cashews: sexy lil nuts
I’ve been enjoying this delicious and nutritious nut for many years in a variety of forms. Here are just a few of my favorite vegan cashew cheese and yogurt recipes. There are many claims out there about just how amazing this odd lil nut that grows outside of it’s fruit is. According to several sources it is a heart-healthy, diabetic-controlling, iron-metabolizing, immune-boosting super hero nut that also may increase sexual vitality in men. Definitely incorporating more of these into hubby’s diet.
Before there were a huge grocery store shelf loaded with a variety of nut and plant-based milk boxes, I used to make my own nut milks — so last-century man.
I got lazy and started using all these amazing organic boxed almond, rice, soy, oat, coconut and cashew milks. Then I learned about a particular ingredient common in most of these alternative milks — carrageenan. Ugh. The price we pay for convenience, right? According to one article in Prevention magazine online, although the source of it may be natural (seaweed), “Carrageenan predictably causes inflammation, which can lead to ulcerations and bleeding,” and the articles goes on to say there have been studies connecting gastrointestinal cancer in lab animals (poor animals).
While there are brands that have removed carrageenan, I find it just simpler and perhaps safer (definitely cheaper) to make my own. So, for the past couple of years, I’ve been making vanilla cashew milk (along with other nut cheeses and yogurts) pretty much on a weekly basis. It’s become a part of my Monday routine.
Here’s a fun GD Video tutorial on just how simple it is to make vanilla cashew milk…
recipe for vanilla cashew milk
ingredients
4 – 5 cups filtered water
1 1/2 cup raw organic cashews (pieces are cool)
3 tablespoons organic maple syrup (or to taste. sometimes I use only 1 tablespoon for flavor and a tiny bit of good stevia)
1/2 teaspoon organic vanilla powder (you can substitute vanilla extract, but use less)
what to do
- soak the nuts in about 3 of the cups of water (enough to cover completely) for at least 3 hours, but can leave overnight (covered in fridge if overnight)
- drain the nuts
- put it all in a blender and add 1 cup of fresh filtered water and begin to blend on high
- add water as needed to get desired consistency (can be a bit thicker for cream substitute—great for vegan coffee creamer. just sayin’)
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