Homemade Chocolate Milk (Making Your Own Nut Milks)

Happy 2016!  What have you been up to recently?  It felt like the holidays and even the year went by so fast as we’re now approaching the middle part of January.   

2015 was quite a hectic year for me.  My body feels it and knows it all too well that I have decided to take a slower pace.  Now, I’ve been going to bed so much earlier than I used to.  I’ve taken a break from Instagram (yay!).  I’ve also decided to connect more with family and old friends, not just by social media but face to face and hanging out. And I’m back to the yoga studio again!  I'll look forward to re-evaluating myself at the end of the year and let's see how things will turn out then.  I'm hoping that I will do well!

When it comes to healthy eating, I know that we all can do something.  It doesn’t have to be complicated.  It can be drinking more water.  Maybe eating more plants or packing our own lunch.   Something we can sustain over time.

One of the simple things that I teach in my cooking classes is making nut milks.  This is great for those who are trying to avoid  dairy.  Also, even the packaged nut milks contain unnecessary processed ingredients.    And isn’t it exciting if we can make homemade chocolate milks for us and our children?   We can count our own ingredients - maximum 4-5, instead of unfamiliar ones shown here.

Homemade Chocolate Milk
Serves 2

Ingredients:
2 cups homemade almond milk or cashew milk (see recipe below)
1 cup warm or room temperature filtered water
2 Tbsp. cacao powder, I used this
2 Tbsp. coconut sugar or maple syrup
1/2 vanilla bean, scraped  or 1/4 tsp. vanilla powder

Optional add-ins (create additional flavours and really delicious)
1 Tbsp. lucuma powder
2 tsp. maca powder
pinch of good salt

Blend all ingredients until well incorporated.  It can be served warm or iced cold.

Homemade Nut Milk

Ingredients:
1 cup raw almonds, soaked overnight, drained and rinsed
or 1 cup raw cashews, soaked for 6 hours, drained and rinsed
4 cups filtered water
 

Place all ingredients in a high speed blender and whizz for up to 60 seconds until the water turns opaque.  You would need a nut milk bag to strain the pulp from the almonds.  If using cashews, it's not necessary.   If you want to sweeten your nut milk, you can add 2 pitted Medjool dates.   You can also check this older post  on how to make homemade coconut milk or macadamia milk. 

Wishing you the best of 2016!

Warmly,

Lina 

Matcha Macadamia Latte & Homemade Nut Milks

February's deep freeze in Toronto  hasn't  let up.  I'm constantly making warm drinks while thinking of places like Cali and Hawaii. Homemade lattes have been on the top of  my list lately. 

Last week, I posted this photo and recipe of coconut matcha green tea latte on my Instagram page. 

On  Saturday, a group of busy moms and working women came to our home for a Workshop.  A portion of it was spent in  making different nut milks. Making them at home,  although a bit inconvenient, is the best way to go.  They taste fresh with no preservatives, no packaging or transporting required.  All you need are the nuts, filtered water, a high speed blender and a nut milk bag.  

 Since it's another snow day, I decided to make latte again,  This time I'm using using homemade macadamia milk.  My husband enjoyed it and he also took pictures for this post.

Fun facts about matcha green tea: 

It's a high quality, bright green tea powder that’s quite expensive compared to regular green tea. This is due to the unique way of growing the tea leaves before they are stone-ground into fine  powder.  Farmers cover the plants with a shade cloth for three weeks prior to harvesting.  This process causes new shoots to grow thinner leaves with better flavour. After that, they are harvested by hand with the youngest and smallest leaves chosen for the best quality matcha.

Matcha is rich in catechins.  These are polyphenol compounds that have high antioxidant activity. The most important polyphenol in matcha is EGCG. These compounds have cancer protection properties, help prevent cardiovascular disease and slow down the aging process. . It boosts metabolism, increases energy, enhances mood and aids in better concentration. It provides Vitamins A, B-complex C, E,K and trace minerals.

Macadamia-Matcha Green Tea Latte

1 ½ cups homemade macadamia milk (see recipe below)
1  cup water
½ vanilla bean, scraped or ¼ vanilla essence or powder
1 Tbsp. organic matcha green tea (I used this brand)
1 Tbsp. coconut nectar or maple syrup (optional)

Method:

In a saucepan, heat the milk until warm but not boiled. Add the rest of the ingredients then 
whisk until frothy. If you don’t have a matcha whisk, place all the ingredients in a blender and 
blend briefly until frothy.  Serves 2.

Homemade Macadamia Milk
1 cup raw macadamia nuts, soaked overnight and rinsed
4 cups filtered water

Method:

Combine the nuts and water in a blender and blend at the highest speed for 1-2 minutes until the macadamia nuts are broken down into a fine meal and the water turns white.  Strain the pulp through a nut milk bag, cheesecloth or wire sieve. 

Suggestions:

You can also use other nuts or seeds to make your choice of non-dairy milk.  Light coconut milk like my first recipe on Instagram is also a great option.  Soak 1 cup of coconut flakes in 2 cups of water for 30 mins. to 1 hour in order to soften.  Save the water and use it to blend.  Strain in nut milk bag or wire sieve. 

Last week, there were a lot of frozen pipes in the city due to the extremely record low temperatures that we've been experiencing.  The hot water in our kitchen sink didn't work for almost 2 days and we were so scared that the pipes may burst.  Thankfully, the water finally came back after what seemed like long moments of expectation and stress at the same time.  We're also thankful that our furnace has been working very well and we are constantly warm.  

At this time, the flowers inspire us on what's ahead - Spring!  I can't wait!  

My good friend Zeny and her daughter Ayeesha brought these orchids to me this weekend.  They are so beautiful just like them.  

My friend April also took a lot of pictures on our Workshop this weekend.  In a few days, I'm hoping to share that on the blog.

Keep warm my friends!

XoXo,

Lina