Fillers and Sugars Matter In Your Beverages
When looking for almond milk, it is often IMPOSSIBLE to find a healthy brand without all the unnecessary fillers and sugars. As consumers, we often forget that in order for a liquid to have a shelf life, there has to be some sort of additive(s) in it. Food manufacture's aren't dummies either, and study after study has proven that humans are addicted to sugar, so they know the more sugar they put in their products, the more people will consume them.
Best Option: Make Your Own Almond Milk
My juicer was one of the best investments I made, and the perfect tool for making almond milk in 5 easy steps!
Step 1: Soak almonds for 24 hours
Add 1 cup of almonds to 3 cups of purified water and let them soak for 24 hours.
Step 2: Put through juicer
First you want to drain the almonds, and then add 3 cups of fresh purified water. Poor this mixture through the juicer.
Step 3: Strain (if desired)
Depending on the level of juicer you have, there might be a little pulp grind in the milk. If you'd like your almond milk smoother, then strain with a cheese close or small spatula like this one.
The extra pulp can be used to make homemade, no-bake pumpkin cookies.
Step 4: Add vanilla & Stevia (optional)
Sometimes I'll add in a 1 teaspoon or 2 of vanilla extra and a few drops of stevia for added sweetness.
Step 5: Drink
Enjoy with your shakes or desserts!
Alternative: Store Brands
Califia
This is the best store brand option I could find. But CAUTION, do not buy all their flavors, including chocolate, coffee, etc as they are loaded with sugars. What I like about this brand is their unsweetened versions are made with 98% of their ingredients from almonds and water and they are non-genetically engineered.
Ingredients: Almond milk (Filtered Water, Almonds).
Contains Less Than 2% Of The Following: Vitamin/ Mineral Blend (Calcium Carbonate, Vitamin A, Vitamin E, Vitamin D2, Vitamin B12, Vitamin B2, Zinc Sulfate), Gellan Gum, Carrageenan, Potassium Citrate, Sunflower Lecithin, Natural Flavors, Sea Salt.
However, there has been recent debates about the levels of carrageenan's in the use of products. I personally don't like to put these extra additives into my body, which is why I choose to make the homemade version above.
Alternative: Local Cow's Milk
If you have a local dairy next to you, you might consider going back to the basics and buying from your local farmer. I'm NOT saying go buy the milk from your local grocery store, as we know the quality in that is severely lacking and if you are #TrueGlutenFree, you only want to be consuming dairy from grass-fed cows!
Here are some great websites to check out to find your local farms:
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