As I always say my inspiration for the things I cook come from my friends. I have had store brought almond milk before, I enjoyed it, but the $4 for a little carton was starting to hurt my pockets.

The solution to this problem came from my Raw Food expert, Sharon, she gave me some of her homemade almond milk, I fell in love!
It was a creamy delight. Overall almond milk is a great alternative for cows milk for those who are lactose intolerent, and can be used in vegan and raw food diets. If this was a Bobby Flay throwdown, Sharon's Almond Milk won, but don't worry I'll get you next time.

Sharons Almond Milk Recipe
1/2 C almonds (or more for a more nuttier taste)
1 1/2 C distilled water
3 tbsp Raw Agave
2 tbsp Extra Virgin Coconut Oil
1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract
Pinch cinnamon
Pinch nutmeg
Pinch cardamom
Pinch Himalayan Pink Sea Salt

Now I was in a hurry to make this and didn't have most of the ingredients that she used so I made do with
what I had already in the kitchen.

Gourmet Diva Almond Milk Recipe
Yield: Between 2-3 cups

Total cooking time: 15 minutes

Equipment:
Bowl for soaking
Blender
Cheesecloth, sprout bag (http://www.rawglow.com/sproutbag.htm), or strainer
Bowl for catching milk
Container for milk

Ingredients:

1 cup of almonds
3 cups of distilled water
1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract (or the seeds of 1 vanilla bean)
Sugar, syrup, 3 - 5 soft pitted dates, honey, or stevia to sweeten (optional)

4) Strain the mixture through a cheesecloth into a bowl. Save the almond pulp in a container and put in the fridge for later use

5) Put the almond milk back into the blender and blend in the vanilla and optional sweetner until smooth.