Coffee is my drink of choice. I absolutely love it. But like a lot of drinks, coffee is an acquired taste, especially straight up black!! Now, I didn’t used to be this way. I drank grande iced nonfat vanilla latte’s like it was my job! But then I was gifted an espresso machine which was the turning point for me. We started making our own lattes at home with (store bought) almond milk and thenn we had just straight espresso and I never really looked back at having anything in my coffee. I’ve dabbled in making my own nutmilks before, but gave up because lets be honest, using cheesecloth to strain anything equals a big hot mess!!
When Ellies Best contacted me to try out their Nut Milk Bags I honestly was a little hesitant at first. Were they gonna be like all the other bags I’ve seen around? Was it going to be hard to clean? (that was a big one for me, as I usually just threw cheesecloth away cause it wasn’t worth cleaning). Could I use if for whatever I wanted to “strain?”
Since coffee is LIFE I decided that when I received them I would make some cold brew and some nut milk. It had been awhile since I had any milk in my coffee, so this seemed like the best time to do it! I quickly ground up my favorite coffee, put it in a mason jar with some water and set my cashews in a bowl to soak. Fast forward a few hours later and I was ready to roll. The 1st thing I noticed with Ellies Best bags was that they were big, but not too big. Perfect for me to add a bunch of whatever into it without worrying about stuff spilling over the top. The second thing I noticed was that the mesh was soooo fine I couldn’t even see any little holes; a good sign cause that meant when I went to clean it I didn’t need to worry about little pieces getting stuck and having to figure out how to clean it.
After I poured and squeezed (and then washed my hands) I called my husband to tell him how bomb diggity (yes I still say that!) these nut milk bags actually were. And believe me….I wouldn’t even be posting about something that I didn’t like, but these were definitely worth a mention!!
They were so easy, my 4 year old was able to some of the work for me!! Anyway, lets get to the recipe for the sweet cashew milk, which is also whole30 approved!
Ingredients
- 1 cup of raw cashews, soaked
- 3 cups of water
- 2 dates
- 1/2 tsp salt
- OPTIONAL: vanilla bean, scraped
- FOR COLD BREW
- 1/2 cup ground coffee
- 1 1/2 cups filtered water
Instructions
- FOR COLD BREW
- Grind your coffee and place in a large mason jar.
- Add your water, stir gently and then let sit at room temperature for 4 hours or preferably 24 hours to really let the flavors combine.
- To strain, take an Ellie's Nut Milk Bag and place over a bowl. Pour your coffee into the bag, then lift up and squeeze until all you have left are the grinds.
- FOR THE SWEET CASHEW MILK
- Place your cashews into a bowl and cover with water. Let soak for 2-3 hours.
- Drain water and then place cashews into a blender.
- Add your water, dates, and salt. If using a vanilla bean, slice open and scrape out the insides.
- Blend until smooth.
- Take a bowl and put the bag over it. Pour your cashew milk into the bag and then squeeze until all the liquid is gone.
- Pour the "milk" into an air tight container and place in your fridge.
Notes
Cashew Milk will last in your fridge for about a week. Cold brew, for 2 weeks.
Cashew milk will naturally separate, just shake it up before you use it. And because Ellies Best rocked my world and I know it will rock yours too, here is a sweet little discount code for you to use when you are checking out!
DISCOUNT CODE: jenn10
Whole30: yes
Paleo: yes
