If you have never tried homemade coconut milk, you are missing out! Personally, any store-bought milk-replacement is a waste of money and taste buds. Who would want to pay triple the price for added preservatives, fillers, and garbage? Exactly. If you can spare 8 minutes, you have all the skills you need to make this simple and delicious dairy-replacement.
Why Coconut Milk?
Coconut milk is lactose-free, thus serves as a great dairy-replacement for those who are intolerant to lactose. Additionally, it’s a great milk replacement for vegans. If you are neither of those things (which I’m not), then you will enjoy coconut milk simply for it’s delicious flavor and nutritional value. Coconut milk is rich in lauric acid, which is converted into an antiviral, antifungal and antibacterial in the body. Lauric acid is a medium chain fatty acid, which unlike other fats, is thought to be used up quickly by the body, instead of being stored as fat. In fact, a 2013 study in the Journal of Nutrition and Metabolism, aimed to document the change in lipid (cholesterol) metabolism when participants consumed coconut milk versus soy milk. The results were fascinating, “An unexpected finding in our study was the statistically significant decrease in LDL (bad cholesterol) level following coconut milk supplementation.” To add to this, it not only lowered the bad cholesterol, but raised the good cholesterol (HDL). Not to mention, coconut milk can have outstanding benefits for the skin! It’s also rich in fiber, a range of vitamins, minerals and iron. Did I mention that it’s delicious?
Ingredients:
- Filtered water, 4 cups
- Shredded, unsweetened, organic coconut, 2 cups (a 2lb bag can be purchased here)
Directions:
You typically want twice as much water as coconut. Thus, if you want to double or half this recipe, go for it! Warm the water in a tea kettle (because I am not a fan of the microwave). We have this incredible Breville Tea Kettle, which has lasted us 10 years (and still going strong). It has different temperature settings (selected with the click of a button) for different types of tea or coffee, to ensure you do not over-heat your water. Now, back to business: It’s important not to warm the water, or it makes it tricky to run through a nut milk bag, without burning your hands. Put warm water and coconut in blender. Blend on high for roughly 60 seconds. Pour through nut milk bag (or cheesecloth) and store in glass milk jug. I purchased a pack of 4, 1-liter glass jugs, here. Not only are they beautiful, but they serve a purpose! There is no sense in storing your organic, homemade deliciousness in harmful plastics. This delicious coconut milk is best if enjoyed within 2-3 days of making it. However, this is never a concern in our household. This goodness goes fast!
For a sweetened version:
After running coconut milk through nut milk bag, pour back into blender. Add the following:
- 2-4 organic medjool dates
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp organic vanilla
Blend, store in glass milk jugs, and ENJOY!
References:
Ekanayaka, R. A., Ekanayaka, N. K., Perera, B., & P. G. S. M. De Silva. (2013). Retrieved February 02, 2018, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3824402/
- • 4 cups filtered water
- • 2 cups, shredded, unsweetened, organic coconut
- • 2-4 organic medjool dates
- • 1 tsp cinnamon
- • 1 tsp organic vanilla
- Put warm water and coconut in blender. Blend on high for roughly 60 seconds. Pour through nut milk bag. After running coconut milk through nut milk bag, pour back into blender. Add the remaining ingredients, blend until smooth, and store in glass jug.