Yummy Homemade Walnut Milk
By: Noelle Twiggs
Published: May 4, 2013

We usually gravitate towards a good creamy almond milk in our house, but this week we’ve been experimenting with a few different versions of a walnut milk. It’s been delicious poured over a bowl of sweet spring strawberries for breakfast. And I also love the creaminess it lends to smoothies.

Yummy Homemade Walnut Milk
	If you don’t have fresh dates, a good maple syrup or a spoonful of honey will also work beautifully here. 
Serving Size: 3 cups
	Ingredients
	1 cup walnuts
 3 cups water
 3 fresh dates, pitted 
1/4 teaspoon good vanilla extract
	 
Better-for-you ingredients
	Learn more about the better-for-you ingredients in this recipe:
Walnuts – Walnuts are one of the few foods that offer a healthy dose of a crucial type of polyunsaturated fat called alpha-linolenic acid, or ALA, which is an omega-3 fatty acid. ALA protects the heart in several ways: It improves your ratio of HDL (good) to LDL (bad) cholesterol, and it reduces inflammation, helping to block the conversion of cholesterol into harmful, artery-clogging plaque. Learn more here.
	 
Directions
	Soak walnuts in water for 30 minutes. Or, ideally, let them soak overnight.
Drain. Rinse several times with fresh water. Drain again.
Place drained walnuts into a good powerful blender with three cups of FRESH water, dates and vanilla. Blend until smooth.
Strain mixture through a nut milk bag. I finally invested in this nut milk bag, it makes this process a lot more enjoyable! If you don’t have a nut milk bag, you can also use a piece of cheesecloth fitted around a large mason jar with an elastic band or a fine metal strainer.

	If you want a little more flavor to this milk, add a spoonful of honey or a good maple syrup. You could even toss the milk back in the blender and add a touch of cocoa powder, Stevia and a dash of sea salt to make chocolate milk. Yum!