It’s really quite easy to make your own coconut milk. In fact, if you’re looking for a dairy alternative, you can make nut milk, rice milk or any other type of milk in just a matter of minutes once your nuts or seeds are soaked over night and rinsed thoroughly.
Why You May Choose to Opt Out of Dairy Milk
1. Pasteurized dairy can contain toxins. Pasteurized, factory farmed dairy milk may contain blood, pus, feces, antibiotics, pesticides and growth hormones that impeded the human bodies ability to heal, and remain balanced.
2. Is indigestible for many people after the age of three. Rennin and lactase are needed to break down the casein and lactose present in milk. Once a child stops breastfeeding, at roughly the age of three years old, their body can stop producing these enzymes necessary to digest milk, which is the reason why children and adults can find milk hard to process.
3. Precipitates the formation of mucus which the body attempts to detoxify. The presence of dairy in the body (including cheese, yogurt and ice cream) creates mucosal detoxification in the form of runny noses, coughing up phlegm, the common cold, asthma, sinusitis and bronchitis. This is why many parents of children with asthma or who experience numerous colds are now choosing to stop giving their children pasteurized milk.
If you think that it’s time to start making your own dairy-alternative milk, I suggest a nut milk or a coconut milk!
Coconut milk is known for many benefits, including:
- Helping to maintain blood sugar
- Keeping skin and blood vessels elastic and flexible
- Building strong bones
- Preventing anemia
- Relaxing muscles and nerves
- Controlling your weight
- Decreasing joint inflammation
- Promoting a healthy immune system
As with anything, I try to make as much as I can fresh. I make my own coconut milk, as well as other nut milks, though it of course it helps that I live and travel in the tropics, where coconuts are fresh and abundant.
All you need to make your own fresh coconut milk is:
- 2 Young Thai Coconuts – this is important. You will want to make sure you select the right coconuts. The younger coconuts have soft flesh on the inside. In the older ones, the flesh has hardened considerably.
- A dash of sea salt
- A dash of sweetener – such as honey.
- A blender
- Nut milk bag – or you can use cheesecloth or nylon is an alternative.
Here are the steps:
1. First, break open your coconuts. I recommend using a heavy cleaver to do so.
2. Second, pour the liquid into the blender – make sure that you have strained out any pieces of coconut shell or husk that may be in the liquid.
3. Scoop out the flesh with a spoon and add it to the blender.
4. Blend on high for a minute and then strain the mixture through a nut milk bag or cheese cloth. You can save the ‘pulp’ for a future recipe!
5. Return to the blender and add a dash of sea salt and about 1 tsp. of sweetener like honey, dates or maple syrup – this will help preserve the milk.
6. Blend again for 10 seconds, then transfer your milk to a jar or container and store in the fridge!
Easy, right?!
This batch of coconut milk will last about 4 or 5 days, although I find myself making it fresh every other day. I use it in my tea, my smoothies, my soups … In everything!
She currently works with clients helping them to lose weight, overcome eating disorders, start and maintain a sensible exercise plan, and build a healthy lifestyle.
Erin’s nutritional counseling has helped many individuals sort through conflicting health and dietary information to find out what is good for their body, and what is sustainable on a long-term basis. She specializes in detoxification programs, internal cleanses, and helping clients build strong immune systems.
She also travels internationally to do workshops, yoga retreats, and personal coaching.
In addition, Erin is a Certified Power Yoga Instructor and a Certified Raw Food Chef from the SunKitchen. She holds a BA in International Business from the University of Vermont.
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