Many people have now given up animal milk, and there’s a huge demand for plant-based milks. The ready-made ones are full of everything imaginable. I wanted to quickly explain the simplest, cleanest ways to make plant-based milks and gather them all in one place.

Hazelnut milk is my favorite.

Hazelnut and Almond Milk

-Soak 1 cup of raw almonds or hazelnuts in water overnight.

-The next morning, drain the water, add 2 cups of fresh, clean water, and blend in a food processor. You can also add a date while blending if you like.

-It turns white immediately. Then strain it through a cheesecloth, and your milk is ready. Don’t throw away the pulp; you can use it to make cookies, add it to omelets, or add it to oatmeal porridge.

-It keeps in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. Ready-made milks often contain many additives; this one is so simple that there’s no need to buy any.

Coconut Milk

I made amazing coconut milk for 5 TL. I think it’s the best plant-based milk I’ve ever had.

This plant-based milk world is too complicated to buy ready-made. Many don’t seem to have the main ingredients. For example, almond milk only contains about 3% almonds. I checked the proportions of two different brands of coconut milk. They contain everything except milk: water, sugar, strange thickeners, and flavorings. And they have incredibly high prices, between 30-50 TL. I’d been making almond and hazelnut milk for a long time, but for some reason I’d stopped making coconut milk. I’d removed the coconut fruit. You can read how I cracked it and selected the fruit in this post.

– I soaked the fruit overnight in a bowl of 1 cup of hot water.

– The next day, without straining the water, I added another 1.5 cups of water to make the milk. I made it in a vegetable juicer, but you can also blend it and strain it through cheesecloth. I used to do it that way, but the milk was much thicker when made with a slow juicer.

-If you like, you can add 1-2 dates and turn it into a drink. I made salep last night and it was amazing. This morning I made oatmeal porridge with it.

Now the pulp will become cookies. I mean, I bought a coconut for 5 TL and used it reliably. If I hadn’t thrown it away, I would have made plates out of the shells, but then my house would be overflowing with shells. 😃

Wishing everyone a happy, sugar-free, healthy week.

With love,

Sema