Homemade Chocolate Almond Milk

When I looked at my consumption for last week, I realized that the only processed food I bought, as well as the food that generated the most packaging waste, was a carton of hazelnut milk.  So this week I decided to make my own nut milk instead.  Making nut milk is easy, and if you remember to soak your nuts the night before you can make it while your morning coffee is brewing.  Yup, it's that fast.

Chocolate Almond Milk
(as always, I'm more of a wing-it cook than a meaure-it cook)

Ingredients:
a generous cup of almonds, soaked overnight
half a vanilla bean or a splash of vanilla extract, alcohol-free if possible
about a tablespoon and a half of cocoa powder
four dates, or honey or agave to taste

This is so easy, I'm almost embarrassed to post it as a recipe.  But here goes: drain your almonds and put them in the blender.  Add enough water to fill your blender about 2/3 full.  Add your cocoa powder and whatever you're using to sweeten it: either dates, honey or agave.  I really like dates.  Start blending and walk away.  Come back in a a couple of minutes and tah dah!  almond milk.  But unless you have a super-expensive high speed blender, your almond milk has little bits of almonds in it.  Strain them out with cheese cloth or a fine mesh strainer.  Tah dah redux!  Taste it for sweetness and consistency.  I initially used two dates, then added two more.  I also added a little more water because it tasted so rich.  This made enough chocolate milk to turn my morning coffee into a delicious mug of mocha heaven, fill a quart mason jar and leave just enough left over for a can't throw this out treat.

In other consumption news I, uh, have a lot of kale in the house.  (See yesterday's post.)  So I decided to make kale chips.  This entailed going to the supermarket for extra virgin olive oil, and while I was there I also picked up some ginger and cat food.  By some miracle I remembered that I had a dollar off coupon, and then the cat food generated another coupon.  I promptly spent my savings on hair ties, because I didn't want to be getting ready for my waitressing job Sunday and discover Jake or the cats had stolen my only one.

This reminds me of the time my mom came to visit and asked if I had a hair comb.  "No," I said.  She did a double take and said, "What kind of a woman are you?"

So now the cats are fed, kale chips are dehydrating, and if my mom ever asks for another comb I can at least give her a hair tie.

Today's Consumption Totals:

Food: $7

Cat food: $3

Personal Care: $2

(Prices rounded to the nearest dollar)

Miles Driven: 5.3