How To Make Sweetened Condensed NUT Mylk, Vegan, Gluten-Free

Okay, this is wonderful but it definitely falls into the category of "Vegan Junk Foods". Cooking up a batch of this sweetened condensed nut mylk if only for those times when you are really needing to put forward the versatility of vegan recipes (probably a glitzy holiday dessert) and don't want to resort to buying the dairy variety of sweetened condensed cow's milk.  Don't get into the habit of using it every day in your beverages.

Okay, the Vegan Health Marshall just left the building.

I highly recommend that you splash out a little for this recipe-- this once-in-a-blue-moon exquisiteness.  Purchase Organic Coconut Palm Sugar (from Costco, if you have such a privilege) AND make your own nut mylk, but rather than passing it through the juicer bag, just give it a few extra turns in the blender until it is rich, thick, creamy, fibre and all!  You could opt to soak the almonds over night and pop off the skins for whiter milk, OR you could just go ahead and make the almond milk after a 30-minute soak, and leave the skins intact.  Either way you will have a delightful, bodysome mylk.

Leaving the skins on the almonds means you have less work to do.  And since we are not aiming for WHITE MILK here, since the Organic Coconut Palm Sugar will turn whatever mylk/milk a dark caramel brown, why not just skip the popping of the skins?

How to make the Mylk (or Creem):

1. For about 6 cups of Creem, measure 5 1/2 C. of Filtered Water and 2-3 C. of Almonds (or other nuts-- I used half almonds, half sunflower seeds -- a more economical mix) into the carafe of your blender.
2. Depending on your blender and the size of the Carafe, either run in 2 separate batches, or run on low, pulse and run briefly on high, until the mix is smooth and creamy throughout.
3. Pour into the large soup pot you are using to make the Condensed Mylk.
4. Add in 1 1/2 C. of Pure Palm Organic Coconut Palm Sugar and 1/4 tsp. Celtic Sea Salt
5. Using a straw or a wooden skewer, mark the height of the mylk in the pan just above the actual liquid line.  You will be measuring this regularly until the liquid has been reduced to half.
6. Cook over Low Heat, whisking often.  A jiggly little simmer is fine, but boiling is dangerous for this baby-- you don't want it to burn or suddenly surge up and over the rim of the pan.  Keep whisking and measuring with the straw or skewer until it has reduced to the half mark. If you remember the gooey consistency of regular SCMilk, it will be the same... only brown... and vegan.  Just as sweet and yummy. <<Takes about 3+ hours>>
7. Let it cool for a while and then transfer it, when fully cooled, to a mason jar with a lid (or some container with a lid) and place in the fridge overnight, or at least until it has cooled down to room temperature, before using in a recipe.

Speaking of Sweet....

  

           How about these copycat recipes

           for Delicious, Healthier versions               of popular Sweet spreads?

The Juicerless Christmas Recipe Collection

Season's Greetings- Merry Christmas!

Here are your three Juicerless recipes for this festive season.  I hope you find one that really clicks for you and your family!

And here are the goodies you can make with little more than a Nut Mylk Bag and a blender (and the ingredients of course):

Sparkling Cranberry-Apple Juice

This is the quintessential Christmas juice 'cocktail'-- because of its red colour probably, and also because it has a zing and children like it.  Often it is the sugar-laden commercial sort that gets chosen.  This is the healthy, tangy version with no added sugar (the apple really does look after that).  For each glass of this juice blend together 3 juicy apples, and about a 1/2 C. of fresh or thawed cranberries.  You can add a couple of ice cubes if you wish (before or after the juicing).  A little stevia is okay if you definitely want it sweeter (about a 1/16 of a teaspoon or less goes a long way).  Blend and "Milk" with your Nut Mylk Bag.  Leftover apple-cranberry pulp can be refrigerated and later used as a weak tea that is quite comforting.  (Juice plain cranberries with a little water for a bladder soother).

Nut Nog

Very delicious and a lovely alternative to the overly-sweet and thick commercial dairy eggnog. Make your own nut mylk (any variety will do-- the recipe I have chosen uses Almonds and Brasil Nuts but you could go with any combinations, such as hazelnut and brasil nut, almond and coconut, etc.

Freshly cracked nuts are the healthiest.  Please go here to find the entire recipe. Enjoy it!

We like the ripe, ripe banana mixed in, but you might not like bananas, in which case you could try baby coconut or mango, or such.  The idea is to create something so luscious and scrumptuous that you will want to drink it well into the New Year (there is nothing to say you can't).

Almond (Pulp)Shortbread

And now for the pièce de résistance!  

Here is a recipe for absolutely mouth-watering shortbread-- made with the pulp from making your almond milk!  It could well be from other nuts as well, although I must tell you that almonds make wonderful flour (dry the pulp in a dehydrator if you have one, in the oven if you don't) and grind up when cool).  This particular flour makes a great Gluten-Free flour.  The cookies will taste so almond-y (is that a word?).  

The recipe is from Sara Webster on Pinterest.  She is a little vague in the recipe, stating that she got it from a GF Sugar Cookie recipe by Detoxinista.  Based on the sugar cookie recipe and what Sara divulged about her recipe, I put together the following almond and rice flour shortbread cookie recipe. 

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and get out your stick-free pans or pans spread with a silicon sheet or parchment paper sheet.  

Ingredients are:

•  1/4 tsp. of Baking Soda,
• 1 C. Almond Flour (after the pulp is dried and ground in a coffee bean grinder), and 1/2 C. of Rice Flour 
• sprinkle of salt
• 1/4 - 1/2C. of melted Coconut Oil (or real butter)
• 4 T. Coconut Palm Sugar and 1/4 tsp. Stevia powder, whisked together (or other sweetener)
• 1/2 tsp. Almond Extract (or Vanilla).  

Mixing in a Food Processor works well, or you can do it by hand. 
Put on a stick free pan or on silicon or parchment and bake for about 15-20 minutes.
Carefully remove and cool on a rack. 

Merry Christmas to you and your family!

Fresh, healthful vitamin-packed Juices are a fantastic addition to any detox or health improvement diet. You don't need a fancy juicer... a Blender and a Nut Mylk Bag will do the trick! 

Delicious Nut Mylk NOG Recipe (Gluten-free, Egg-free, Dairy-free, Sugar-free)

This is a healthy and satisfying but not very sweet nog... you can sweeten it up to your taste with more dates or a drop of stevia or a little more Maple Syrup... but just for celebration, not every day of the Christmas holiday, right? LOL
4 C. Almond-Brasil Nut Mylk
5 large soft pitted dates or 2 T. Maple Syrup
2 very ripe bananas
1/4 tsp. Organic Nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
With a Nut Mylk Bag and a blender you are set to make fresh, vibrant, vitamin- and mineral-filled fruit and vegetable juices, nut mylks, jellies, and more!

Fresh, healthful vitamin-packed Juices are a fantastic addition to any detox or health improvement diet. You don't need a fancy juicer... a Blender and a Nut Mylk Bag will do the trick!