In the spirit of the games, I struggled to think of three things to which I could apply medals. This was challenging, especially from a tech perspective, because I’ve used the same brand of laptop and phone for the last (almost) 20 years. The first thing that came to my mind was making homemade almond milk… soooooo I’m going with it. I am an almond milk latte kinda girl, so I’ve been practicing this method for quite some time.
In 3rd place, for the Bronze: Blending Raw Almonds with Water (the OG way) –
The first time I ever tasted homemade almond milk, I fell in love! The taste! The texture! You take a certain amount of almonds and soak them in water overnight. Then add the water-soaked almonds to a blender with more water (not the water they were soaking in. Why? No clue). Add vanilla extract if you please. And voila! Wait, nope. You have put the contents in a nut milk bag and squeeze it till you get cramps in your hands. Then you have delicious almond milk. But wait, no – you have to somehow clean a bag in the sink. It was all too messy for my taste and too much manual labor.
In 2nd place, for the Silver: The Almond Cow
My in-laws incessantly ask me what I want for the holidays, and though it is a generous gesture, I take this opportunity to ask for things I would never buy myself. Enter: The Almond Cow. Introduced by a friend, this machine was cool at first. I made macadamia nut milk (look at me, expanding my horizons). While clean-up was fairly easy, you couldn’t play around too much with the proportions, so it left milk tasting watery. This experience, however, introduced dates into my almond milk!
In 1st place, for the Gold: Blending Almond Butter with Water
Thank you, TikTok, ONCE AGAIN, for blowing my mind. If you’re a member of that hot-dog-selling, exclusive card-holding club, Costco, you can get an enormous jar of organic almond butter (ingredients: organic roasted almonds). The almonds are already pressed, so no hand cramps! Blend it with water and some dates. Play with the proportions if you like!
Honorable mention: The grocery store. Califia Unsweetened Almond Milk or Almond Malk. Malk has the least amount of ingredients, though it’s a bit pricier and doesn’t last as long (make sense).