Welcome back to our health journal. It has been months since we updated you on our efforts to get healthy. It’s been hectic but we’re still gradually changing our diet and routine to a healthier one.

Our latest success has been replacing dairy milk with cashew milk; a delicious, creamy and healthy alternative which is extremely easy to make – it’s just cashews and water! In this journal entry we discuss the benefits of cashew milk and give you a step-by-step guide on how to make it.

The Benefits of Cashew Milk

Cashew milk contains a variety of vitamins and minerals, such as calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, zinc, manganese, selenium, thiamine, niacin, riboflavin and vitamins B1, B5, B6, E and K. In addition, it also contains protein, a small amount of carbohydrate and has a fairly high fat content but most of this fat, 75%, is monounsaturated fat (oleic and palmitoleic acids) which helps lower harmful LDL-cholesterol.

The presence of all these vitamins and minerals means that cashew milk can contribute towards maintaining a healthy heart, reducing your risk of stroke, building strong bones and teeth and supporting your immune system.

Cashew Milk Recipe

Cashew milk is extremely easy to make, it’s just water and cashews, and you can be creative by adding your spice of choice to add some additional flavour. You can try nutmeg, cinnamon or vanilla pods.

Ingredients

300g cashews
4 dates (acts as a sweetener)
1 teaspoon of vanilla essence
5 cups of water (divided into two)

 

Directions

Soak the cashews overnight in cold water. Drain the cashews and then rinse until the water runs clear.

Remove the pits from the dates and then add these and the cashews to a blender with 2 ½ cups of water.

Blend until nice and smooth and then strain the mixture (you can use a strainer, cheesecloth or nut milk bag). Collect the milk in a jug and retain the pulp.

Put the pulp back into the blender and add the rest of the water (2 ½ cups) and blend. Strain the mixture, collect the milk and add it to your jug.

Add 1 teaspoon of vanilla essence to the milk and stir. Cover the jug and store in the fridge for up to 4 days.

And, that’s it!

You can use your cashew milk in place of dairy milk, so it can be used for breakfast cereal, porridge, baking, in smoothies or as a lovely drink.

Enjoy!