What is this product, how is it useful? Composition and calorie content. How to make cashew nut milk, in which recipes can it be used? As for other people, for them the benefits and harms of cashew milk is a matter of proper use. If you introduce this new product into the diet gradually and do not exceed the recommended maximum dose - 150-200 ml per day, it will only bring benefits. Note! If you have a serious illness of one nature or another, not mentioned above, you should consult with your doctor before introducing the product into the diet.
How to make cashew milk?
Do not look for ready-made nut milk in stores, even if you find it, it will not be milk, but a drink, which is milk itself, diluted with many unnecessary, and often even harmful components. A "clean" product is not cheap, has a short shelf life, while the demand for it is not great, which means that it is not profitable for manufacturers to release it.
Here's how to make cashew milk yourself:
- Soak raw (!) Nuts in water overnight.
- In the morning, transfer to a blender and pour water in a ratio of 1 to 4, that is, say, 100 ml of water is put on 25 grams of nuts.
- Now turn on the blender and watch the miracle of how clear water turns into milk.
- Strain the resulting drink through cheesecloth to get rid of small unmilled particles.
That's all! As you can see, making cashew milk at home is really very simple. You need to store it in a closed bottle (preferably glass) for no more than 3-5 days.
By the way, at the stage of whipping milk, you can add different ingredients to it to change the taste: dates, sesame seeds, other nuts, berries and even fruits. And by adding a little natural cocoa and honey, you will get very healthy chocolate milk, which, for sure, even your children will appreciate!
Cashew Milk Recipes
So your nut milk is ready, what do you do with it now? Well, first of all, you can just drink it. Although, keep in mind that the taste will seem unusual at first. In addition, the fact that the drink has a higher fat content than the usual cow's milk can become a problem. As such, you are unlikely to enjoy pure cashew milk the first time you try it.
But after all, no one forces you to drink it in its pure form. As we said above, you can add a variety of your favorite ingredients or natural sweeteners to it, but of course, it is best to make a healthy and tasty shake or vegan yogurt with it.
No one will punish you for using a nutty drink in dishes that require heat treatment - for example, bake an original cake with it or cook porridge on it. In general, the field for experiments is vast.
Let's break down some interesting use cases in cashew milk recipes:
- Lemon cocktail … Pour 1 cup cashew milk into a blender, add 1 coarsely chopped banana, 2 tablespoons lemon juice and one lemon ring along with the zest. You can also add honey and vanilla to taste. When all the ingredients are added to the blender, you can turn it on. Whisk the cocktail for 15-30 seconds, and then drink it with pleasure.
- Frozen black currant yogurt … Cut bananas (2 pieces) into slices and put in the freezer for 30-40 minutes. Pour milk (1 cup) into a blender, add black currants (80 grams) and honey (1 tablespoon), whisk. Now put the bananas out of the freezer. If you overexpose them and they become completely "oak", let them thaw for 5-10 minutes. Whip the future yogurt with bananas now, and you're done!
- Chocolate cocktail … Pour milk (1 cup) into a blender, put bananas (2 pieces), dried apricots (3 pieces), dates (2 pieces), cocoa (2 teaspoons), lime juice (1 tablespoon) and a pinch of salt. Whisk the cocktail and garnish with grated dark chocolate.
- Oatmeal with berries and apples … Put milk (200 ml) on the fire, when boiling, put oatmeal (50 grams), frozen berries (150 grams), an apple (1 piece), previously grated. Cook for 5-7 minutes, stirring constantly. The porridge is ready - you can serve it with pieces of hazelnuts, you can also add salt and honey or pieces of dates to taste.
- Chocolate waffles … Mix crushed flaxseeds (4 tablespoons) with water (12 tablespoons) and leave for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, combine almond (150 grams) and coconut flour (80 grams), baking soda (1/2 teaspoon), salt (1/4 teaspoon), cocoa (150 grams). Add milk (100 ml), honey (1 tablespoon), vinegar (1 teaspoon), vanilla extract (1 teaspoon) to the water with seeds. Combine dry and wet ingredients and bake in a waffle iron.
All the recipes we have given are examples of the most healthy and delicious dishes. However, no one is forcing you, introducing cashew milk into your diet, to get rid of sugar, flour and other unhealthy foods. This, of course, would be great, but our body does not like abrupt transitions, and big starts small. And if you even begin to cook your usual morning porridge with cashew milk instead of cow milk, it will already be great.
Interesting facts about cashew milk
Cashew milk has the most "creamy" of all other plant-based flavors, and therefore on the basis of these nuts, various vegan healthy mayonnaises, creams, etc. are prepared.
Nut milk can only be prepared from raw nuts, and therefore it is very important to purchase a quality product and even thoroughly soak and rinse it several times beforehand. Cashew milk, just like animal milk, can turn sour, its smell does not change much, but you will feel sourness in the taste. Drinking such a product and cooking from it is not worth it.
If you do decide to buy store-bought cashew milk, read the ingredients carefully. Ideally, only water, milk and a harmless preservative should be present in it. If the label lists a dozen other ingredients, we do not recommend buying such a drink.
How to make cashew nut milk - watch the video:
Cashew milk is a very healthy product. Previously, only vegans paid attention to it, like other plant-based milk, but recent studies have forced other populations to look respectfully at the product. It is much healthier than cow, but at the same time delicious dishes are obtained from it. Yes, the first will cost you more, but this is, in fact, payment for your own health.
