Nut, Rice, or Seed Milk

Home made Nut, Seed, and Rice Milks are full of protein, calcium, vitamins and minerals. They are easily tolerated by individuals who are lactose intolerant, and they are raw, vegan, sugar free, organic, totally scrumptious and health promoting. Use these delicious milks as a dairy replacement in any recipe that calls for milk. Many people use nut and seed milk on cereal, as a refreshing drink, as a soup or dessert base, and to dip cookies in.

This is a generic recipe, so it can have many delicious variations. Your options are virtually endless. Some of the most popular variations are chocolate milk, hot chocolate, vanilla or hazelnut flavored nut milk, horchada, strawberry milk, and chai milk.

If you buy rice milk, soy milk, or almond milk at the store, it can cost as much as $3 a quart. Store bought nut and seed milks are highly processed and generally include unhealthy ingredients. When you make your own milk, you are spending less than a dollar for 1 ½ quarts of milk that is fresh and completely healthy for you.

Try not to get discouraged the first time you try this recipe. Once you get the hang of making your own milk, it only takes about 5 minutes to prepare. Since this is a generic recipe, there are hundreds of combinations to satisfy almost anyone. Look over the ingredients and choose whatever you have in your cupboard or whatever you are craving at the moment. This recipe is not concrete, so experiment with the ingredients until you find something you like.


Helpful Hints From Janae

1. Use organic ingredients whenever possible.

2. Always use flavor extracts (vanilla, hazelnut, almond etc.) NOT imitation flavorings.

3. It is important to soak your nuts before using. Nuts are coated with enzyme inhibitors to keep insects, bacteria and mold away. This makes them very hard for humans to digest. If you soak your nuts over night, and rinse them well before using, the enzyme inhibitors are washed away. In addition, soaking the nuts activates important enzymes that make the nuts much easier to digest and much more nutritious.

4. Lecithin is an emulsifier. If you use oil in your recipe, the lecithin will prevent the oil from separating and floating to the top.



Nut, Rice, or Seed Milk (The Recipe)

1 cup nuts or seeds (pick one: cooked brown rice, almond, walnut, pecan, brazil nut, sunflower seed, sesame seed, pumpkin seed, hemp seed)
5-6 cups filtered water
2-4 Tbs. sweetener (pick one: honey, pure maple syrup, agave nectar, molasses, sucanate, soaked dates)
½ tsp. salt (add more or less to taste)
1-3 tsp. flavoring (pick one or more: vanilla, raw cocoa powder, frozen strawberries, hazelnut extract, cinnamon, almond extract)
1TBS. oil**(pick one: coconut oil, flax seed oil, olive oil, walnut oil, etc)
2 tsp. lecithin**

1. Cover nuts or seeds with filtered water and soak over night.
2. Rinse nuts or seeds well
3. Put nuts, seeds, or cooked brown rice in blender with water
4. Blend on highest speed for as long as it takes to liquefy the nuts.
5. Pour liquid through a fine mesh strainer, cheesecloth, or nut milk bag to remove the pulp. (Reserve and refrigerate the pulp for other recipes)
6. Put liquid back in blender and add remaining ingredients.
7. Blend well.
8. Chill and use in 3-4 days.

**optional


My Personal Faves: Use the basic recipe with these specific selections

Horchata (Yummy Mexican Beverage)

1. Cook brown rice and add 1-2 cups of rice to 6-7 cups of water in a blender.
2. Add 2 tsp cinnamon
3. Blend until liquefied
4. Strain through nut milk bag or several layers of cheesecloth
5. Add sweetener of choice, 2 tsp vanilla (or more☺), oil, lecithin, and salt.
6. Blend well, pour into a glass container, add 1-2 cinnamon sticks and chill for at least 2 hours.


Chocolate Milk (The Guilt Free Kind)

Use the basic recipe and add a heaping Tablespoon of organic raw cocoa powder and a tablespoon of vanilla or Hazelnut extract for the flavoring. I find that Agave Nectar works best for this recipe, but really any of the sweeteners will be fine. I prefer to use walnuts for this recipe because they come out a little smoother, but any nuts will work.

Hot Chocolate ( Guilt Free and Good for You!)

Same as Chocolate milk, but warm it carefully. This recipe if very nutritious, but if you heat it above 115 degrees, many of the enzymes and healthy benefits are destroyed by the heat. I suppose the precise title should be “warm chocolate”. However, even if you boil this recipe to get it steaming hot, it is still much better for your health that the standard commercial hot chocolate. I highly recommend adding hazelnut extract for a decadent, mouthwatering treat!

Vanilla Milk

Use the basic recipe, and add 1 TBS vanilla extract for the flavoring. I use this for my milk substitute for pouring on cereal, or serving with a dessert.

Strawberry Milk

Same as vanilla milk, but add ½ - 1 cup strawberries.


Chai (Indian Spiced Milk)

Usually Chai is spiced tea with milk added, but this is my raw, caffeine free version.

Use the basic recipe, and add:

Honey for the sweetener

The following for the flavoring
½ tsp anise seed or fennel seed
½ tsp cloves
½ tsp cinnamon
½ tsp ginger (fresh or powdered)
dash of black pepper

If you don’t like the gritty texture of the spices, refrigerate the milk and let the spices soak for a couple of hours and then strain them out through a cheesecloth. This can be done at the same time you strain out the nut pulp if you don’t want to strain it twice.