Almond Milk

I have been experimenting with making my own Almond Milk at home. My inspiration was a Youtube video that demonstrates just how easy it is to make:



Karen doesn't soak her almonds before making the milk, basically just to demonstrate how easy it is to do and not put beginners off from trying it out.

I have made 3 batches of almond milk, the first time was without dates and it was a bit too bitter for my liking!

So the 2nd and 3rd batches were made with dates and I have to say they were much more palatable but still with that bitter edge.  Friends of mine on a health forum have recommended soaking the almonds to leach the bitterness out so that is what I plan to do.

Ok, so why almond milk?

I have read many blogs, health articles and Tweets that recommend PCOS & Endo sufferers eliminate dairy foods from their diet due to the inflammatory effects.  I will do another post on inflammation shortly as I have learned a few very interesting things about inflammation recently that are directly related to PCOS (and no doubt they will apply to Endo too!)

A few facts about the nutritional benefits of Almonds that I copied from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Almonds (anything underlined has been underlined by me, just to help you):

Almonds contain approximately 49% oils, of which 62% is monounsaturated oleic acid (an omega-9 fatty acid), 24% is linoleic acid (a polyunsaturated omega-6 essential fatty acid), and 6% is palmitic acid (a saturated fatty acid).

The almond contains about 26% carbohydrates (12% dietary fiber, 6.3% sugars, 0.7% starch and the rest miscellaneous carbohydrates.

Almonds are a rich source of vitamin E, containing 26 mg per 100g. About 20 percent of raw almond is high quality protein, a third of which are essential amino acids.

They are also rich in fibre, B vitamins, essential minerals and monounsaturated fat , one of the two fats which potentially may lower LDL cholesterol.

Typical of nuts and seeds, almonds also contain phytosterols, associated with cholesterol-lowering properties.

Preliminary research associates consumption of almonds with elevating blood levels of high density lipoproteins and lowering low density lipoproteins.

A preliminary trial showed that, in spite of the high fat content of almonds, using them in the daily diet might lower several factors associated with heart disease, including cholesterol and blood lipids.

Almonds contain polyphenols in their skins consisting in a combination of flavonols, flavan-3-ols, hydroxybenzoic acids and flavanones analogous to those of certain fruits and vegetables.