Almond Milk {recipe}

So, if you've been to my house at all in the last six months, you'd probably notice that I buy almond milk. And since it only comes in half-gallon cartons, I tend to buy in bulk. We're talking 5 or 6 half-gallon cartons every 2 weeks.

At almost $4 a carton, it gets pretty expensive.

So in order to save money, I decided to look for recipes to make my own. I found so many online via Pinterest, so I chose one and gave it a go.

I bought 2 one-pound bags of organic raw almonds at the store for about $6 total. Water is, of course, free.

You'll need to make sure to soak your almonds in water with a little bit of salt before using them to release and break down the phytic acid, making them easier to digest. I soaked 2 cups of almonds in 6 cups of water for 12 hours, drained them, and rinsed them well before using them.

I placed one cup of almonds in my Ninja blender with 6 cups of water and blended until they were a creamy, milky texture. However, I would definitely do this in smaller batches. It made a bit of a mess for me. I've also seen that a lot of people use up to 9 cups of water for 1 cup of nuts, but I like my milk a lot thicker, so that's up to you.

I didn't take a picture of this because it was very hands-on, but once your almonds and water are blended, you're going to want to strain them with some sort of cloth. (Nut cloth, flour sack, etc.) I didn't have any of these handy, so I used my spaghetti strainer and a coffee filter. It took a while, but worked just as good. Whatever you use, be sure to squeeze any excess milk from the almond pulp. You can either save the pulp to make almond flour or throw it away.

I only used half of the almonds I soaked, and I got about 3/4 of a liter out of it.

This was the next morning, after chocolate milk and breakfast was made. It separated a bit overnight, but it wasn't anything terrible. A quick stir fixed that right up.

The almond flavor is a bit stronger than in store-bought milk, but I love it. I've used the homemade almond milk in mashed potatoes, oatmeal, coffee, and iced lattes. I prefer it unsweetened, but you could add honey or organic sugar to it (just pour the filtered milk back into the blender with the flavor/sweetener of your choice and give it a whirl).

This is definitely something that is going to be part of my weekly process. I love healthy food and drinks, and if I can make them in my own home, even better.

-lindsey

One Year Later

There are things I find myself thinking about still.

I wonder if Rowan would have been a boy or girl. I always think boy, but that's probably because I already have 2.

I wonder if Rowan would have the same hair and eye color as the boys. Maybe Rowan would have ended up with dark hair and light eyes, the exact opposite of the boys. 

Last month I went through and got rid of a lot of baby clothes and found myself crying because my baby would have been wearing them. Now I only have a small handful of tiny onesies and outfits left to use if there is ever another baby in my future.

I made this a couple weeks ago. It feels good to have something on my wall to look at and remember Rowan by. But it hurts, too. 

Most days, I'm okay. There are some days I'm not. Today is one of those days.

Sper Turns 2 (Recap and Recipe)

This past Sunday my baby boy turned 2.

This was the first time we've ever had to celebrate one of the boys' birthdays without their daddy here, so that made for an interesting time. Thankfully, my little sister was here to help, so that was good.

We started early, opening presents at 9 AM while daddy was on Skype. Sper had alternating interest in the presents, but he seemed to enjoy it.

He made out like a bandit. He got a new Cloud B star turtle, several new cars; new shirts; new plates, cups, and bowls; a Cozy Coupe; and a HoHo (from www.littlebitfunky.com).

After presents and a donut breakfast and nap time, we all loaded up and went to Walmart. (We picked up school supplies for my sister and looked at toys.)

We did something a bit different for cake and birthday dinner. For instance, we did cake first, and then picked up dinner on the way home.

I had several people ask for the recipe for my cupcakes on Instagram.

These cupcakes are egg-free and oil-free, and are so easy to make. All you need is a box of cake mix, a can of pumpkin, an avocado, and some milk (we used almond milk).

There isn't anything particular about what flavor/brand/variety of cake mix you need. We've used vanilla, white, yellow, and several different chocolates, which we prefer. We've also used organic and gluten free and we haven't had to adjust for anything.

If you have a blender, blend your avocado and a 1/2 cup of milk until creamy and lump-free. Mix this together with your pumpkin and cake mix until you have a nice thick batter. Scoop into a cupcake pan and bake at 375* until cooked thoroughly. We topped our cupcakes with 2 ingredient chocolate buttercream, and they were perfect.

All in all, Sper's second birthday was amazing and crazy. He has gotten so big, and has learned so much just in this last year. I'm so proud to be his mommy.

LB