How to make milk from walnuts? What is its use, who can it harm? What recipes can this product be used in?
The advantages of cow's milk and a drink made from walnuts are presented in the table:
| Walnut milk | Cow's milk |
| No lactose | Habitual taste |
| Low in saturated fat | No need to cook on your own |
| Ease of assimilation | Low price |
If we talk specifically about the benefits of walnut milk, then you need to look at the benefits of this nut itself - all the beneficial properties will be preserved in the drink. Let's take a look at the main ones:
- Strengthening immunity … Walnut has the richest vitamin and mineral complex among other nuts, which is why it has a particularly beneficial effect on the body's defenses. Doctors recommend that you definitely eat walnuts during epidemics and flu, as well as with vitamin deficiency.
- Prevention and treatment of anemia … Anemia or anemia is a disease characterized by low levels of hemoglobin in the blood. At best, this condition leads to a constant feeling of fatigue and various ailments, at worst it provokes the development of severe blood diseases, including cancer. Iron, cobalt and zinc, found in abundance in walnuts, increase hemoglobin levels and help not only prevent anemia, but also cure the disease in its early stages.
- Strengthening the cardiovascular system … Due to the content of vitamins A and E in the composition of the walnut, as well as fatty acids, the drink from it has a beneficial effect on the cardiovascular system. Its main useful property is to cleanse blood vessels and strengthen their walls, which is an excellent prevention of atherosclerosis, thrombosis and acute cardiac conditions.
- Positive effects on reproductive health … Even the ancient Greeks knew about the ability of walnuts to improve potency and considered them a real aphrodisiac. Today, it is known that both the nuts themselves and the drink from them are also an excellent way for men to avoid prostate diseases, and for women - to establish hormonal levels and ease the menstrual period.
- Improving skin, hair, nails and bones … Due to the exceptional vitamin and mineral composition, with regular use of the drink, a significant improvement in the condition of the skin, hair, nails is observed, and bones and joints are also strengthened.
- Normalization of the digestive tract … Nut milk normalizes the intestinal microflora and helps to digest food more efficiently due to fiber, as a result of which harmful substances are removed from the body faster and the likelihood of intoxication of the body and various eating disorders is significantly reduced.
- Strengthening the nervous system … With regular use of the drink, the likelihood of developing depression decreases, mood and vitality increases, and sleep is normalized.
- Boosting brain activity … You've probably heard that walnuts are especially useful for the brain, and even nature itself gives us a hint about this - the nucleolus is very similar in shape to a "gray matter". So nut milk is a great way to make your brain work harder and also boost your memory.
These are just the main beneficial properties of walnuts and a drink made from it. The product is literally saturated with vitamins and minerals, and therefore, when introduced into the diet, one can hope for a powerful healing effect for all body systems. It is worth noting, by the way, that doctors especially recommend it for use by pregnant and lactating women, as well as children - these groups of the population are in dire need of powerful vitamin and mineral recharging to restore strength and / or normal development.
Contraindications and harm of walnut milk
However, having learned about such an exceptional benefit of the drink, you should not immediately mindlessly introduce it into the diet, because, like any other product, it has contraindications, let's figure it out:
- Allergic reactions … Nuts are an allergenic product, walnuts are no exception, and therefore they should be introduced into the diet especially carefully, especially if you are typically intolerant to certain foods. By the way, according to the research of the American Cancer Society, if a person is allergic to at least one type of nuts, he should exclude from the diet all nuts and products containing them, even if some of them do not cause external signs of intolerance.
- Severe diseases of the digestive system and dermatological nature … If you have this kind of ailment, do not include walnut milk in your diet until you consult with your doctor.
- Excessive consumption … There is a fine line between the benefits and harms of walnut milk in terms of consumption standards. Too large doses of the drink can cause gastrointestinal disorders - nausea, diarrhea, and also provoke various skin rashes. Stick to 100-150 ml per day and you should be fine, but if you've never drank nut milk before, start with smaller doses.
- Drug interactions … The drink contains special substances that, under certain conditions, can block the action of medications, and therefore, if you are taking certain medications, it is better to stop using the product during therapy.
As you can see, there are quite a few subtleties. Such a careful "handling" of walnuts and the drink prepared from it is connected with the fact that its composition is rich in a huge variety of biologically active substances, which, with the correct dosage and the absence of contraindications, will give a beneficial effect, but otherwise they can really do much harm.
Note! If you have any health problems that we have not covered in this section, we still strongly recommend that you consult with your doctor before drinking walnut milk.
How to make milk from walnuts?
Today, you can find anything in stores, including plant-based milk, including walnut milk. However, we still recommend making this drink yourself, and it will turn out cheaper, and you will be sure of the quality. In addition, it is very simple to prepare it.
Let's figure out how to make milk from walnuts:
- At night, fill the nuts with water at room temperature - it should be at least twice as much as the nucleoli.
- In the morning, rinse the nuts, transfer to a blender, add water and begin to beat.
- Beat for at least a minute, the finer the pieces are, the more of their nutrients will transfer into the drink.
- Strain the milk through several layers of cheesecloth.
That's all, done! Now you can taste the drink and decide if the taste suits you or if something needs to be changed. At the time of whipping, you can safely add various sweeteners and aromatic spices. You can also play with the proportions of water and nucleoli. At the beginning of the article, we analyzed the composition of milk made from 50 g of nuts and 900 ml of water, but if such a drink seems too watery for you, reduce the amount of liquid, if, on the contrary, you are greasy, pour more water. Keep in mind that individual tastes vary, and only practice will help you find your perfect recipe.
Note! You need to store walnut milk in the refrigerator in a closed glass container, no more than 5-7 days.
Walnut milk recipes and drinks
Not everyone likes to drink nut milk neat or even with sweeteners. However, this is not a reason to refuse a healthy drink. On its basis, you can cook porridge, it is also perfect for lean baking, and, of course, it will perfectly complement various cocktails and drinks.
Let's break down some interesting use cases in walnut milk recipes:
- Hearty smoothie … Pour milk (150 ml) into a blender, add banana (1 piece), dates (3 pieces), pre-soaked for 15 minutes in hot water, and lemon juice (2 tablespoons). Whisk up the cocktail and drink right away.
- Flavored coffee … Brew a 50 ml portion of espresso in a French press or in a Turk, pour into a cup. Pour milk (20 ml) on top, put honey (1 teaspoon), vanilla extract, cinnamon and salt (pinch each). Stir gently and enjoy.
- Banana ice cream … Place 2 sliced bananas in the freezer for a couple of hours. Pour milk (150 grams) into a blender, put honey (2 teaspoons) and bananas - if they are too "chilled", keep them a little at room temperature. Beat the dessert for 1-2 minutes depending on the power of the blender. Healthy ice cream is ready! Note that this is a basic recipe, you can add your favorite ingredients to it to taste. Slices of dates “sound” especially well in it, as if pieces of caramel.
- Oatmeal with walnut milk … Pour milk (150 ml) and water (100 ml) into a small saucepan, when the water boils, add the oatmeal (3 tablespoons) and cook according to the instructions on the package. Meanwhile, cut pineapple (1 ring) and lightly fry it in a pan, transfer to a plate. Put the prepared porridge on top and mix. Sprinkle with cinnamon and eat.
- Vegan biscuit … Combine whole grain flour (1 cup) with walnut milk (100 ml) and water (100 ml). Add vegetable oil (5 tablespoons), baking soda (0.5 teaspoon) and honey (3 tablespoons). Mix all the ingredients thoroughly, transfer to a baking dish and bake for 30-40 minutes at 200 degrees. Eat with honey, jam, coconut cream.
As you can see, walnut milk in the kitchen is a good reason for new culinary experiments and adding unusual notes to your favorite, but already slightly annoying dishes. For example, if you eat oatmeal in the morning, but its taste has already become a little boring, try to cook a dish according to our recipe, and it will open up a completely new side for you.
Interesting facts about walnut milk
Walnut milk is an excellent alternative to harmful energy drinks. If an already hard work day smoothly flows into the night, prepare a cocktail based on this drink and be sure to cheer up.
In Ancient Sparta, a drink was prepared for all boys, which was called "Spartan milk". To do this, 10 walnut kernels were poured with hot water and insisted for several hours, and then they drank, adding a little honey beforehand. This drink can definitely be called the prototype of modern nut milk, but if the Spartans had blenders, they would have invented it.
Important! In no case should you use poor-quality and stale nuts for making a drink, otherwise it will not benefit you, but harm. Walnut milk, even after several straining, is not completely homogeneous, and therefore, when added to coffee, tea or cocoa, not very appetizing flakes may be present on the surface, but if the drink is mixed well and allowed to stand for a while, the flakes will disappear.
How to make milk from walnuts - watch the video:
Walnut milk is a healthy and delicious product. The drink is an excellent alternative to animal milk in the diet of vegans, as well as for people with lactose allergies. However, it will also interest adherents of a traditional diet without health problems, since it allows many familiar dishes to open up from a new side. However, before starting your culinary experiments with a drink, do not forget to check the list of contraindications.
