Protein Juice Nut Milk Recipes For Juice Fasts or Blueprint Cleanse

Nut milks or nut protein juices are an integral part of any juice cleanse because nut milks supply necessary proteins and fats. Our bodies need fat for digestion to work properly, and we also need protein. This holds true even during a detox juice cleanse or juice fast!

Many people who have tried established juice cleanse programs like the Blueprint Cleanse say that the nut milks are their favorite part of each day’s juicing program. A good nut milk is delicious and rich, especially if you’ve only been sipping greens and fruit juices. If you leave the nut pulp in the juice, it also gives you something that you can almost chew; a pulpy nut milk has more substance than most juices in a juice fast, so it can feel more satisfying.

So you know you need to incorporate a nut juice into your detox juice cleanse, but how on earth does one make or buy nut juice? This isn’t the same as buying Almond Dream or cashew milk at your local grocery or health food store, but don’t worry! Nut milks and protein juices are actually a cinch to make.

Even if you are not juicing, nut milks can be a regular part of a healthy diet, particularly for people who have trouble digesting milk. Pour a cashew nut milk over your morning cereal for a healthy treat!

Once you know the basics of how to make a nut milk, you can riff on a protein juice recipe to your heart’s content, playing with flavors to find the one you like best, or just to inject more variety to your detox or juice cleanse.

Here are the building blocks of nut juices:

• Raw nuts, soaked overnight in water (in a pinch if you are short on time, you can soak the nuts for just an hour, but it is preferable to soak them longer since soaking the nuts makes them easier to digest, easier to access their nutrients, and easier to blend)
• 1 cup of raw nuts or seeds will make about 3 cups of nut juice
• Rinse the soaked nuts, then put in a blender with 3 cups of filtered water
• Use more water for a thinner juice, less water for a thicker juice
• Choose your flavorings: vanilla or almond extract, cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, cloves, ginger, raw cocoa powder…
• Choose a sweetener, if desired: agave nectar, maple syrup, raw honey, liquid stevia extract, brown rice syrup, extra virgin coconut oil…
• If you do not want pulp in your nut milk, strain the blended liquid through a cheesecloth or a hemp nut milk bag that you can buy online or in a health food store. (Personally, I like my nut milk pulpy. If you do want to strain it, I say a cheesecloth works just fine; why pay extra money for some special "nut milk" bag?!)
• A blended nut juice can be stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to three days
• The recipes below call for cashews or almonds, but you can try other nuts if you like: hazelnuts, pecans, walnuts, pistachios.
• You also can add raw seeds to the milks in place of some or all of the nuts. Good, healthy seeds to consider include chia seeds, flax seeds, sesame seeds, pine nuts, pumpkin seeds and hemp.

Cashew Nut Milk

• ½ cup raw cashews, soaked overnight in water
• 2 cups filtered water
• 1½ teaspoons extra virgin coconut oil
• 1/3 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 teaspoons agave nectar
• ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon cardamom

Place the ingredients in a blender and blend until the nuts are totally puréed. This may take a few minutes, and you may need to start and stop the blender a few times. Also be sure to keep your hand on top of the blender lid so it doesn't come off and cause a huge mess! Strain the nut milk through a cheesecloth (or nut milk bag) if you want a pulp-free protein juice; leave the pulp if you want extra texture.

Chocolate Nut Milk

• ½ cup raw cashews or almonds, soaked overnight in water
• 2 cups filtered water
• 2 teaspoons extra virgin coconut oil
• 3 tablespoons raw cocoa powder or cacao nibs
• 2 tablespoons agave nectar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• (optional: ¼ teaspoon ginger powder)
• (optional: substitute orange extract or almond extract for the vanilla)

Place the ingredients in a blender and blend until the nuts are totally puréed. This may take a few minutes, and you may need to start and stop the blender a few times. Also be sure to keep your hand on top of the blender lid so it doesn't come off and cause a huge mess! Strain the nut milk through a cheesecloth (or nut milk bag) if you want a pulp-free protein juice; leave the pulp if you want extra texture.