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Easy No-Strain Cashew Milk {+ Video} + bonus flavor ideas
Are you curious how-to make delicious cashew milk? While nut milks and other non-dairy milks can seem intimidating and like far more work than they are worth, this definitely doesn’t apply to my Easy No-Strain Cashew Milk. Just two ingredients, a minute or two of blending and that’s it you’re done! Be sure to scroll down for my tasty chocolate cashew milk recipe along with a few other super tasty, fun flavor ideas.
In typical “food blogger” fashion, by way of photos and personal anecdotes it make appear that this recipe is far more complicated than what it actually is. Don’t get it twisted, this is THE MOST simple recipe I may have ever posted. Spoiler alert: to make cashew milk, you need raw cashews and filtered water. THAT’S ABOUT IT! I generally prefer to add a pinch of quality sea salt, sometimes I will sweeten it or add vanilla and I really love my homemade Chocolate Cashew Milk – but in all it’s simple glory you just need water and raw cashews.
I particularly love this cashew milk recipe, because it’s no-strain! No need to fuss with filtered or straining, no nut milk bags. Just blend and enjoy. It’s creamy, rich, silky and super versatile.
You all have known for years that I generally prefer to avoid dairy, I don’t have an intolerance or allergy, I simply feel much better without it. I do OK with some cheeses in small amounts, along with sheep and goat’s milk from time to time, but there is nothing in me that ever feels a desire to sit down with a glass of cold dairy milk. We were never allowed to drink milk as children. My mom was ahead of her time. She knew that dairy can be inflammatory, that the lactose can be troublesome for most folk’s digestion and it can also exasperate respiratory issues.
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8 Tips to Help You Stick with Your New Year’s Resolutions
8 Tips to Help You Stick with Your New Year’s Resolutions, Intentions and Goals. I’m sharing these key mindset tips and strategies to help you shift your approach to change from shame or guilt and move from a place of love, compassion and kindness for yourself and all of the amazing things you are capable of achieving!
I am not at all of the mindset that January 1st is a time for deprivation, detoxes and cleanses to rectify our recent holiday “sins”. Resolutions for so many become less about the fresh start of a New Year with limitless potential and rather come littered with restriction, often rooted in negativity. I’ve been there myself, it rarely ends well.
There is this collective pressure in the air right now, especially amongst the wellness community, to indulge the feelings of guilt and shame of our “wrong-doings” and to use these as fuel to rewrite a New Year by treating our body to some good ‘ol fashioned torture. It’s not only not necessary, it’s not at all effective. Guilt and shame do not fuel our desire to be better and make better choices, rather the opposite is true.
Guilt and shame about a bad habit can often make people feel so bad that they seek to make themselves feel better—by indulging in the very habit that made them feel bad in the first place.
By contrast, people who feel less guilt and who show compassion toward themselves in the face of failure are better able to regain self-control — and therefore, they’re able to resist indulging in the bad habits that make them feel bad. 1https://gretchenrubin.com/2014/08/the-penalty-for-a-bad-habit-the-bad-habit/
Positive Intentions and Sustainable Goals
All that said, I certainly think with a little mindset shifting, it is more than possible that we can utilize the wonderful opportunity of a fresh New Year to set positive intentions, to create goals, begin the process of implementing new habits and introduce lifestyle changes that become an ongoing process as part of a lifetime plan to prioritize our health, happiness and well being. I believe it’s more about the process not perfection or the outcome.
It’s estimated that between 812https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2980864 and 923https://www.statisticbrain.com/new-years-resolution-statistics/ percent of Americans fail to achieve the resolutions they commit to on New Year’s Day. Rather than setting unrealistic, lofty New Year’s Resolutions that come with a set of rules focused around negativity, why not make a commitment to simply prioritize your health by setting positive intentions and goals that support a sustainable and healthy lifestyle, body and mind? These changes are often an ongoing process, and not something you can achieve overnight or even in a few weeks. Rather, it’s a lifetime plan that you stick with over the long haul.
“It’s easy to change your attitude but difficult to change your behavior,” explains Christine Whelan, PhD, clinical professor in the School of Human Ecology at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. “If you’re committed to it, however, you can make a new habit or behavior permanent.”
Phillippa Lally, a health psychology researcher at University College London, published a study in the European Journal of Social Psychology 4http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ejsp.674/abstract, where she and her research team decided to figure out just how long it actually takes to form a habit. On average, it takes more than two months before a new behavior becomes automatic — 66 days to be exact. And how long it takes a new habit to form can vary widely depending on the behavior, the person, and the circumstances. In this study, it took anywhere from 18 days to 254 days for people to form a new habit. This isn’t to discourage you, but more to inspire you to not to get down on yourself if you try something new for a few weeks and it doesn’t become a habit instantly. It’s also helpful to know we don’t have to be perfect and that we need to embrace the process. Ultimately it doesn’t matter how long it takes to become a habit you have to put in the work, either way.
Self-Love
I do think it’s important to note, that while change isn’t by any means required or necessary as we enter a New Year and who you are right now is already enough – growth, shifting, and expansion are all just some of the many positive results we can expect when we embrace change, especially when the change comes as we prioritize our health and well-being! If you wish to elicit change for yourself in this New Year, I find it’s imperative to venture into these goals with intention and always doing so from a place of self-love and knowing that you are beyond worthy of living your very best life and feeling the best that you can, always!!
If you love yourself enough to set mindful and intentional goals for yourself, every single decision that you make has the potential to get you one step closer to living your most nourished, happy and healthy life!
Here are a Few Strategies to Help You Stick with Your New Years Resolutions, Goals and Intentions for the Long Haul:
References
1. ↑ https://gretchenrubin.com/2014/08/the-penalty-for-a-bad-habit-the-bad-habit/ 2. ↑ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2980864 3. ↑ https://www.statisticbrain.com/new-years-resolution-statistics/ 4. ↑ http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ejsp.674/abstract -
How-to Make Beet Kvass // A Cleansing Medicinal Tonic
How-to Make Beet Kvass // A Cleansing Medicinal Tonic
Part of my journey towards healing my body has been transitioning myself from the standard approach to food consumption that we have all grown up with, eating whatever is served to you or whatever was around and seems right or easy – to instead being able to fully tap into my innate sense of knowing what my body truly needs in the moment and nourishing it in a much more mindful way. Most effective has been the practice slowing down and quieting my mind enough to access this intuition, not just while preparing and actually eating my food, but also harnessing this skill away from meal time – in my yoga and meditation practices. It is in these moments that I truly give myself the space the fully listen to my body and trust that deep down I know what is right.
While this may to you, sound like the beginnings of a meditation series rather than a recipe tutorial, your instincts are not actually far off. For me, this ability to tap into my intuition first came by way of my yoga practice, then it was further developed in my meditation practice and now I find myself opening the fridge and not rummaging through for what I am craving and what sounds good, but rather quieting the chatter of my mind enough to really access the place where my body can communicate to me what it needs. I think in this busy and hectic world we have lost touch with this incredible primal ability to be so in tune with our body and it’s needs and I fear that we are missing out on the opportunity to truly nourish ourselves in a far more effective and meaningful way. Both in the food we eat, but also in the life that we choose to lead.
Recently I was at a new moon sound healing journey, hosted by my friend Brook. As I always do, every few weeks, I showed up for myself. To give myself the much needed time and space for self care, but to also honor my healing path, my guides, and most importantly to set an intention. In my most recent journey, a few weeks back, as we lie there drinking in the healing vibes of the beautiful sound, I found myself receiving messages about what I needed more of, what I should be following and the places that my energy would be best spent. It was powerful, moving and truthfully, it was a little scary (maybe scarier is actually typing it up and sharing it with the world, though).
While much of the messages pertained to my work with others and the new paths I am exploring in my work and as a healer, I also heard, very clearly, certain personal needs that I should explore. To receive very clear messages while meditating isn’t something new to me, but to be told what to do very loudly and very specifically in this manner, this was a first. Without boring you with of the details I will just share the part of that journey that inspired this post. The word beet and images of beets continuously appeared throughout the session. While so much was zipping past me, so many ideas, so many words and images, suddenly rising above the rest, very loudly and clearly I heard: “You need more beets” “Try a beet tonic”. I instantly was reminded of Beet Kvass, something I have tried before, but never actually made for myself.
What is Beet Kvass
Beet Kvass is a healing and cleansing medicinal tonic. A traditional probiotic drink, popular in Eastern Europe, Ukraine and Russia, it is the result of fermentation by friendly Lactobacillus bacteria, which gives it a briny, tangy flavor. Beet kvass has a very interesting flavor combination, that is certainly an acquired taste. A little more intense than the kombucha or sauerkraut we’ve all come to know, it’s earthy, salty, sour, a little sweet and it has that elusive umami flavor – sometimes it’s even a little fizzy.
Benefits of Beet Kvass:
- Rich in Probiotics
- Dense in Valuable Nutrients
- Excellent Liver Cleanser
- Beneficial Blood Tonic that Balances the pH of the Blood
- Reduces the Risk of Cancer from it’s Various Antioxidant and Anti-inflammatory Properties
Created through lacto-fermentation, this nutrient-dense stimulating tonic is loaded with friendly probiotic bacteria and beneficial enzymes, great for intestinal health, aiding in digestion and elimination, it’s an excellent liver cleanser and along with the healthy probiotics, beet’s high levels of vitamin C make this tonic an excellent boost for the immune system. It’s also more hydrating than water, containing a collection of minerals necessary to electrolyte balance in the body. Beets also contain phytonutrients called betalains that are found in the pigment of beets and are what causes your hands to stain. These betalains help create red blood cells, making beet kvass an excellent blood tonic for alkalizing the blood. Beet kvass and beets also help to naturally cleanse the gallbladder, improve bile flow, remove plenty of toxins and promote regularity!
Beet kvass can be drank as a tonic, straight up, it can be used in place of vinegar in cooking or in salad dressings, it’s also a great addition to soup and you can even use it in cocktail, the way you would a vinegar shrub.
From Sally Fallon in Nourishing Traditions (page 610):
This drink is valuable for it’s medicinal qualities and as a digestive aid. Beets are just loaded with nutrients. One 4-ounce glass, morning and night, is an excellent blood tonic, promotes regularity, aid digestion, alkalizes the blood, cleanses the liver and is good treatment for kidney stones and other ailments.
