Homemade Almond Milk in a Minute | How to Make Almond Milk at Home

Homemade Almond Milk in a Minute | How to Make Almond Milk at Home

 

This week, I show you how to make almond milk at home. In fact, you can enjoy homemade almond milk in a minute!

I started making my own almond milk about five or six years ago but I kinda gave it up after a while because it was just too much of a hassle and it made such a mess in my kitchen. Cleaning up afterwards was always a nightmare - almond pulp everywhere! 

But, I'm so excited to share that I've found an easier, faster, and fuss-free method of extracting delicious and healthful almond milk!

More importantly, I’ve come to realise that almond milk is still a great alternative to animal milk. Fact is, it’s one of the best substitutes for cow’s milk and you can use it freely in a variety of recipes that call for moo juice.

Almond milk benefits

Seriously, my recent renewed interest in almond milk came about after reading about how it’s high in sleep promoting hormones and minerals and how it’s heart healthy and good for the brain too! Apparently, it puts a brake on the decline of cognitive diseases like Alzheimer's. As a matter of fact, it’s packed with healthful antioxidants to help us stay young and disease-free for longer! 

And because it’s low in sugar and carbohydrates, it won’t cause blood sugar spikes. Besides, unsweetened almond milk actually does a darn good job of controlling blood sugar and reducing inflammation in the body hence improving blood cholesterol as well. Plus, did you know that plain ol’ almond milk won’t break your fast? Especially if you practice intermittent fasting regularly. 

On top of that, because it’s closest to cow’s milk in terms of its nutritional profile, your teeth and bones will love you for it. So unless you have a tree-nut allergy, almond milk is really a great regular milk replacement. 

And you wanna know what else? Even your skin will reap the full benefits of almond milk. Like if you want lighter, fairer more beautiful skin, almond milk is your answer to clearer, brighter skin. I’ll talk about the beauty benefits of almond milk in another post but for now, here's how to make almond milk at home so you can enjoy homemade almond milk in a minute.

Why eat soaked almonds?

Begin by soaking the organic raw almonds in regular tap water for at least eight to twelve hours or until they plump up. Doing so increases their digestibility. 

I usually leave them to soak overnight. 

Then, I’ll drain it the next morning and bring that same water to a boil to blanch them. Why? Because it's highly likely that after making almond milk, we’ll use the leftover pulp to make other delicious, tasty treats like almond cookies, buttery, creamy cakes or delicious dips. The skin may taste bitter and is not easily digestible hence, I usually remove them first.

How to blanch almonds?

Simply add the soaked raw almonds to boiling water for one minute, drain and rinse them under tap water till they're cool to the touch, then pop the skin by pinching them, one by one. It's fun! 

And here’s a pro tip, soak the whole bag of almonds, blanch and de-skin them and you can store them in the freezer for up to a year! By doing so, you'll have almonds at the ready for whenever you're craving almond milk! Just measure out however much you need, when you need them and that'll really save you a ton of time.

Another time-saver? The Vegan Milker by Chufamix. I love that it comes with a filter attachment, which makes it really easy for me to extract the milk from any nut, for that matter! 

How to make almond milk at home using the vegan milker?

First, fill the container with one litre of regular distilled water that's about 27°C in sunny Singapore. Attach the filter. Then, throw in just one hundred grams of soaked and blanched almonds. Here, you can add a pinch of pink salt if you like, then use a hand blender to grind them down to a pulp. Remember to set your timer for one minute. Do note that the recommendation is that your blender has at least 250 watts.

After one minute of blending, stop and remove the filter attachment, use a wooden spoon to gently stir it until you see the pulp. Then, use the accompanying mortar to gently squeeze out the last bit of milk and that’s it! Homemade almond milk in a minute! 

How to store almond milk?

And that’s how to make almond milk at home. Remember to fridge it and consume it within three days and you can store the remaining pulp in your freezer, in a ziplock bag. And remember to label and date it.

If you learnt something useful today, remember to share it with your friends. In future posts, I’ll show you how you can use the almond pulp to make other yummy goodies for your tummies so be sure to subscribe and follow me so you know exactly when that new post is up. Meanwhile, you have a beautiful day!

Love, Lynette Tan

5 BROW TIPS TO LOOK YOUNGER | ADVANCED: PERFECT BROWS MAKEUP TUTORIAL

5 BROW TIPS TO LOOK YOUNGER | ADVANCED: PERFECT BROWS MAKEUP TUTORIAL

 

Are your eyebrows aging you? Want tips on how to look younger, naturally?

In this post, I’ll be talking about eyebrow makeup hacks that everyone should know, in fact, I’ll be zooming in on five brow tips to look younger in this perfect brows makeup tutorial and read on if you wanna know how to achieve an instant eye-lift!

As I’m steadily inching towards the big 50, I am obsessed with how to look younger with makeup and eyebrows are definitely my thing. Not only do they frame our face, they also help us communicate better. In fact, I learnt very early on in my personal grooming class that eyebrow makeup is the only makeup you need to wear if you don't have time for anything else. Yup! It's that important!

Good on you if you have naturally beautiful brows, but for the rest of us who have sparse, over-plucked or hairless brows and have been waiting for forever for them to grow or regrow, you can check out this video I made on how to grow fuller eyebrows naturally. I can tell you it was hard work.

So if you prefer to use makeup to create the perfect brow, here's:-

Tip #1

Straighten your brows as best you can. I know, it used to be that having that high arch was in vogue. But as we age, our facial features change. Like my hooded eyes are heavier and more hooded than ever and my brow bones are all I see - jutting out! And, I also feel more hollow at the temples and having our eyebrows go up so high only to have it come crashing down again just makes all of that appear more obvious and it just looks harsh and is terribly aging. So, definitely consider softening or lowering the arch.

Tip #2

It used to be the thinner the brows, the better. But you know what? Actually, the opposite is true especially when we get older. Thick eyebrows are like a mark of youth. Just as you had a fuller set of hair when you were younger, having thicker brows will give you a more youthful look, so if you have been thinning them down, stop!

Tip #3

Keep them short!

You know how our eyes have the tendency to droop as we get older? Our temples too start to hollow and get sunken in as we age. So when brows are drawn too long, they not only drag down our eye shape, making us look sad but they also highlight the hollow and make us look old. Therefore, if you’re ever in doubt, shorten it ever so slightly. And on that note, remember also that both ends of the brows must have a perfectly clean and super sharp finish. I’ll elaborate on that in another post, so be sure to subscribe to know exactly when that new post is up.

Tip #4

Now if you’re wondering where to start your brows consider this - where you start your brows is directly related to how narrow or broad your nose will appear. When you consciously move your brows closer together you immediately create the impression of a straighter, slimmer, and sharper nose! Another great tip that I discovered is this, contouring my nose helps me know exactly where to start filling in my brows. I’ll break it down for you in another post so watch this space. Meanwhile, as promised, here’s how to achieve an instant eye-lift with...

Tip #5

I’ll be the first to admit, I struggled with this one for years. I was always unsure of how to start my brows, like do I draw them straight up or do I just follow my brow hairs? Well, the answer is, brows should always start at 90 degrees. They should always go straight up to give you an instant eye-lift and to help me achieve that, I would usually use a brow mascara that closely matches the colour of my hair to comb my brows upwards and outwards. Then, I would fill in the gaps with a waterproof brow gel that also matches the shade of my natural brow hairs. 

And those are the five brow tips to look younger in this perfect brows makeup tutorial. If you learnt useful tips today, remember to share them with your friends.

In my upcoming posts, I’ll talk about how to make your brows come alive, look more three-dimensional as opposed to them looking flat and lifeless. I’ll also be talking about how to create more contrast with a very natural-looking colour gradation in your brows and explain the principle behind why our brows should be darker towards the ends and how that one little trick can make a dramatic difference to help you look amazing both in photographs and videos as well. All these coming up and more so be sure to subscribe, to be notified, when they're up!

Till my next post, have a beautiful day!

Love, Lynette Tan 

How to make Sourdough Baguette? Easy Sourdough Baguette Recipe

How to make Sourdough Baguette? Easy Sourdough Baguette Recipe

 

All you knead is flour, water, sourdough starter and salt! That's it!

It's that simple!

This recipe makes one skinny baguette (250g) or four baby baguettes (@ 62g) at about 71% hydration.

INGREDIENTS:

60g bread flour

60g all-purpose flour

78g ice-cold water

48g sourdough starter

3g   pink salt

METHOD:

1. Mix all ingredients together in your stand mixer at low speed for three minutes

2. Let it sit for 30 minutes

3. Stretch and fold, and let sit for another 30 minutes

4. Stretch and fold it again and let sit for a further 30 minutes

5. After two hours from the time you mixed everything together, divide dough into four equal parts

6. Pre-shape each dough into a log (pls see video above for details), let sit for 20 minutes

7. Final shape the dough into baguettes, with pointy ends

8. Cover, and let it sit in an air-conditioned bedroom, overnight

9. Next morning, preheat oven until it reaches 230°C

10. Before baking, score the bread so steam can escape

11. Spritz some water on the surface, dust some flour

12. Bake baguettes for 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Tag me @lovelynettetan when you make it so I can share in the joy of the birth of your baguettes, sincerely!

Love, Lynette Tan

How to Apply Blush the Right Way|3 Common Mistakes when Applying Blush

How to Apply Blush the Right Way|3 Common Mistakes when Applying Blush

 

Blush on.

I never quite thought about it but now that I am thinking about it, it actually makes a lot of sense.

It used to be fashionable to smile into the mirror when applying blush but now that's passé. Why? Because age is catching up to us and the pull of gravity is just not helping.

In this episode, I talk about three most common mistakes when applying blush. Elaborating on the first point brought up earlier, we need to stop smiling to ourselves when applying blush simply because the blush position shifts downwards when we relax and rest our faces. Besides, our faces wrinkle when we smile. Applying blush there, just highlights these fine lines more. 

Also, another common mistake is using a cream blush on a powdered face or vice versa. No, it's not a big deal but more often than not, that results in unnaturally patchy looking blush. And if you or the people around you can tell that you've got blush on, you've put on too much. 

The third most common mistake is using shimmery blush. If you remember nothing else, memorise this. 

Shimmer highlights our flaws and magnifies our pores

So what do we do?

1. Always use a matte, cream blush. It's more blend-able for one. And matte products generally help hide fine lines, better.

2. Always keep a straight face, and apply blush nice and high

3. Always use a powder blush on a powdered face and a cream blush on a cream or liquid foundation

 

Remember, the blush is supposed to be a healthy splash of colour on the cheeks, nothing more.

Hope that was helpful and blush on, sincerely

Love, Lynette Tan