Today we’re celebrating Hump Day with an easy, healthy, no-guilt treat: homemade strawberry almond milk with toasted coconut. It’s a drink/dessert/whatever you want to call it that tastes great in the mornings, though as a midday snack I think it REALLY hits the spot especially if you’re craving sweets.
If you follow on Snapchat, you’ll know that I recently grew leery of big brand almond milk after reading how there’s very little regulation to what actually goes into almond milk with most consisting of only 2% actual almonds, chemicals and even dairy (?!). So in looking for alternative routes I was happy to turn to local small-batch company Treehouse Milk for my almond milk needs; ordering (and loving) their Almond Oat and Regular. And I even took a stab at making almond milk myself, which as it turns out, is pretty easy to make at home, plus I love feeling 100% confident in the quality of its ingredients, (The Kitchn shares a great step-by-step recipe if you’re going this route.)
To take your almond milk to the next level, I’m telling you that you need to try it with fresh strawberries and toasted coconut! While you could really add any fruit, I just love this specific flavor combination. And because I prefer my coconut toasted for that extra crunch I simply pop the coconut into a toaster oven for literally two minutes before adding it into the smoothie.
Depending on what time of year it is, the fresh strawberries will differ in sweetness, so after blending, try a taste and then add a little agave if it needs more sweetness. You can also added cinnamon and nutmeg for warmth, and fresh vanilla bean would create a wonderful vanilla flavor too.
And a little tip: if you’d prefer a more strawberry milk-like texture rather skip the ice. Truly, MKR
- 1 cup raw almonds
- 2 cups water, and more for soaking
- Agave syrup or maple syrup, to taste (optional)
- 1 pint strawberries
- 1 cup coconut flakes, toasted
- 1 whole vanilla bean, chopped or 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- coconut flakes, to garnish
- Soak the almonds 1-2 days.
- Place the almonds in a bowl, covering with an inch of water to absorb.
- Cover them with a cloth overnight or put in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.
- Drain and rinse the almonds. Drain the almonds from their soaking water and rinse them under cool running water.
- Combine almonds and water in blender. Place the almonds in the blender and cover with 2 cups of water.
- Blend at the highest speed for 2 minutes. Pulse blender to break up the almonds, then blend continuously for two minutes. The almonds should be a very fine meal and water should be white and opaque.
- Strain the almonds. Line the strainer with a cheese cloth, and place over a measuring cup. Pour the almond mixture into the strainer.
- Press all the almond milk from the almond meal. Gather cheese cloth around the almond meal and twist close. Squeeze to extract as much almond milk as possible.
- Sweeten to taste. Taste the almond milk, and if a sweeter drink is desired, add agave to taste.
- Refrigerate almond milk. Store the almond milk in sealed containers in the fridge for up to two days.
- Combine almond milk, strawberries, toasted coconut flakes, chopped vanilla bean, cinnamon and nutmeg in a blender. Blend well, adding coconut flakes to garnish.
This looks SO good!
Looks delish! Do you use sweetened or unsweetened coconut flakes? And also, how much ice do you add, I didn’t see it in the actual recipe but saw that you mentioned it in the description 🙂
I use unsweetened because I really just like the texture it adds but its totally up to you. Same with ice, depending on how thick you like your smoothie. Hope this helps! xo