Let’s get things started off right by announcing the winner of my Cookbook Giveaway!

The winner is Karey from Nutty About Health.  Judging by the word “nutty” and the amount of nutbutter pictures I have seen one her blog, I think that she will put Averie’s Peanut Butter Cookbook to GREAT use!

Karey, please e-mail me at [email protected] with your shipping address 🙂

Kitchen Experiments

This weekend absolutely full of successful kitchen experiments.  I honestly don’t mind having kitchen flops so that I can learn from the experience, but man does it feel good to have kitchen experiments that taste delicious!

I tried this recipe for Quinoa “Mac” n Cheese.  I added some extra veggies like brussel sprouts, broccoli, and bell pepper and it was fabulous.  This recipe will definitely be a repeat.

I successfully made my first batch of homemade applesauce…more on that later!

And I successfully made my first batch of homemade almond milk!

A friend of mine who is also into cooking, experimenting in the kitchen, healthy eats, and almond milk mentioned that I should try making my own.

That sounded like such a huge task, and I honestly didn’t think I would really every get around to doing it.   When my friend explained to me how simple it was, I was floored!! No way could it be that easy!  So, I decided to give it a whirl to see what would happen.  And it worked!

Making your own almond milk is cost effective because you can purchase the almonds in bulk.  Each batch of almond milk only takes a cup of almonds so from a 16 oz bag of almonds that costs about $6.99 you can get quite a few servings of almond milk.

It is also great because you know exactly what is in your almond milk.  It’s also delicious and you have the satisfaction that YOU made this yourself.

Homemade Almond Milk

Ingredients:

• 1 cup raw almonds
• 5 cups water
• Agave, honey, vanilla extract or any other sweetener or flavoring you wish to add

Directions:

1. Place almonds and water in a blender. 

2. Blend on high speed for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes.  This is when the almond milk is made!

3. Strain the almond milk over a large bowl with a cheese cloth.

4. All of the pulp will be stuck in the cheese cloth and the milk will be in the bowl.

5. This is when you would add your “extras” like honey and vanilla if you are adding them in.  Transfer to a sealed container and store in the fridge.

6. ENJOY!

I wasn’t quite sure what to do with the “pulp” of the almond milk so I ended up mixing mine with some dates and coconut to make snack balls, but an instagram follower mentioned that you could spread the pulp on a baking sheet and dry it out by baking it at 250 for about 2 hours.