A slower and more sustainable life
I love making my own oat milk but struggled to find a good use for the leftover oat pulp. There are plenty of good ideas like making cookies or overnight oats but these were not right for me. I love oat bars though and adapted …
Vegan butter is now readily available in most supermarkets. However, I found it difficult to find any option without palm oil with is very important to us. After not finding anything in our local shops I decided to just try making it at home and …
After testing a few different milk alternatives I found that oak milk is perfect for me. It is versatile, I like the taste – even in coffee and it was easier to make at home than I had thought! Everything I needed I already had, so a few months ago I decided to make my own oat milk. Maybe it is time for you to give this a go as well and make your own oat milk at home.
Some people find it can get a bit slimy but personally I have not experienced that. It may happen if you cannot strain the oat milk properly so maybe try a different approach. I use a very fine mesh sieve which works great for me. I found it at my parents’ place and is from my grandparents so I was happy I could give it a new lease of life.
Now check that you have all things that you need to make oat milk. Don’t worry you don’t need a lot. You will need a blender, a sieve, a nut milk bag or simply a clean t-shirt, oats, water and if you wish a sweetener of your choice.
My favourite use is with my homemade granola. I always keep a jar of my granola for my weekday breakfast. It is packed with nuts and absolutely delicious. I really love oat milk for its versatility and it is an eco-conscious choice as it is more environmentally friendly than of course cows milk but also soy or almond milk. So if you are looking for tasty vegan milk that is also better for the environment than other milk, look no further!
Not only is it the eco-concious choice but also a good choice if you want to live a more frugal life. It is very affordable. I just buy a big pack of oats which comes in a cardboard box and it lasts me several weeks. I will not only make oat milk out of it but also use it for granola and in baking. It is great value for money!
I usually make my oat milk at the weekend but really it is such a quick process that I started making it during the week. If I notice that I run out of oat milk I just take 15 minutes in the evening and prepare a new batch.
So now that you have your oats, water and kitchen blender prepared, learn how to make the oat milk.
You will only need these few ingredients and the syrup is optional! I sometimes add syrup if I want sweeted oat milk but usully leave it out as I use my oat milk for a variety of recipes.
Now that you have all ingredients together add the water and oats to your kitchen blender. Blend on high for about 30 seconds to 45 seconds depending on the power of your blender.
Then grab your strainer, nut milk bag or clean t-shirt to strain the oat milk. I tend to use a fine strainer sieve and found this method to be the best. I also tried it with a coffee press but that was too messy for me and I stuck to the strainer. It takes a little bit longer but really only every takes me a few minutes and the result is worth it!
Easy to make vegan milk which is great for baking or in coffee.
Nutrition information isn’t always accurate.
Now that was really easy, wasn’t it? If you do have questions about the process you can always leave a comment in my blog and I’d love to help.
If you ask yourself what to make with the remaining oat pulp here is an idea: you could try making raw chocolate oat bars! They are easy to make and are a nice treat or even make a nice breakfast alternative. I also made chocolate brownies with it in the past.
I am very curious how you use the leftover oat pulp though, please feel free to share your recipes in the comments! I love trying new recipes. 🙂
If you made oat milk for the first time you may wonder if it is normal that it is separating. Yes, that is absolutely normal and happens also with store-bought oat milk but you may not have seen it happen yet because of the packaging. This is easy to fix! You just shake it when you take it out of the fridge! This is how mine looks after it sat in the fridge for a while.
Oat milk generally keeps well for about seven days. If you want to learn how to store your oat milk, read about it here.
If you enjoyed the recipe and want to find more head over to my recipe section and join my Facebook Group which focuses on homemade vegan recipes that are affordable and healthy.
Comment below if you have any questions on how to make your own oat milk at home with this recipe. I’m very happy tp help where I can and maybe soon you will make your own oat milk at home regularly. 🙂
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I’ve seen many questions floating around from where to buy sea moss to how to use it. So I wanted to share some answers in this blog post. I’d also love to hear from you in the comments if you have tried it.
But you may wonder now, what is sea moss used for and what are the benefits of it? I was curious as well and started investigating. First, it does seem pretty hard to get hold of at the moment which can be explained with it being freshly harvested from the ocean in most cases. The small shops don’t generally have a lot of stock and with the current high demand are selling out faster. But there are several companies who sell sea moss and of course, it is also available via Amazon (mostly as capsules and as a supplement though). If you want the fresh wild-harvested kind you will have to find of the specialist resellers online.
It is also referred to as Irish Sea Moss is a species of red algae which exists on the Atlantic coast of Europe and North America. It is not a moss but actually seaweed. In its fresh condition, it is soft and cartilaginous, varying in colour from a greenish-yellow, through red, to a dark purple or purplish-brown.
It has been used traditionally as a thickener and has recently become a bit of a buzz word in health-conscious and vegan groups. It has even made it into 2020 Pinterest Trend Report with a rise of 380% from 2018 to 2019. According to Google Trends, the interest just grew from there.
Traditionally, it has been harvested to produce carrageenan which is being used as a thickening agent in various products around the world. In Ireland and parts of Scotland, it is being made into kind of jelly.
More recently it became popular as a thickener for smoothies. When prepared properly it should nearly have no taste and it is now hailed as a vegan version of gelatin. It will take on the taste of whatever it is mixed with which is why it became so popular recently in beverages or baking.
There has been only limited research into the health benefits at this stage. The main benefit that nutritionists point out is improved gut health. It is hailed as the new superfood as it is rich in minerals such as magnesium and iron.
Carrageenan, the processed version of sea moss, was in the centre of a controversy as some studies suggested that it caused digestive issues. If you are concerned about the health implications I recommend to read this article and discuss the topic with a health professional.
Precautions:
Please be aware that excessive amounts of Irish moss may cause loose stools as it is a mild laxative. It is best to avoid intake if diagnosed with hyperthyroidism. Seek the advice of a health care practitioner if you are pregnant, breastfeeding or taking prescription medications, especially blood-thinning drugs.
I’ve been reading about different kinds of sea moss which are making waves in health-conscious communities at the moment. I’ve seen references to Irish sea moss, Jamaican sea moss, purple and gold sea moss and that is easy to be explained as there are many different varieties. However, some are just marketing ploys.
Irish sea moss is also referred to as Chrondus Crispus which only grows in colder waters such as as the Atlantic coast of the US and Europe. The Jamaican variety which is a gracilaria grows in warmer waters only. So Irish sea moss and Jamaican variety clearly refer to the place where they are harvested. However confusingly sometimes the Jamaican variety is being referred to as Irish sea moss. It is best to look for Chrondus Crispus if you are after real Irish sea moss.
Purple and gold sea moss are clearly distinct if you look at the colours.
Sometimes “purple sea moss” is being marketed as true Chrondus Crispus. Though it is a sea moss it is not the same as the scientifically defined Chrondus Crispus that grows in cold water climates along the Atlantic coast of the US and Europe.
As Chondrus Crispus grows off the shores of Ireland, Great Britain, the Atlantic coastlines of the U.S. and Canada, most European shores as well as Iceland make sure to check where the shop gets its sea moss from.
It has to be noted that no matter where the sea moss is from it is being used extensively in these locations.
The Chondrus Crispus variety is higher in nutrients but has a slightly stronger flavour that gracilaria which has nearly no taste and just a very subtle seaweed odour which you won’t notice once you have added it to your smoothie.
So you managed to purchase your unsoaked dry sea moss and now you wonder what to do with it? The best is to soak and rinse it throughouly and prepare a gel which can then be added to smoothies etc.
What you need:
Store your gel in the fridge for up to two weeks so you have to ready to be added to smoothies or other recipes which may need a thickening agent such as non-dairy ice cream, sauces or puddings. You could also add it to soups such as my leek and potato soup.
Sources: