Have been wanting to make homemade almond milk for quite some time.  It was on my mental to-do-list.

I even bought a bag of [raw] almonds several weeks ago and a nut bag for straining the milk, but it just didn’t happen.  Not sure why.  Maybe I anticipated it to be more of a process, but really, it doesn’t get much easier than this — soak the nuts, drain and rinse, put in blender with water, and blend until smooth.  Thereafter, you can strain, with a nut bag or cheese cloth, and voila, homemade almond milk.

Almond milk has a short shelf-life — just a few days, as it doesn’t have any preservatives (have you seen the list of ingredients on a box of almond milk?).

Almond milk is a blank canvas for your favorite sweetener — honey, maple syrup, dried dates, coconut sugar — or, simply drink as is.  For a complex and memorable glass of almond milk, give turmeric milk, my new favorite morning elixir, a try.

Let’s talk turmeric…

Turmeric comes from the Curcuma longa plant, a member of the Zingiberaceae family (same as ginger).  Research has shown that turmeric has hundreds of molecular constituents — some anti-microbial/antibiotic, some anti-tumor and anti-cancer, and some anti-inflammatory — an all-around healing spice.

Tumeric’s vibrant yellow-orange pigment, curcumin, is thought to be the primary phamacological agent of turmeric.  Curcumin has been shown to be a powerful, natural anti-inflammatory (COX-2 inhibitor — similar to NSAIDs, like Advil and Motrin). Read more about the benefits of turmeric.

Why is this important?  Inflammation is now thought to be linked to many modern day, chronic diseases.  I’ve also read that when combined with black pepper, curcumin becomes 2000 times more potent.

Let’s talk turmeric milk…

Beyond its health benefits, when you combine turmeric with almond milk, you get a light and mellow, soothing drink.  The addition of cinnamon, ginger, and cardamom (each of which has its own health benefits), and a bit of natural sweetener, provide a pleasant, subtle mixture of sweet and spice.

Turmeric milk (aka yellow milk) is a traditional Indian and Ayurvedic beverage that has been use for hundreds of years to treat everything from the common cold and sore throats, and beyond.

Tumeric milk is the antithesis of my morning coffee, which I will forever love.  The turmeric milk makes me feel all warm and fuzzy; whereas, coffee (at least the strong stuff I brew) makes me a bit wired (like I need to run a few laps around the block to focus).  Maybe they’ll counter-balance one other?  Also makes for a relaxing nightcap before bedtime.

You can heat up the turmeric almond milk and serve hot as you would tea, or alternatively, serve chilled.

I’ve had a tall glass of turmeric milk each morning as of late and am headed to the grocery store to buy more almonds as we speak.

This is how you make almond milk…

Note: You can use the leftover almond pulp.  I’m going to dehydrate and then use in cookies or maybe granola. Will report back soon…

Used turmeric powder today, but this is what the root looks like…

Add your favorite sweetener…

Turmeric [almond] milk = almond milk + ground turmeric + ground cinnamon, cardamom, and ginger + your favorite sweetener, blended until smooth.