Cashew Milky Goodness

About 3 months ago our family doctor suggested I see a nutritionist to review what I had been feeding Avi and what I’d been eating.  She’s 100% supportive of our vegan diet, but didn’t know enough about it to feel entirely confident in giving me the A-Ok on what I’d been feeding Avital seeing as she’s on the very low end of the growth chart for weight, she’s a bit of a skinny minny;)  While I basically wound up paying for not much more than the comfort of knowing I was on the right track, I did pick up some tips.  One of which was that variety is key across the board!  While I was good on the amounts of beans, nuts, and fats we were eating, I was sticking to my comfort zone (almond milk, chick peas, olive oil).

She mentioned another client who was making his own “milks” out of just about any and all nuts and even some beans, so I decided to take a stab at it and make some homemade cashew milk.

It turned out super yummy and I’ll definitely do some more experimenting.  The only thing I’ll say is (especially for baby) get a supergood blender (the Cuisinart isn’t really big enough and it makes a huge mess spilling over) and really really soak it overnight (or at least for 6 hours).  I only soaked mine for 3 hours and while it was delicious, it did have teeny tiny chunks in it (which don’t flow so easily through a bottle tip).  Anyhoo…here’s the recipe.  Feel free to spice it or sweeten it up however you like.  I’m a cinnamon, nutmeg, and agave girl.  I bet some honey and cinnamon would be yummy too.  Or even a pinch of salt and maple syrup.  What’re you?

1 cup of raw cashews soaked overnight

4 cups of filtered water

1 tablespoon of light raw agave nectar

1 teaspoon of cinnamon

½ teaspoon of nutmeg

Place all ingredients in blender and blend until totally smooth and milky (apx. 5min, this will vary according to your blender)

*To create a thicker milk or cream use 1 cup less water

*To create a skimmer mild use 1 cup more water