Brazil Nut Milk

Most people have brazil nuts at Christmas …usually chocolate coated, but still a relatively healthy treat for the season’s celebrations.  But have you ever considered making milk from brazil nuts? With many people experiencing intolerance to lactose, there are a wide variety of alternative milks available now.  However, it’s really simple to make your own. I have recently made some with coconut and almonds, both of which are delicious, but I thought I’d try it with brazil nuts, and the result was fabulous!  

Brazil nuts contain the richest source of selenium.  They have antioxidant properties which help the body prevent cell damage from free-radicals. Selenium also helps support your immune system, which is great for this time of year.

I was surprised at how simple it was to make with only three ingredients:

1. Brazil nuts
2. Water
3. Medjool date.  

(Some people like to add a vanilla pod, but this is down to personal preference)

• I started by soaking the brazil nuts for a few hours in water - this makes it easier to blend them.

• Then I put them into a blender with approx 500mls of water and one large Medjool date (stone removed).  Give this a good whizz in the blender until white and smooth with no visible bits of brazil nut (usually about 30 seconds depending on the speed of your blender)  
• Once blended, use either a nut milk bag, or a fine sieve, and strain the milk into a glass storage bottle.  If using a sieve, you may want to strain it several times to make the milk smoother.

The result is a wonderfully creamy brazil nut milk, which is great on granola cereal, used in recipes or better still, drink straight from the fridge ice cold! This will keep in the fridge for up to 3 days, but it’s so delicious I doubt it will last that long!