raw cinnamon sunflower seed milk
you can make milk out of nearly any seed or nut. i decided to use sunflower seeds for this recipe, but you can use almonds, cashews, oats, sesame seeds, hemp seeds, rice or buckwheat – it just requires a little soaking, blending and straining.
the result might not taste exactly like milk but makes a good substitute for the lactose intolerant, soy intolerant, raw foodist or those with nut allergies alike.
raw cinnamon sunflower seed milk
1 c raw sunflower seeds
3 c water
1 tbsp raw sugar or agave
1 tsp cinnamon
soak the sunflower seeds (or whatever nut/seed/grain you’re using) in the water at least 4 hours at room temperature. you can do it over night if you are preparing it the next morning. you can do this is a medium-sized bowl, make sure to cover it with a towel or plastic wrap to keep any bugs out.
after soaking the seeds should be noticable plumper and softer. notice in the picture above, the difference between the dry seeds on the left and the soaked ones on the right.
after soaking, add the seeds and all of the soaking water into a large blender, and add in the sugar and cinnamon. 1 tablespoon of sugar just adds a hint of sweetness, if you like things really sweet feel free to add more.
blend well for 2-3 minutes to make sure it is as smooth as it can get. the mixture should be whitish.
strain the mixture through a straining bag and gently squeeze it until all of the liquid has drained out. what is left in the bag is the pulp from the sunflower seeds, mostly just fiber. i usually throw this away but you could probably find some use for it.
you can drink it right away or chill it for later. because it is so fresh it only keeps for 2-3 days refrigerated in a sealed contain, so enjoy promptly!
What a wonderful post!! I’ll be making my own milks soon. Thanks!!
let me know how it works out! thanks for the comment.
Wow! I had no idea you could make milk out of any kind of nut! The process alone is extremely interesting! Also, “nut milk” makes me laugh!
yah jacob, i think you tried some cashew/pumpkin seed milk i made on my birthday last year. glad i could make you giggle!
That sounds so delicious! So healthy, too. I bet the cinnamon takes it over the top.
yeah, it really makes it more of a tasty drink to enjoy. if you don’t sweeten or flavor it at all it’s good to use in smoothies or making raw soups and dips.
I’m wondering what the nutrition information on this would look like. How do you calculate when you strain out the pulp?
not entirely sure, but it’s very low in calories because it’s mostly water. there might be some raw nutrition websites that can give you more accurate numbers but i would guess it’s very close to the nutritional value to sprouted sunflower seeds, minus any fiber.
This is a very late comment, and perhaps a rather silly one, but is the straining purely done for taste reasons? If I want the extra fiber and don’t mind the taste is there any need to strain it after blending? Thanks.
you don’t have to strain, it’s for both taste and texture – i prefer a smoother milk – but you can also save the pulp to blend in smoothies or some people use it in baked goods. cashews and skinless almonds work especially well for making milk if you don’t want to strain and if you have a strong enough blender (think vitamix)
I’m going to try this. What do you use for a strainer?
Thanks
a straining bag is the best because you can work the liquid out a bit better, but you can always use a metal sieve as long as it’s pretty fine.