Customer Reviews

Not Milk-- Nut Milks!: 40 Of the Most Original Dairy-Free Milk Recipes Ever!

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This is an excellent book not only for children with allergies, but for everyone looking for healthy alternatives... Almonds are hypoallergenic naturally and almond milk is perfectly safe - better yet when organic almonds are used. Peanuts (a bean, really, and not a nut at all) are one of the highest allergens in young children. Peanuts are also not the best choice for nut milks. Almonds contain proteins, fats, carbohydrates, calcium, potassium, and magnesium - they are the BEST choice for nut milks. Other "good" nuts are cashews, pecans, pine nuts, walnuts, pumpkinseeds, sesame seeds (may be a tad strong for the wee ones) and sunflower seeds. This book has 40 wonderful recipes. I have the first edition of this book (1990) for it's been a trusted freind for over 10 years and I have tested each and every recipe myself and they truly are wonderful... I HIGHLY recommend it. The best part is that it really gets you inspired and after tasting the delicious elixir, and knowing all of the benefits, you will NEVER buy boxes soy, rice or almond milk again. It's really a lovely book.
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This little gem has a neat collection of simple, easy to follow recipes for non-dairy milks that can be prepared from nut and seed slurries...Not only can these milks be used alone, but also in dishes that require milk or for the Kosher cook. These milks are also great for children who don't get enough of their essential fats from their regular diet or who have allergies to milk proteins.

I was extremely pleased with this book in that it offered a myriad of recipes for application not only with different nuts, but also different recipes for each type. As a new vegan I have found it very cost effective to make my own raw milks at home, and one can speculate the additional benefits of avoiding the preservatives in the more expensive store bought options. I especially appreciated the recipe for dairy/egg-free "egg" nog =). I would recommend this book to anyone interested in the benefits of nut milks for whatever reason, and especially if you are on a limited budget (like myself) that does not make room for store bought nut milks. If you are trying to remove dairy from your diet, you will also find that these milks make viable substitutes for dairy milk as ingredients in most recipes. Thanks for this infinitely useful product!

This book contains a collection of interesting nutritious drinks made with various nuts and seeds. In the introduction, Cole points out some of the nutritional benefits of drinking beverages made from nuts. She includes comparisons of non-sugar sweeteners (such as barley malts, honey, or stevia leaf), and ingredients that can be added to fortify the milks (such as flax seeds or lecithin). The instructions for preparing the milks are explained on one page, and they are the same for all the recipes in the book. Thus, if you get the procedure down, you'll be ready to try anything. Equipment needed for making the milks includes a nut grinder (coffee bean grinder), a blender, a pot and a fine mesh strainer. The recipes in the book are organized by the type of nut or seed in the base, and include chapters for almonds, cashews, pecans, pine nuts, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds (mainly tahini), and sunflower seeds. The recipes frequently call for fruits, especially apples or bananas. Some also call for flavor extracts, such as vanilla or almond. Included with the recipes are notes about the special nutritional content of the ingredients.

I enjoyed the variety of milks described in the book, and some of them are quite tasty. I'm not entirely convinced by Cole's interpretation of reasons for not drinking cow's milk however. She writes "the most serious threat in drinking milk lies in the fact that its natural chemical structure is altered by the heat and pressure used in processing to the point of making it indigestible." Let's put this into historical perspective, however. Just a little over one hundred years ago, the most serious threat in drinking milk was not that it was pasteurized, but that it wasn't pasteurized, and milk very often contained bacteria that could make you very, very sick. Pasteurizing milk has brought such overwhelmingly clear health advantages that governments around the world require the process for commercial milk distribution. The only safe way to drink unpasteurized milk is if you have a personal relationship with the cow-if you know Bessie by name and know the hands that milk her, then you're going to know if it's safe to drink her milk. But otherwise, stick to the pasteurized stuff, or follow the recipes here and make your own milk from nuts or seeds.