Sunday, January 17, 2010

herbal coffee, almond milk, and chia pudding

carmella and don from the sunny raw kitchen introduced us to herbal coffee during their stay. for those who don't already know, herbal coffee is a grounded blend of herbs, grains, nuts and seeds that have been roasted. while it is not raw, it is naturally caffeine-free and non-acidic.


i've been sippin' teeccino hazelnut and organic chai. i find these flavors to be pleasant, and they go very nicely with yummy raw desserts!

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if you'd like, you can read part I, part II, and part III of our animal-friendly raw-venture with carmi and don (hey, it was a very exciting time for me and deserved more than one post! =)  you can also read carmella's recap of the visit at the sunny raw kitchen blog here.
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i like to add a bit of almond milk to my herbal coffee. i also enjoy a glass of almond milk with chocolatey desserts. i've been making three cups at a time and conveniently storing it in a quart-size mason jar.


Almond Milk

1 C. almonds, soaked
3 C. filtered water
nut milk bag

process water and almonds in a high speed blender a minute or so. strain mixture through nut milk bag (or a paint straining bag). store almond pulp in the fridge or freezer for later use. almond milk keeps for about 3-4 days in the fridge.

kelli's notes: i like to leave the almond milk plain, but occasionally add a little maple syrup to sweeten it a bit. i've seen recipes with coconut oil, soy lecithin, agave and vanilla, but i'm all for simple!

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carmella taught me how to make this easy yet delicious chia pudding. (come to think of it, she taught me how to make nut milk, too!=)

Chia Pudding
serves 1-2

2 T chia seeds
1/4 C almond milk
maple syrup
raisins
cinnamon

mix chia seeds and almond milk with a whisk or fork. allow seeds to absorb the liquid a few minutes, then stir again. add raisins, maple syrup, and cinnamon to taste.

  Chia Pudding makes a delicious layer for parfaits with strawberries, Chocolate Sauce, and Sweet Gratitude's Coconut Meringue.

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nikki from yummy raw kitchen posted an amazing-looking Chia Pudding recipe with almond butter! go take a looksie!
=)

15 comments:

  1. Hi Kelli - sounds delicious! I have some hemp seed milk in the fridge and was wondering what to do with it. Maybe for tomorrow's breakfast we could have some chia pudding as a porridge and some teeccino as well. Thanks for the inspiration :-)

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  2. yay for almond milk! I keep it simple too.

    coffee can be a hard habit to break. never tried teechino. there are some coffee substitutes with barley that i have to stay away from.

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  3. I bet you smile every time you drink from that cute cup! The teecchino sounds very interesting, and I love the yummy look of your pudding and parfait:)

    Thanks for sharing your Raw-venture, what fun!!!

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  4. mmmm.... I really need to try me some teechnio. I keep hearing so much good stuff about it, and I'm a total coffee junkie. Also, can you believe I've never made nut milk? I have the bag and everything. Need to get on that one too! Thanks for the link to my breakfast chia :)

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  5. antony, you are very welcome. =)

    bitt * i'm a real cheap-o and don't like to "waste" my ingredients. if i like it simple, i keep it simple! and so great for you to kick the caffeine addiction. did you wean yourself or go cold turkey?

    evergreen, thank you, and it was my pleasure to share! i love going back and remembering the yummy times i've had. my blog is like a journal these days!

    nikki * what are you waiting for girl?! i actually had the bag a long time before i made it too. it wasn't until carmie showed me exactly what to do that i tried it myself. it's so simple though!

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  6. What a great idea, I'm going to make chia seed pudding tomorrow!

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  7. This is Yummy Girl! Have to get myself some chia...How does the herbal coffee taste like? close to tea taste? or nuty taste?;-D It's very interesting & I am curious;-]
    ((Hugs))

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  8. hi tess! enjoy it! =)

    hi hippiemom, thanks! i'm drinking the hazelnut herbal coffee now. i'd say its more like coffee, but with a sweeter carob, slightly nutty taste. the ingredients include hazelnuts, almonds, dates, figs, carob, barley, and chicory. i think it's a nice alternative to caffeinated coffee, but i still enjoy my regular coffee every now and again!

    xoxoxox

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  9. i've been wanting to try almond milk for awhile now -- had no idea it was so easy to make! thanks for the recipe!

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  10. thanks for stopping by, marisa! =)yes, it's very easy, and you can also make other nut milks like brazil and hazelnut!

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  11. Everything looks delicious! I love that beautiful picture of your almond milk. I like to make my own, it is so much fun, very inexpensive, and I love to flavor it with all different spices. But I've been lazy lately and I just keep buying soymilk from the store!

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  12. thanks, v.v.! i hear ya - sometimes i just don't feel like soaking the nuts (and how easy is that?!)

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  13. Chia seeds and almond milk, two more foods I have never tried. I am always surprised at how many raw food alternatives there are. I am going to have to look into the chia seeds some more, perhaps that is something I could grow myself. It looks as though they thicken up just like flax seeds do...very interesting.

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  14. I've always thought about making my own almond milk! Thanks for the recipe.

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  15. hi mr. h! i hear great things about chia seeds. you should definitely look into growing them. i wish i had an almond tree with the amount of almonds i consume!

    you're welcome, post grad hair cut! =)

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