With a large section of the human race embracing veganism, oat milk has become a hot favorite. Though it sounds like a sophisticated drink, it is easier to lay hands on. The best thing is you can quickly make it at home at your convenience.
Oat milk is simply the milk extracted from blended oats. This is indeed a delicacy for people who love oats. Also, if you are conscious about health and fitness, oats milk can be a portion of great food for you. Oat milk is creamy in texture and delightful in taste. You can consume it or prepare multiple mouthwatering recipes using the same.
How to Make Oat Milk at Home?
Preparing oat milk at home is not difficult. You need to follow a few simple and easy steps to get done with it. Here is how to quickly make a few sips of delicious oat milk.
Ingredients required to make oat milk
- Rolled oats- 1 cup
- Water- 4 cups
- Cheesecloth
- Strainer
Steps to make oat milk
- Soak rolled oats in 4 cups of water for five minutes
- Pour the contents into a blender and beat it on a high speed
- Take the mix out and strain from the strainer to remove large lumps
- Add those large lumps and blend once again a grinder
- Now use a cheesecloth to squeeze the milk
- Remember not to apply much pressure, or the oat milk shall be slimy and gritty
- You now have high-quality homemade oat milk
Vanilla flavored oat milk recipe
Why enjoy simple oat milk when you can add flavorings. Here is an easy oat milk recipe with vanilla extra for added taste.
Ingredients required to make vanilla oat milk
- Whole rolled oats- 1 cup
- Water – 5 cups
- Maple syrup – 2 teaspoons
- Vanilla extract – 1/2 teaspoon
- Sea salt – 1/8 teaspoon
- Fine mesh strainer
Steps to make vanilla oat milk at home
- Soak whole rolled oats with water for 5 minutes
- Combine all the ingredients along with soaked oats in a blender
- Pour the contents into a mesh strainer and squeeze milk without applying much pressure
- Enjoy with some more maple syrup and a few ice cubes
Oat milk is creamy in consistency and can be used in various recipes. It has a fantastic taste and adds uniqueness to any dish you incorporate it in.
Oats milk is the perfect diet food for anyone and everyone trying to regulate their lifestyle and effective weight management programs. You can add oat milk smoothies to your breakfast. To make them better and tastier, add some of your favorite fruits in that smoothies and garnish them with dry fruit topping.
This food has enough nutrients to keep you active and fit for the entire day. The oats milk made at home is perfect for adding to coffees. You can do much with the oats milk, from espresso to a latte. All of us are obsessed with breakfast cereal. Oats milk made at home can be the best partner for your breakfast cereals. Infuse your favorite dry fruits in it and add a tablespoon of honey. That is the perfect infusion of taste and health for you.
Oats milk can easily fulfill your cravings for milkshakes for all the people who are allergic to dairy products or lactose.
Few things to remember when preparing the Perfect Oat Milk at Home?
There are certain important points to consider when making oat milk at home. Oats have got a distinct texture and often become difficult to handle. If you have ever handled oats, you must be knowing how slimy it gets. Similarly, when preparing oat milk at home, ensure that you do not over blend the same. If you keep on churning the soaked oats for a long time in the blender in the quest of obtaining more milk, you will end up creating a slimy paste that is very difficult to manage.
To avoid this unnecessarily extra sliminess in oats, make sure that you do not oversoak it. Just soak it for a few minutes to make the oats absorb some water and that is all. You are ready to put it into the blender.
If you cannot obtain the milk devoid of any oat granule after the first phase of straining, strain the mix again. Keep straining the blended oat mixture until you get the pure and smooth oats milk. You can use fine mesh filters for this task, and they are easily available. However, straining with a piece of cheesecloth or T-shirt will yield the same results, only that you may have to repeat the process once or twice.
Never heat the oat milk. Keeping the oat milk made at home away from potential flame exposure is recommended because that can make the milk slimy. Moreover, it does not add any nutritional value to the oat milk, so no need for that.
Few important Facts About Oat Milk
Here are a few important facts about oat milk that will help you know oat milk better :
- Rolled oats are the best to prepare oat milk at home. You may prefer to use instant oats, but that will not yield creamy oat milk as rolled oats. Quick oats are processed, and they do not have a good oat milk texture.
- Oat milk is generally considered to be gluten-free. However, it is a matter of debate. If you have gluten allergies or want to consume oat milk completely free of gluten, never forget to read the labels before buying a packet of oats. Gluten-free oats are available in the market, and making milk out of the same will give you utterly gluten-free oat milk
How Can I Make My Oat Milk Tastier?
The internet is flooded with recipes to make your oat milk tastier and happening. However, it is always advisable to stay away from adding any chemical-based fragrance or extract to your oat milk. This will not add any nutritional value to the oat milk, and the original purpose to ensure goodness of health will not be catered. So, better stay closer to the original variant.
However, there are certain natural ways through which you can make your oat milk tastier. Adding raw vanilla pods to oat milk adds unmatched flavor. You can also add some dark chocolate granules (make sure it is unprocessed and chemical-free). Also, you can add dates and dry fruits into your oat milk to make it tastier multi-folds.
Oat milk is one of the best natural food you can have. It is healthy, tasty, and super easy to make at home. Relish your breakfast, lunch, and dinner with delicious oat milk made at home in just a few easy steps
How Good is Oat Milk For Your Health?
Oat has become the new age healthy superfood and is flying off the shelves in supermarkets. Whoever is suffering from any lifestyle disease has some or the other form of oats in their daily food platter. Let us have a quick look into the nutritional aspect of oat milk to understand whether or not it is perfect for your health.
- Oat milk is one of the best vegan alternatives to dairy milk. For people who are lactose-intolerant, oat milk is one of the best alternatives
- Oat milk is enriched with wholesome plant-based fibers and proteins that keep your body healthy and your digestive system happier than ever
- Oat milk is fortified by vitamins A, B, B12, and D
- Oat milk has sufficient plant-based fibers that help keep the gut happy and keep the blood cholesterol level under control
- Oat milk is perfect for your bone health. The presence of calcium and vitamin D in oat milk makes it an excellent supplement for your bones.
- Oat milk has a high proportion of dietary fibers that keeps you fuller for a long time and thus keep you full for longer periods. So, if you have the habit of munching on unhealthy junk stuff, start consuming oat milk
Comparing Cow and Oat milk
If you compare cow milk with oats milk, cow milk is better. However, oat milk is better for people who can’t consume cow milk for some reason. But oat milk scores over cow milk in specific parameters like vitamin D content. Oat milk is excellent for weight management and weight loss because oat milk has almost half the calories contained in cow milk. So, if you want to cut down on calories yet enjoy your evening cup of milk tea or cafe matcha, then maybe oat milk is a far better option for you.
Conclusion
However, if you are looking for very low-carb oat alternatives, oat milk is not right. Though oat milk has less calorie content, it is high in carbs. Oat milk must be avoided by people who have any form of celiac disease or are intolerant to gluten. Also, avoid choosing any packaged milk because they contain additional preservatives and artificial sweeteners. So, make your cup of oat milk at home and enjoy all the health benefits of oat milk.