Coconut and Berries

Healthy, Vegan Recipes by Emma Potts

The Milk Maker from Hopps & Woolf, Giveaway + Cinnamon & Coffee Bean Smoothie

 

Cinnamon & Coffee Bean Smoothie | coconutandberries.com

I do think it’s fantastic that the world is beginning to connect the dots, recognizing that not everyone wants to drink dairy and responding with new non-dairy milks popping up on supermarket shelves left, right and centre. But unfortunately most of these boxed milks aren’t all that fantastic nutritionally-speaking.

Did you know that most store-bought almond milk contains less than 2% almonds? And of course there are usually a bunch of added ingredients – including sugar, gums, preservatives and things I don’t even recognize. All fine and dandy for a convenience product every now and again but not really something I want to be consuming day in day out.

Making your own non-dairy milk at home means you can control what goes in it and it tastes far far better too.

Hopps & Woolf Milk-Maker Review & Giveaway | coconutandberries.com

There is one drawback to making your own and that’s that it goes bad very quickly – lasting for only about 48 hours.

That’s why The Milk Maker from Hopps & Woolf is a real game changer. This nifty piece of equipment makes non-dairy milk that lasts up to 5 days (mine’s actually still been fine after 7 days)! Along with blending the nuts and water, it gently heats and pasteurises the resulting milk which is what means it keeps better than my usual homemade nut milk. It tastes just as good too.

Hopps & Woolf Milk-Maker Review & Giveaway | coconutandberries.com

At first I was slightly concerned that heating the milk would make it less nutritious but reasoned that if the Milk Maker is going to make it easier for me to always have fresh nut milk in my fridge and not have to resort to the bought stuff with all the unnecessary added ingredients, then I’m not too worried about any damage a little heat is doing. I’ve been using my Milk Maker for a month now and haven’t bought a single carton in that time.

The Milk Maker is refreshingly easy to use too. You just add your soaked nuts/seeds to the machine with fresh water, hit the “milk function” button and let it do its thing for 20 minutes. After the time is up, you strain your milk through the sieve provided or a nut milk bag, and voilà! Fresh nut milk to bottle up and keep handy for drinking on its own, pouring over cereal, making smoothies, using in baking and cooking, and however else you like to use it.

Homemade Almond Milk & Granola

You can use any nuts or seeds in the Milk Maker or even soy beans, brown rice or oats for other non-dairy milk options. If you’re curious, have a watch of this video the boys behind the company have put together to show the Milk Maker in action!

Hopps & Woolf have kindly allowed me one Milk Maker to give away! Enter the giveaway via the Rafflecopter widget at the bottom of this post to be in with a chance. (UK ONLY)

Cinnamon & Coffee Bean Smoothie | coconutandberries.com

It’s getting chillier now so I haven’t been making many smoothies lately but I got the urge to the other day and and came up with this Cinnamon & Coffee Bean Smoothie.

I’m not a big coffee drinker, and I used to only like it when combined with chocolate (!) as in my Healthy Mocha Hazelnut Shake, but I have been warming to it more recently and a sweet creamy cinnamon & coffee smoothie was sounding really good. I don’t have any instant coffee at home and didn’t want to brew a pot only to use a small amount, then it occurred to me that I could throw whole coffee beans into my blender! It worked a treat and my blender blitzed them up completely. I’m sure my homemade almond milk made it all the more delicious too.

 

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Cinnamon & Coffee Bean Smoothie

Yield: 2 Servings

Ingredients

  • 2 C Almond milk (preferably homemade)
  • 1 Tbsp Chia seeds
  • 1 Tbsp Lucuma (optional)
  • 5-10 Whole coffee beans
  • 1/2 Frozen banana (optional)*
  • 1 Medjool Date, pitted
  • 2 tsp Cinnamon
  • Pinch of salt
  • Pinch of vanilla powder

Instructions

  1. Blend together all ingredients in a high-powered blender. Serve immediately.

Notes

* If omitting the frozen banana, add a small handful of ice to chill the smoothie. You may also want to add an extra date or your favourite sweetener to boost the sweetness a touch.

http://www.coconutandberries.com/2014/11/17/milk-maker-hopps-woolf-giveaway-cinnamon-coffee-bean-smoothie/

Cinnamon & Coffee Bean Smoothie | coconutandberries.com

a Rafflecopter giveaway

For more info about the Hopps & Woolf Milk Maker, visit their website.

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[Disclosure: Hopps & Woolf kindly sent me one of their Milk-Makers for review purposes, but I received no other compensation and, as always, all opinions are my own]

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Comments

  2. I absolutely love the idea of a milk maker. I’ve made almond milk at home, but don’t do it often, since we don’t drink it daily. I may have go get one of these. Thanks for sharing.

  3. This is a game changer! Mind is blown and you are the cause!!! Thank you for this and for all the simple, creative and innovative ideas you provide daily.

  5. Oh my goodness I would love this milk machine. I love to make my own almond milk, but I waste so much it seems. Thanks for sharing this new tool.

  6. What a cool product plus an awesome recipe to boot!! I make my own almond milk all the time but I’m the only one who drinks it so I hate that it goes bad so quickly. This would be an awesome product to have!!

  7. This is quite possibly one of the most amazing things I have ever seen. This would save me a ton of time.

  8. My only suggestion would be to include some very cheap, yet still healthy meals and snacks. My family and I are on a very limited grocery budget. due to both my husband and I being disabled. I am also waiting for a fourth surgery for a very rare nerve disorder that has pained me for many years. I love to cook healthy food for my family, but along with the limited grocery budget, I also tire easily so I would love to see more quick-cook meals. Thank you so much!

  10. This would be so awesome to have! I have been wanting to make my own nut milks because I hate the taste and added ingredients of store bought ones. I haven’t been able to find any nut milk bags, however, so this is perfect!

  14. Wow, why didn’t I think of it! I would love to add the Milk Maker to my kitchen essentials. I watched their websites video and the machine looks so easy to use. I will start saving my money towards one just in case I’m not the chosen lucky one.

  15. Wow, who would have thought it- just a few years ago I could only get sweetened soya milk in the supermarket, now theres a machine that would make it for me!

  18. Hey there emma, this looks delicious! I’m really keen to get into making my own nut milk as so many of the ones available to buy are full of nasty additives :( Would be fun to get creative with flavours too 😀 I hope you’re well xx

  19. I would <3 to win :) Really struggle with making my own nut milk as it goes off too quickly so this sounds perfect!

  20. I LOVE the idea os making my own nut milk! I’m in college so I don’t have the means to be blending and squeezing and everything but this seems so easy! I am lactose intolerant/trying to be vegan so I drink a lot of almond milk. The store bought stuff seems to just be lacking something which homemade probably has, I bet its delicious!

    • Oooh, you’re in for a treat if you haven’t tried homemade nut milk yet. So much tastier!
      This machine would be great for you in college - it’s only the size of a kettle so pretty practical.

  21. Wow! I’ve never knew such things existed and so far I’ve been buying organic oat milk as it has the least additives in it (only salt). It definetely goes onto my list to Santa this year!

  22. This Milk Maker sounds so useful! I still haven’t got round to making my own milk but it’s high up on my ‘to do’ list. At least I’ve bought a nut bag now, so that’s a start! I’m sure that as soon as try home made milks, there’ll be no turning back.

    • It’s exactly the same process as for nuts - just soak the beans overnight, then hit the “milk function” button. The machine does the blending and pasteurizing so you just strain it and store in the fridge!

  25. Wow, this looks revolutionary! What’s stopping me from making my own nut milk is that it goes off very quickly, so I don’t want to bother. But how convenient would it be to have this wee machine making it for me! I really hope I win this :)

  26. It has been soooo long since I’ve made my own nut milk, purely for the reason i hate it going off so quick! While on the other hand i always feel a little guilty buying milk for the nasty additives. This is a perfect solution. :)

    Ps can you please share dessert recipes that don’t contain nuts? oh and please direct me to your recipe for the desert that has the sweet grains dessert millet amazake as i finally found a jar but can’t find the recipe!!!

    thanks :)

    • Don’t feel guilty about it - I don’t think anyone should feel guilty about food ever.
      But yes, the machine is pretty fantastic!

      Thanks for the recommendations and hope you try my Strawberry-Almond Amazake Muffins - I need to make them again too :)

  31. Ha that sounds so cool!! I’m a fan of fresh almond milk, so I never buy the shitty ones from the supermarket. I’m lucky that near me I can buy fresh almond milk (which is just 12% almonds and water!).
    Good to have this as a back-up though, and it might even be cheaper in the long run than to keep buying almond milk!

    {Teffy’s Perks} X

  33. I met these guys at VegFest and they seemed pretty cool and the machine’s amazing. Would love one so I can make my own oatmilk, I never buy almond milk but mmmmm Oatly…

  35. I have tried making almond milk at home with a blender - what a mess , so I would to win one f these

  36. What a clever idea! The short life span of homemade milk is the main reason I don’t make it as often as I might - during the week, time tends to get away from me. This sounds like a product to make homemade nut milk accessible to everyone.

    I love the sound of your smoothie too :)

    • That was definitely my problem too Kari. It was a pain to have to make fresh almond milk for my breakfast in the morning before dashing off to work. The Milk Maker really is making things easier!

  38. I haven’t bought almond milk in over a year. I only make it homemade because it tastes 10,000 times better and of course, as you said, much healthier! I make mine really creamy too, so it is just amazing sweet, fresh flavor. I am just DYING over this smoothie Emma…Seriously? You combined 2 of my favorite flavors ever in a recipe. CInnamon is my all time favorite flavor, ever and of course, you know I love adding coffee to desserts! I don’t like bananas though :( Maybe I can try it with oats or something. Anyways, love the idea and I’m totally in love, love with this milk-maker. SO awesome!

  39. I had no clue these were even available! This is a great idea. I’m so in love with this! Thanks for the opportunity!

  46. Wow I would love to win one of these! I always end up buying the shop cartons of nut milk, just for convenience but if I could make my own at home that would actually last a few days that’d be awesome!

  47. I have been following Hopps and Woolf for a while but as a uni student don’t feel I can afford their machine! This would be awesome :)
    It’s cool that you can use it to make smoothies too!!

  49. This is so cool! After becoming a vegetarian, I thought almond milk was the best thing ever. Never thought something like the Milk Maker existed!

  50. Dying to try one of the milk makers! I go through way too much almond milk each week to be using the store bought ones full of preservatives and additives! What a brilliant idea! x

  51. This is such a neat invention! I’ve never seen anything like it. I would love to have this and whip up homemade nut milks all the time, especially since I don’t have a blender.

  52. Oooh, that does look lovely! I’ll admit to not having tried to make almond milk (or any milk) at home yet - though that is partly because I don’t have a food processor in my wee flat!

    Hmhm, methinks I would like to see some simple raw (or mostly-raw) substantial main meals that are more wintry in nature! Less “salady,” if you like. Not that I only eat raw food by any means, but once you’re used to eating a lot of it, the body seems to demand a certain percentage even if it is cold… Which probably explains the odd smoothie craving even now too.

  53. I always find it difficult to chose which type of milk to buy so it is great that you are able to put a variety of nuts or soya into the machine. This may be a really good way of slightly changing the taste of the smoothie to keep it feeling new and exciting. I would love to try this out! The recipe looks delicious and the perfect breakfast treat!

  54. I would like to know how worth it things like lucuma and maca are. They are wicked expensive but intriguing, do they add a great deal to the flavour of a recipe?

  55. Hi Emma,

    This is a great post - only today, I did a review of the five most popular milk alternatives and how good they are for you. Homemade almond milk would be much, much better than any of these! So this giveaway is an amazing opportunity (my fingers are tightly crossed!).

    Thanks for posting this.

    Besma (http://www.curiouslyconscious.com)

  59. Some of the best almond milk I’ve ever had was from these amazing milk makers so would love to have one of my own! What a fab giveaway!

  60. Oooooh, I remember seeing this machine at one of the london shows in the summer… looks like a great piece of kit! I donut actually drink much ‘milk’ and usually use coconut milk powder but reckon if i had homemade milk to hand i’d drink a lot more! :-)

  63. Homemade non-dairy milk is a lot better than store-bought almond milk and you can season it whatever you like! I want to try this milk maker, it looks amazing! Glad to know it worked out perfectly well for your nut milk!

  64. I have a soymilk machine sitting in the cupboard actually.
    i was addicted to it for years but the last 6 months haven’t used it at all - you’ve inspired me now to pull it out again but perhaps try rice or oat or almond milk - something different perhaps!!!!!

    • Ah, does the soy milk maker work in the same way then? I haven’t tried making soy milk with my Milk maker but maybe I should have a go for a change from nut milk.
      Have fun playing with yours!

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