Nut milk is an excellent healthy alternative to cow’s milk and even better than soy milk. More and more people are trying it these days and not going back to cow’s milk and with good reason too. It offers numerous health benefits and is packed with nutrients.
Nut milk does not contain lactose. This means that individuals with lactose intolerance, which is the inability to metabolize the lactose sugar found in cow’s milk, can drink nut milk and do very well with it. It is also gluten-free so individuals with gluten allergies or celiac disease can also drink it and experience the health benefits.
Soy milk is an often-touted alternative to cow’s milk, but is not actually a healthy alternative at all. It contains high levels of plant-based estrogens that are unnatural for human consumption. Consuming too much has the potential to throw off the balance of hormones in the human body. And that is not good. So we can avoid this all and just go with safe and healthful nut-based milk.
Look at how nutritious these milks are. Following is a list of some of the nutrients in popular types of nut milk:
Almond milk – twenty grams of protein, calcium, potassium, magnesium, phosphorus
Chestnut milk – low in fat, good source of fiber, B-vitamins
Pecan milk – nine grams of protein, potassium, vitamin A
Hazelnut milk – fifteen grams of protein, potassium, sulfur, calcium
Cashew milk – sixteen grams of protein, potassium, magnesium, vitamin A
Pine nut milk – twenty-three grams of protein, phosphorus, iron, niacin, thiamine
Walnut milk – fifteen grams of protein, magnesium, rich in potassium, vitamin A
You can make fresh nut-based milk very easily. Just take about one cup of your favorite nuts from the list above and four cups of fresh water and blend them in a blender. Then strain this through a nut milk bag. If you plan to store it in the fridge, you can even blend in some Irish sea moss, which will thicken the milk and prevent it from separating at all. But if you do not have that on hand, you can also just stir or shake up the nut milk before using it if you ever let it sit in the fridge too long and it becomes separated. Separation is natural. Just stir it up and it will still taste great and be just as healthful for you.