Could I shove any more nuts into this milk?  Probably, but I’ll just stick with these three for right now. 

It’s surprising to see how many milk-alternatives there are out there today.  Ready for me to sound old?  Well, back when I was a kid there was pretty much soy milk and regular milk.  I’m sure you could find other alternatives at obscure hippy co-ops around the country, but if you couldn’t or didn’t drink milk soy was pretty much your go-to.

Take a look at the grocery store now and you can find pretty much any kind of milk.  Oat, hemp, rice, almond, cashew, coconut, flax, lentil…. pretty much any plant based thing is being milked and sold.  Anyone else just picture an almond getting milked like a cow?  Just me? 

Along with all the nut/seed/whatever milks come the fancy milks.  Things like chocolate or french vanilla or strawberry.  Because why drink something plain when you can add all the flavors?  I’m not completely against these milks but I do have a few complaints.

1. Sugar content
2. Odd additives
3. Price

We like our sugar and food companies know that.  Sugar makes things taste good and things that taste good sell better.  Take a look at your flavored nut milk and check out the sugar content.  Bet it’s way higher than you thought.  While you’re looking at the sugar take a gander at the ingredient list.  You might run across things like various lecithins, emulsifiers, gums, and other additives you might not be sure about.  These are all to help the texture and mouth feel (super creepy way of describing the consistency of food) as well as preserve it so it lasts a little longer.  While we might not know the complete effects these have on the body, I would prefer to limit them. 

Finally, price.  It’s always a factor and while milk alternatives are becoming more popular they’re still pretty pricey.  Especially when you can make the same things at home for less money.  Which is what I’ve attempted to do with this recipe.  Does it taste like a store bought fancy flavored milk?  Maybe not entirely but it does taste like a treat and I know all the ingredients used to make it so that’s a win in my book.

You can drink this plain but I think it’s a great addition to coffee or tea or even smoothies.  It does involve a little bit of prep time (soaking the nuts) and you might want a nut milk bag or cheesecloth to strain everything.  Other than that, it’s pretty straight forward!

Caramel Coconut Cashew Almond Milk 

• 1 cup cashews
• 1 cup almonds
• 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut shreds
• 5-6 Medjool dates, pitted
• 1 tbsp maca or lucuma powder (adds the caramel flavor)
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 4 cups cold filtered water

1. Place the cashews, almonds, and dates into a large bowl and cover with water.  Let this soak in the fridge overnight.
2. When you’re ready to make the milk, place the coconut shreds into a small bowl and cover with hot water for about 10 minutes.  Drain and rinse the nuts and dates as well as the coconut.  Place them in a blender.
3. Add the maca or lucuma powder and sea salt and then pour 4 cups of cold filtered water in.  Blend everything until it’s completely smooth.
4. Now, you can leave it as is and drink it without filtering, but I like a smoother texture so I poured it through a nut milk bag first.  Once you’ve strained it, taste and adjust the sweetness by adding more dates or salt as needed and blending again.

This will keep in the fridge for about a week.  Once it has been sitting a while the water will start to separate and it will look like it’s curdling.  It’s not, just give it a quick stir and you’re good to go.