Got plant-based milk?

Today, August 22nd marks a special day for all lactose-intolerant consumers and plant-based diet followers — World Plant Milk Day has arrived, and it’s filling our dairy-free hearts with pride (and our stomachs with creamy, delicious plant-based milk).

While there are no shortage of obscure food holidays to celebrate (August 8 literally marks national “Sneak Some Zucchini Onto Your Neighbor’s Porch Day”), 2017 is the first year World Plant Milk Day is being recognized — not surprising, considering that consumer demand for plant-based milk has seen a dramatic increase over the past few years. According to Innova Market Insights, the global plant milk market is set to top $16 billion in 2018, and over one-third of consumers report preferring plant milk to dairy.

These days there’s no shortage of different varieties of plant-based milk to choose from. Some people prefer plant milk made from nuts; others enjoy milk made from seeds. Even if you decided you were only ever going to purchase and drink almond milk for the rest of your life, you’d still have a bounty of different brands to choose between. Plant-based milk is the drink of the future — and to help celebrate today, we’re going to help you learn how to make your own.

Whether you’re a plant-based milk novice or have been drinking soy milk since day one, our Food Monster App is brimming with different plant-based recipes waiting to delight and enchant you. Here are five of our favorite plant milk options below, from basic to innovative, to help get you started:

The Basics

1. Coconut Milk

Sometimes the most affordable and healthy option is to just make a homemade version of your favorite food or beverage. This recipe for Homemade Unsweetened Coconut Milk by Wendy Irene takes very little time to make and requires only two ingredients: unsweetened coconut, and water. If you make your own coconut milk from home, you can be sure that you’re skipping all the additives found in processed brands. Plus anything you make at home contains love, and it doesn’t get any sweeter than that.

2. Soy Milk

This Homemade Soy Milk by Faith VanderMolen should be enjoyed with loads of fresh fruits and oats or poured over your favorite cereal.

3. Almond Milk

There’s an abundance of different almond milk brands on the market today: Blue Diamond, Pacific, and Silk are some big names, just for starters. However, if you’re in the mood to concoct your own creamy batch, this Almond Milk recipe by Molly Patrick teaches you how to make the real deal with only a few ingredients.

For more basic plant milk recipes, we love this Simple Vanilla Oat Milk. To make oat milk, the only equipment you need is a blender and a nut milk bag. Unlike nuts, oats require very little soaking, so you can make a batch in nearly no time. We’re also big fans of this recipe for Homemade Sesame Milk and a Sesame Milk Latte; if you want to test out plant-based milk options but are allergic to nuts, this is the recipe for you! Lastly, we recommend mastering Cashew Milk and then leveling up. This Creamsicle Cashew Milk puts a fun and sweet spin on typical cashew milk, and is definitely worth giving a go.

Creative Plant-Based Milks to Try

4. Raw Cacao Milk

Raw Cacao Milk is a thing! This recipe by Nadia Petrova is inspired by the raw truffles a la France and follows their logic. It is gluten-free, sugar-free, soya-free and lactose-free. Delicious!

5. Maple Pecan Milk

Maple Pecan Milk by Sarah Pether sounds like the plant milk that dreams are made of. Don’t you just want to drink it with a big, comforting stack of pancakes? Cozy, sweet, comforting, delicious!

6. Hazelnut Fig Milk

This Hazelnut Fig Milk by Julie Van den Kerchove only takes five minutes to make. The addition of dried figs, vanilla and just a pinch of salt elevates plain hazelnut milk and creates a sumptuous, unique new drink.

If you’re into these recipes, we also recommend taking a look at this Cinnamon and Clove Mixed Nut and Seed Milk recipe, as well as this Sprouted Sunflower Seed Milk guide. Peanut Milk is also worth a shot. Once you have your basic plant milk down, if you want to concoct more drinks with them, you can try your hand at this Liquid Gold Turmeric Latte recipe, or this Creamy Chai Latte.

We hope you’re enjoying World Plant Milk Day, and celebrating with a tall glass of creamy plant milk. Remember, if you’re interested in finding some more scrumptious vegan recipes, then we highly recommend downloading our Food Monster App, which is available for both Android and iPhone, and can also be found on Instagram and Facebook. The app has more than 8,000 plant-based, allergy-friendly recipes, and subscribers gain access to ten new recipes per day. Check it out!

 

Lead image source: How to Make Homemade Hazelnut Cashew Milk