower seeds

1/4 cup raw hazelnuts

1/4 cup raw walnuts

1/4 cup raw slivered almonds

1 Tbsp. raw amber agave nectar (optional)

Pinch Himalayan sea salt

8 cups water

Water for soaking

Raw apple cider vinegar as needed

Directions:

In a medium bowl, soak the nuts and seeds in filtered water for at least 7 hours, overnight is best.

Strain the nuts and seeds and rinse well.  Scoop back into the bowl and add a couple tablespoons of apple cider vinegar.  Stir well.  Again, strain and rinse well.

Place half of the nuts and seeds into your Vita-mix, or powerful blender, and add 4 cups of filtered water.  Blend for a few minutes; pour through your nut milk bag into a large bowl and set aside.

Repeat the process for the remaining nuts and seeds, this time adding the agave and salt.  Now would be the time to also flavor your milk: vanilla, carob, dates, etc.

Using a nut milk bag, or any fine mesh bag or cheese cloth, strain the nut pulp from the liquid by squeezing the liquid gently through.  Be sure to squeeze gently so you don’t tear the bag or get pulp into the milk.

Portion the strained nut milk into mason jars with lids, or any container you have with a tight fitting lid.  Refrigerate and use within 5-7 days.

Enjoy!

So why rinse with the apple cider vinegar? Apple cider vinegar (ACV) has an acid called malic acid in it, which makes ACV an anti-viral, anti-bacterial, and anti-fungal.  Rinsing the raw nuts and seeds with the ACV kills any bacteria or fungus that may be living on the surface!

Here are some more amazing features of ACV:

Potassium: helps prevent brittle teeth, hairy loss, and runny noses.

Pectin: helps to regulate blood pressure and reduce bad cholesterol.

Calcium: helps create strong bones and teeth.

Ash: gives ACV its alkaline property to aid your body in maintaining proper pH levels for a healthy alkaline state.

Acetic Acid: slows the digestion of starch, which may help to lower the rise in glucose.

[ source ]

Use ACV for:

A remedy for heartburn and as a replacement for toxic heartburn medications.

Improving bowel regularity, which removes toxins from the body.

Clearing up skin conditions and blemishes to give a smoother texture and complexion.  I love using apple cider vinegar as the liquid with my Aztec Secret healing clay for my face masks!

Relieving joint pain and stiffness.

Breaking down fats for the body to use rather than store, therefore it is a great addition to any diet regimen.

We are not the only one’s who may benefit from the use of ACV.  Our furry companions may also ingest some ACV, which, for animals, it may help to control fleas and promote a healthy and shiny coat!

Yeesh that’s a lot! Now I hope you’ve added apple cider vinegar to your next grocery list (:

[ Source: globalhealingcenter.com ]

Tags: Apple cider vinegar, Raw nut and seed milk, Raw vegan milk