lucyethyl,
Maybe you've tried making your own almond milk by now. Hope it was easy and turned out yummy!
lucyethel wrote:you certainly know more about this than I do!!
I just joined this discussion board as well, after lurking for a while. I was checking out the different forums when I saw your question and was kind of excited to share what I've learned about plant-based milks! (the Sandbox forum might not have been the right place to do it...)
I actually study food labels at work a lot, so thinking about this kind of thing is second nature, I guess. After starting strict plant-based eating early last year, I've stood examining labels in the "milk" aisles at Whole Foods and Trader Joe's more than a few times now, searching for an ingredient list I could stomach...
Also experimented a little with making my own milks, but turns out my stomach doesn't like too much raw nuts or soymilk, even pure ones, so I just do without most of the time. But I know lots of people do like to keep homemade almond milk in the fridge.
flabingo wrote:I put one cup of almonds in filtered water overnight. I add a small amount of vanilla and add four more cups of water to my VitaMix blender.
If you like, you can also pop the almonds out of the skins after soaking and/or strain with a cheese cloth or nut milk bag after blending.
Back to your original question about almond milk being allowed by Dr. McDougall. He does discourage high consumption of nuts. So, for everyday use, I'd think you'd need a less rich milk.
If you use 1 cup unstrained almonds in 4 cups water, that's approximately 14-17g fat per cup milk (compared to just 2.5g in the Almond Breeze)!!!!!
If you reduced to 1/4 cup almonds per 4 cups water, that takes you down to the 3-4g fat per cup range. (Tip: blend the almonds with just 1/2 to 1 cup water first to get them smooth before adding the rest of the water.)
The Starch Solution has a recipe for Cashew Milk (using 1/2 c. cashews or almonds with 2 c. water - so the same proportions as flabingo above). It mentions using for French toast or as a sauce base. Definitely seems like it's intended for occasional use, not pouring on cereal every morning.
I've found I really like a little cashew cream once in a while - in salad dressing, swirled in soup, or dabbed on pizza. I also blend up whole almonds in smoothies for creaminess or with other ingredients to make cooked pudding. I love adding the whole nut directly to the recipe instead of having to keep milk on hand all the time (a fancy, high-speed blender makes this possible).