BASIC ALMOND MILK

Homemade almond milk contains all of the nutrients of the whole almond, and is packed with protein and heart-healthy monounsaturated fats and omega fatty acids, as well as Vitamins B, D and E, magnesium, potassium and copper. Ready to make your own pure almond milk? Let's get started.

Ingredients
1 cup raw almonds, soaked
3 cups filtered water

Instructions
USING BLENDER
1. Put 1 1/2 cups of the water and the almonds in a blender. Blend on high speed until very smooth. Add the remaining 1 1/2 cups of water and blend again. Strain for a smoother free flowing texture.
2. To strain, place a nut milk bag over the opening of a glass bowl, jar or jug. Pour the milk into the bag, twisting the bag closed, and gently squeezing it to pass the liquid through.

USING SLOW JUICER
1. When the juicer is running, spoon a ladle full of almonds and water into the top of the juicer. Carefully add more.
2. Continue adding more nuts and water into the juicer until you are done. To get a fine texture strain it from a fine mesh strainer.

Recipe Notes
Soak raw almonds overnight or 8-10 hours at room temperature. Rinse well and discard the water.
You can adjust the consistency of the milk by increasing or decreasing the amount of water.
Almond milk can be easily stored in a sealed container in the fridge for 2 to 3 days.
When left for sometime the milk tends to separate. Just give it a stir or a shake before using. It'll come back to its normal state again.
This basic almond milk can be used in recipes as a substitute to dairy milk or you can add a sweetener and some spices of your choice to make it more flavourful.
Almond pulp can be stored in refrigerator to use later in recipes. You may also dehydrate the pulp and turn it into almond floor. The pulp can also be used as face pack or body scrub.

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Uric acid and Almonds

If you have a family history of heart disease, you’re no doubt aware of the factors that can lower your risk of a heart attack and stroke.  However, even where there is no history of any heart troubles, there is another factor that can greatly increase your risk…Hyperuricemia. That’s a condition related to high levels of uric acid in the body resulting from the natural breakdown of cells and as a byproduct of the foods you eat. And gout – a type of recurrent arthritis- commonly associated with high levels of uric acid. In addition to causing a painful gouty joint (most often in your foot), uric acid is also an important biomarker of your vascular function. On a more sinister level, high levels of uric acid can be a sign of coronary artery disease (CAD). And in fact, studies show that each 1 mg/dL increase in blood uric acid levels increases the risk of heart-associated death by 12 percent!

In recent years, the Western diet — full of sugar and refined carbohydrates — has been responsible for increasing levels of uric acid in many people.

But as luck would have it, there is a very simple way to reduce uric acid in your body…

Eat almonds every day- When researchers gave 150 CAD patients 10 grams of almonds each morning on an empty stomach for 12 weeks, they discovered their uric acid levels were 14 to 18 percent lower than those consuming no nuts. So what is it about almonds that douse uric acid and protect you heart attack, stroke and gout?

Almonds provide a wide range of highly bioavailable nutrients that not only have a positive impact on uric acid levels but provide plenty of other health benefits, too.

A small handful of almonds provides:

·         Magnesium (96 mg) – for optimal heart and muscle function

·         Calcium (96 mg) – for maintaining strong bones

·         Potassium (262 mg) – for regulating blood pressure

·         Phosphorus (172 mg) – for energy production and bone mineralization

·         Vitamin E  (9 mg) – a powerful antioxidant to fight free radicals and reduce inflammation

·         Soluble fibre  (4.5 g) – for optimal digestion, blood sugar and cholesterol regulation

·         Protein (6 g) – to support effective cell building and to stabilize blood sugar

·         Monounsaturated fat (7 g) – to correct cholesterol irregularities with proven ability to increase levels of “good” HDL cholesterol

·         L arginine  (1 g) – a precursor to nitric oxide, a compound that promotes healthy circulation and blood pressure

Snacking on almonds directly is obviously one way to consume them. And all it takes to reduce uric acid levels is a measly 7 to 8 nuts per day.

And best way is to soak them and have daily.

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