T(oat)ally Homemade!

As we are all trying to find ways to stay mentally, emotionally, and physically healthy, I have found one hobby that can be quite soothing: making homemade oat-milk! In, the past, I have stayed on a strict vegan diet for about two and a half years (until I slipped into vegetarian diet about a year ago). Nonetheless, being vegan for that time period allowed me to experiment with some interesting homemade plant based milks. I've found that the easiest and tastiest homemade plant based milk was oat-milk. So, I wanted to share my recipe with whoever wants to try it! Even if you don't like oat-milk, it's still a fun activity, AND, you can share it with the people around you! Without further ado, get ready for some oat-milk-making.

You will need:

- A high speed blender

- 1 cup of rolled oats

- 4 cups of water

- a clean cloth or thin towel (optional, not necessary)

- 1 date (hehe, not that kind ;), the fruit!)

- 1 pinch of salt

- 10 minutes out of your day

Instructions:

Add 4 cups of tepid water into the blender, followed by 1 cup of rolled oats. Add a pitted date and a pinch of salt. Then, blend on high speed for only 50 seconds! Once you've blended, taste to see if you want to add salt, or if you want some type of flavoring such as vanilla or coco. Now, some people like the grainier feel of the milk, while others like it smooth. If you are one of those people who like it smooth, place the cloth/towel over a bowl, and gently pour the milk over the cloth so that it absorbs some of the excess starch. You can do this twice to get it extra smooth.

And there you have it! You're own oat-milk. I recommend drinking it with coffee, tea, granola cereal, or even hot oatmeal with brown sugar and cinnamon! I have also used my oat-milk in banana smoothies (banana, peanut butter, oat-milk) which is super tasty.

I hope you all are staying safe and patient during these difficult 'quarantinious' times. Happy Thursday to you all!

Linnéa Selendy