You can “mylk” all kinds of raw grains, nuts, and seeds by simply blending them with filtered water, sweetening to taste, and then straining. These plant based milks are becoming incredibly popular, with almond milk, soy milk, rice milk, oat milk, hemp milk, coconut milk, and hazelnut milk being widely available at health food stores and conventional grocers.
Whilst these “mylks” are convenient, they can contain a lot of additives and preservatives. I prefer to make my own at home in my Vitamix so I can control the quality and integrity of the product. I can soak and sprout my foods, make fresh raw “mylk”, and get some nutritional diversity into my diet.
I like to make a different plant based “mylk” every day to surprise my taste buds and keep things interesting and fun. Homemade almond milk, cashew milk, macadamia milk, Brazil nut milk, hazelnut milk, pecan milk, pistachio milk, coconut milk, hemp seed milk, pumpkin seed milk, sunflower seed milk, sesame seeds milk, sacha inchi seed milk, flax milk, quinoa milk, millet milk, rice milk, and oat milk all make delicious bases for healthy smoothies and desserts.
Here are three of my favourite smoothies using “mylks” you may not have tried. Be bold and get creative. The results can be spectacular.
Sugar Free “Pumpkin Pie” Smoothie using Pumpkin Seed Milk
- 1 cup strained raw carrot juice (about 8 large carrots)
- 1 cup raw unsweetened pumpkin seed milk or almond milk
- 1 cup raw coconut meat
- 1 cup ice or more to your preference
- ¼ cup raw almond butter
- ½ tsp natural vanilla extract
- ¾ tsp of ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
- pinch of ground ginger
- 30 – 40 drops Sweet Leaf English Toffee liquid stevia (or ¼ cup pitted dates)
- Place all ingredients in your Vitamix and blend on high until smooth and creamy.
- Makes about one 16-ounce glasses.
Vegan Chocolate “Minty Sacha Inchi” Green Shake
- 2 cups unsweetened sacha inchi seed milk or any plant based milk
- 2 cups raw spinach
- 1 cup of ice (or more to your preference)
- ¼ cup World Organics Natural Mint Flavoured Liquid Chlorophyll
- ¼ cup raw cacao powder
- 1 scoop Vega chocolate protein powder (optional)
1 banana - 6 pitted dates depending on preference
- 3 – 5 drops of Sweet Leaf Mint Liquid Stevia
- pinch of Celtic sea salt
- Place all ingredients in your Vitamix and blend on high until smooth and creamy.
- Makes about one 16-ounce glasses.
Raw Vegan Ginger Pear Superfood Seeds Smoothie
- 2 cups raw unsweetened sunflower seed milk or other vegan milk
- 1 cup ice or more to your preference
2 ripe pears, cored
1 banana - 4 pitted dates (depending on the ripeness of the fruit)
- 1 Tbsp raw hemp seeds
- 1 Tbsp raw flaxseeds
- 1 Tbsp raw chia seeds
- 1 Tbsp freshly minced/grated ginger or more to taste
- pinch of Celtic sea salt
- Place all ingredients in your Vitamix and blend on high until smooth and creamy.
- Makes about one 16-ounce glasses.
Tess Masters, AKA “The Blender Girl” writes a quirky blog called Healthy Blender Recipes, sharing super quick and easy allergy friendly vegetarian, vegan, and raw recipes using a blender, mixer or food processor. All of her healthy recipes are gluten free, and utilise whole foods and natural flavourings and sweeteners. Many of the recipes are also dairy free, egg free, nut free, and soy free. You can search for recipes for specific diets or food allergies by using the handy clickable icons on her website.
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