Alright, now it’s my turn.
I know you guys usually don’t hear from me, but when you do, you can expect healthy lifestyle articles like this in the coming months! Our company was formed based on a desire to bring our customers products that don’t contain harmful ingredients while remaining high in quality.
Even though what we sell is non-toxic beauty, we strongly believe in a healthy lifestyle, too. That starts with talking about the artificial additives that can be found in the food we eat!
You may have heard of the ingredient “Carrageenan” floating around for all of you non-dairy drinkers out there. This additive in store-bought coconut and almond milk is a thickening and stabilizing agent that prevents separation (something quite common in homemade dairy).
Carrageenan has been linked to digestive destruction, including inflammation, leaky gut syndrome, intestinal irritation, and potentially carcinogenic properties (still studying).
Usually, the same reason you avoided dairy in the first place (an adverse reaction in your gut) is what this additive is causing anyway. Gut health is one of utmost importance and has the potential to affect your skin, too!
So, What Are Some Alternatives?
Well, I wouldn’t bring you bad news without a solution, so don’t worry; I’ve covered you with some DIY milk recipes free from additives! I’ve been playing around with homemade nut milk for over a year now, and once you make it yourself, it’s so hard to go back to store-bought just on the taste alone! You can experiment and play around with the flavour ingredients, but for starters, here’s the low down on DIY coconut milk versus almond milk:
| Almond milk | Coconut milk | |
| Cost | Almonds ~$4.50 | Shredded coconut ~$2 |
| Ingredients | 1 cup raw almonds (preferably organic, if not, give almonds a good rinse)3.5 – 4 cups of filtered water1/2 vanilla bean (or 1 tsp vanilla bean extract)1 tsp of cinnamon (or double up if you love cinnamon like me)4 pitted Medjool dates | 1.5 – 2 cups of unsweetened shredded coconut3.5 – 4 cups of filtered water1/2 vanilla bean (or 1 tsp vanilla bean extract)1 tsp of cinnamon (or double up if you love cinnamon like me)4 pitted Medjool dates |
| Time | Almonds must soak for at least 12 hours (up to 20)15 minutes to blend and drain | 15 minutes to blend and drain |
| Directions | Soak almonds either overnight or in the morning before workRinse almonds and add in blenderAdd to blender: water, vanilla bean, cinnamon, and dates and blend for 5 minutesUse cheesecloth or nut bag (sold at the natural health food store) and slowly squeeze the liquid out (this is the longest part of the process)Refrigerate and serve! | Lightly warm the water on low and then add to blender (temperature should be cool enough to touch)Add to blender: water, coconut, vanilla bean, cinnamon, and dates and blend for 5 minutes Use cheesecloth or nut bag (sold at the natural health food store) and slowly squeeze the liquid out (this is the longest part of the process)Refrigerate and serve! |
| Taste | Light flavour | The more shredded coconut the stronger the flavour |
| Fridge-life | 5 – 7 days | 5 – 7 days |
| Settling | Will completely separate within only a few hours and must be stirred before use | It will also completely separate, but overnight, part of the milk can solidify (this is normal); I usually remove any solids that form since I drink it cold |
A healthy lifestyle starts with educating ourselves on what we are putting in, and on, our bodies. I hope you try these recipes and I would love to hear what you thought of them in the comments below. If you have any recipes, please feel free to share those too!
