This year, I’m giving up alcohol for 3 weeks. I’m not sure what my relationship with alcohol will be when I’m done, but my goal is to connect with how good I feel without it and take it from there.

What are your resolutions this year? Do you want to eat healthier? Give your body a rest from the constant barrage it gets? Why not pledge to eat healthier this year by learning one new healthy recipe each week? In fact, I challenge you to try it.

Take the “eat in b-e-d” challenge
Each week, find inspirational recipes on the pages of this site or others that have healthy, wholesome ingredients and let your taste buds be your guide. If you like it, cook it more often! But still commit to trying a new, different healthy recipe each week. Your goal is to begin a lifelong journey with food – finding healthier ways to enjoy it each week.

Make a pledge to eat healthier for the benefit of your body, mind and spirit…

Nylon Hop Bag: The Perfect Almond Milk, Nut Milk, Rice Milk Strainer and Filter

My first foray into nut milk came this weekend. I attempted rice milk in the past with cheesecloth and a colander. Don’t do it! It’s messy and a hassle and will deter you from how easy making healthy alternative milk can be.

Instead, use this miracle nylon hop bag: my mom uses one for making wine and suggested it. Actually, she bought it for me and delivered it to my house. Aren’t mom’s great? She picked this up for less than $5.00.

Making this non-dairy milk at home will not only eliminate a laundry list of preservatives from your diet, but will also save you money. We did some calculations on this and encourage you to do your own, estimating our cost at about $4/gallon…significantly less than store-bought almond milk and even less than rice and soy in many locations. I haven’t bought cow’s milk in so long, I have no idea how it compares to those prices but am curious. Let us know how it compares in your area.

Here’s the recipe mom (and everyone else). Enjoy it.

What you’ll need

• 1/3-1/2 cup raw nuts (I used almonds, but want to try cashews and macadamias as well)
• 3 cups near-to-boiling water
• sweetener (optional – agave, rice syrup, maple syrup, molasses   I usually use brown rice syrup)
• flavors (optional – vanilla, cinnamon, chai, - I didn’t add any additional flavors, but think it would be fun and interesting to experiment with hot beverages for dessert or entertaining)

How you make it

First, grind the nuts into a fine powder or paste. I use a coffee grinder. Note: if you (or your roommate ) use your grinder for coffee, you may want to invest in a second grinder instead of having to wash it out all of the time. Consider it. I’d rather wash it out than go buy a second grinder, but know other folks who swear by having one for each.

Add the nuts and water to the blender. Blend and add optional sweeteners and flavors. Be sure not to exceed your blender’s capacity. I use a food processor and had to split this recipe into 2-3 batches.

Pour the blended mixture through the nylon bag into a refrigerator storage container. Press the bag firmly to strain the liquid from the remaining nut paste. Mom says she used her leftover nut paste to make biscotti the other day. How cool is that. I need to try some. 

Chill and serve for a delicious, healthy milk alternative that can be used with cereals, cooking and even enjoyed with cookies or a peanut butter sandwich entirely on its own. Or try it as a flavored dessert beverage, potentially with rum, kaluah or other liquor. 

I look forward to hearing your favorite variations!

Update: March 2010 – I just started going to Natural Chef School and was advised to soak the almonds (and any nuts) before using them. It helps break down a natural defense that nuts have, helping your body absorb their nutrients and digest them more easily. So I soaked the almonds for about 8 hours, then easily plucked them out of their skins before grinding them. It takes a little more preparation, but the results were stellar.