Natural Family Living

Make Your Own Non-Dairy Milk

Without a doubt, homemade is so much fresher and better for you than packaged, processed foods. A talent worth developing in the vegan kitchen is making milk - seed milk, nut, milk, grain milk- whatever be your pleasure. Bryana Clark Grogan shares with us her method for making two versions of hemp milk, one richer and creamier than the other but the lighter version a delicious milk all its own. Try making your own nondairy milks. Not only will you save money but you'll give your family a higher level of nutrition you can never get in a store.

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The first recipe is for a very rich, creamy milk that could also be used like cream. It's fairly high in calories. The second recipe is a variation of that recipe, with half the calories and fat, but a nice light beverage. I hope you'll give it a try (maybe in one of the extra recipes that follow)-- it's easy and delicious.

Bryanna's Rich Homemade Hemp Milk or Creme Yield: 3 cups This recipe produces a creamy, pleasant-tasting, rich white milk (or a light creme) with very little effort. When you strain it, there is very little residue-- just the green covering on the seeds that was left behind. I add some sweetener and salt so that it tastes more like dairy milk, which naturally contains sugar (milk sugars) and sodium.

This is a raw milk, so it must be used within a few days, and it needs to be shaken before use. You can double the recipe if you can use it up in that time. For a longer-lasting milk, double the recipe and make it in a soymilk maker that can be used with grains and seeds, such as the SoyQuick Premier Milk Maker 930P. Add the agave syrup and milk after straining the milk.

3 cups cold boiled or purified water
1/2 cup shelled hemp seeds (sometimes called "hemp nuts")
1 tablespoon agave nectar
1/4 teaspoon salt

Equipment: (scald everything with boiling water to sanitize before using)

1 blender
1 sieve or strainer
1/ 1 qt. pot or bowl that the strainer will fit into
1 square of white sheeting to line the strainer, with some overhang
1 whisk
1/ 3-4 cup mason jar with a tight lid

Place the strainer or sieve inside of a pot or bowl, so that it rests on the edge and there is enough room underneath it to hold 3 cups liquid with some room to spare. Place the water and shelled hemp seeds in the blender and blender on high speed for about 2 minutes.

Pour the blended mixture into your strainer set-up. Let it drip for a few minutes, then bring the cloth up and twist it, squeezing and twisting and "milking" the cloth gently until all of the liquid is released. You should be left with a thin coating of greenish pulp on the inside of the cloth, which you can rinse off. To the rich hemp milk in the bowl or pot, add the agave nectar and salt and whisk until dissolved. Pour the rich hemp milk into the jar, cover and refrigerate. The milk will separate in the refrigerator-- just shake the jar well before using.

Nutrition Facts Nutrition (per cup): 221.3 calories; 53% calories from fat; 13.1g total fat; 0.0mg cholesterol; 174.7mg sodium; 0.0mg potassium; 11.8g carbohydrates; 1.3g fiber; 3.8g sugar; 10.5g net carbs; 14.7g protein; 5.2 points.

Bryanna's Homemade Lighter Hemp Milk Yield: 6 cups This is a pleasant-tasting, light, white milk for drinking and cooking.

For a longer-lasting milk, make the recipe in a soymilk maker that can be used with grains and seeds, such as the SoyQuick Premier Milk Maker 930P. Add the agave syrup and salt after straining the milk.

3 cups cold boiled or purified water
1/2 cup shelled hemp seeds (sometimes called "hemp nuts")
3 more cups cold boiled or purified water
2 tablespoons agave nectar
1/2 teaspoon salt

Equipment: (scald everything with boiling water to sanitize before using)

1 blender
1 sieve or strainer
1/ 2 qt. pot or bowl that the strainer will fit into
1 square of clean white sheeting to line the strainer, with some overhang
1 whisk
2/ 3-4 cup mason jars with a tight lid, or a 6-cup glass jug with a lid

Place the strainer or sieve inside of a pot or bowl, so that it rests on the edge and there is enough room underneath it to hold 6 cups liquid with some room to spare.

Place the first 3 cups water and shelled hemp seeds in the blender and blend on high speed for about 2 minutes.

Pour the blended mixture into your strainer set-up. Let it drip for a few minutes, then bring the cloth up and twist it, squeezing and twisting and "milking" the cloth gently until all of the liquid is released. You should be left with a thin coating of greenish pulp on the inside of the cloth, which you can rinse off.

To the hemp milk in the bowl or pot, add the second 3 cups of water, the agave nectar and salt,and whisk well. Pour the hemp milk into the jar, cover and refrigerate. The milk will separate in the refrigerator-- just shake the jar well before using.

Nutrition Facts Nutrition (per cup): 114.7 calories; 51% calories from fat; 6.5g total fat; 0.0mg cholesterol; 168.1mg sodium; 0.0mg potassium; 7.2g carbohydrates; 0.7g fiber; 3.2g sugar; 6.5g net carbs; 7.3g protein; 2.7 points.

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