Just made the first of what will be endless batches of Flax Milk using the new Nutriblend toy I got using this recipe:  

http://www.healthfulpursuit.com/2012/04/homemade-flax-milk/

Now I can be 100% compliant!  No more soy milk during the 4 month Swami requirement to not eat Black Dots.

Oh feels so good to finally have a solution to some creamy stuff!  Now if only I could create a tomato I could eat.  Oh.. the pain     I love tomatoes as much as I love my husband.. It's such a loss for me.  I will grieve it till the day I die.  

How does the flax milk taste?

I don't think you'll grieve the loss of tomatoes until the day you die. I think you'll only miss them for a couple of months. Then you'll eat one, it won't taste as good as you remembered, and the flare-up of painful joints won't be worth it.

If you miss fresh tomatoes in salads or sandwiches, there really isn't a good substitute. There are other things that add flavor and texture, but it won't be the same. It will be tasty in its own right, but you won't get a "tomato substitute" that's completely satisfying.

In cooking however, when you want a thick red-orange tangy sauce, there are loads of things you can substitute with. A puree of beets, carrots, and lemon juice is a popular substitute. Or thicken soups and sauces with cooked pumpkin or squash and alter the seasonings a bit.

Good job, BluesSinger

I'm posting the recipe (verbatim) for discussion because it contains dates and not all genotypes can eat dates...Maybe someone will have a suggestion for a substitute fruit as an option to using the sweetener suggested.

Ingredients

1/4 cup raw whole flax seeds *see note
6 cups water
5 pitted dates *see note
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
flavor boost: cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, pumpkin spice… any spice you want!

nutrition boost: add 6 servings of primal defense probiotic powder, bone meal powder or a fine protein powder like unflavored rice protein or egg protein.

Directions

Place flax seeds in the jug of your blender and add water. Blend on high for 1 minute until all seeds have been broken down. You want the pieces to be still visible as they’ll be filtered out a bit easier.
Pull a nut milk bag or the leg of (unused) pantyhose over the top of the blender jug and slowly pour mixture into a large bowl.
Squeeze out all of the liquid being careful not to squeeze too hard allowing the seed fiber to come through.
Once all liquid has been extracted, strain it again by pouring the milk back into the blender jug, covering the top with the second leg of pantyhose and pouring the milk into the bowl.
Return milk back to the jug, add dates, vanilla and spices or supplements if using. Blend on high until dates are completely broken down, about 2 minutes.
Remove the froth at the top by passing through a fine sieve or skim from the top with a spoon.
Pour into an airtight jug. Will keep in the fridge for 3-5 days. Natural separation will occur, just shake it up before serving.
note: brown or golden flax will work fine. I used brown, but have read that golden will give off a much milder flavor.

note: feel free to use any date you have on hand or sweeten with honey, date syrup or rice syrup.

Quoted from Chloe

note: feel free to use any date you have on hand or sweeten with honey, date syrup or rice syrup.[/color]

Hi Chole... the last line above should answer your concern about dates not being compliant for all!    And as well.. maybe folks could use prunes!  

Also I have not had tomoatoes for many months now..and I still crave to bite down into a slightly green homegrown tomato... they are wonderful for everything.. stews.. soups... sales.. ah my aching heart...  

P.s.  the flax seed milk tastes divine!

they have commercial flax milks on the market now.. but will tons of AVOIDs in them.  My hubby drinks the Good Karma brand and want to keep drinking it.  That's ok as I have more for me!   Maybe someday if health challenges confront him, he'll want to be compliant.  

If I were to make this, I would omit all sweeteners, and maybe add a pinch of salt. Yeah, I could use agave, but I only get 1 tsp of sweetener a day and I'd easily go way over that if I used sweeteners in "milk" like that.

Quoted from BluesSinger

Now if only I could create a tomato I could eat.  Oh.. the pain     I love tomatoes as much as I love my husband.. It's such a loss for me.  I will grieve it till the day I die.  

Only if you focus on it...  If you find tasty alternatives and focus on the tastiness of them and just let the tomato go, it'll be OK...  

My DD used to eat tomatoes like apples - just wash and eat, until she realized that this was the cause of major tension headaches and quit...  Once she associated the tomato and pain, easy to let go.

I really like the sound of that Flax Milk!  Thanks for posting it!  (and I would use golden flax, which I love)

Quoted from ABJoe

Once she associated the tomato and pain, easy to let go.

I haven't eaten any in at least two years, (and that was only once after avoiding them for ten years!)but I still would be mighty tempted if someone had some luscious sliced, homegrown tomatoes and bread in front of me - in spite of what they do to my nervous system!!

BTW, does anyone know how to tell if a tomatillo is fresh? I bought one some time ago because it is a neutral for me, and I thought I might try it in soup. However, I kept putting off using it and before I knew it a year had gone by. The thing looked exactly like it did when I bought it, even though it had been sitting in my fruit bowl or next to it the entire time!! No wonder every grocery in the country stocks these things year round like a permanent fixture!! So how do we know if they are fresh? Anybody know?

Oh, and the flax milk sounds wonderful! I think I would add a little hemp to mine....

Tomatillo-- mine certainly deteriorate over time.  And the ones in the markets here are not necessarily fresh.

If you are buying tomatillos you can generally get an idea if the fresh just by looking at the husk. Look for husks that are brighter green in color. If the husk is yellow in color or dry or papery, the tomatillo has probably been around too long.

If one opens the husk a little bit to look at the flesh of the fruit. Old ones will look shriveled, may have pot marks or other blemishes. The flesh should be firm and smooth to the the touch. Sticky is okay wrinkly is not.

Well, the husk on mine did turn a little less green in color, but I am serious when I say that otherwise the thing didn't change except the flesh got a slightly lighter shade of green, too, and it was very smooth when I threw it out. Of course, after I cut it open to see what it looked like inside it did look pretty far gone but not rotten or or anything like that. I have not bothered to buy any since because I didn't know how old they might be. I will try again and watch for spots, wrinkles and fading colors! Thanks, C_Sharp.

Quoted Text

If you miss fresh tomatoes in salads or sandwiches, there really isn't a good substitute.

try roasted sweet pimentos.......you ll never miss tomatoes

http://www.dadamo.com/typebase4/depictor5.pl?308

BluesSinger - this sounds delicious and I do love the flavour of flax. Thanks for posting!  

Quoted from Lola

try roasted sweet pimentos.......you ll never miss tomatoes

http://www.dadamo.com/typebase4/depictor5.pl?308

I use them in my soups in place of tomatoes.

molasses, agave, use anything on your list

chia or any other grain, seed or legume can be turned into milk.....

even sprouting before grinding is good practice

Quoted from Lola

molasses, agave, use anything on your list

chia or any other grain, seed or legume can be turned into milk.....

even sprouting before grinding is good practice

Lola!  Pimentos!  really?!!!wow... where does one find those?  i don't think i've ever seen them fresh...

anyone ever make chia seed milk?  hummm.. that's a thought.  I wonder if could make it using the powder...

Quoted from BluesSinger

Just made the first of what will be endless batches of Flax Milk using the new Nutriblend toy I got using this recipe:  

http://www.healthfulpursuit.com/2012/04/homemade-flax-milk/

Now I can be 100% compliant!  No more soy milk during the 4 month Swami requirement to not eat Black Dots.

Oh feels so good to finally have a solution to some creamy stuff!  Now if only I could create a tomato I could eat.  Oh.. the pain     I love tomatoes as much as I love my husband.. It's such a loss for me.  I will grieve it till the day I die.  

I GOTTA TRY THIS.....there's NO WAY I'm going to pay for a bunch of expensive almonds at the store then use most of my day of making only a tiny batch of almond milk that won't even last me one day. $$$  THANK YOU - efficiency + commonsense + creativity = WIN-WIN for everyone here on the boards, once again!  

P.S.:   I asw you say you would try tomatillos, elsewhere. Hmmmm? No? Give yourself 2 months without tomtatoes and then go back and try to break the rules. Or, tweak your SWAMI for a healing issue if you have one. I got tomatoes back as a "diamond" one time, but the overall SWAMI was not working well enough for me. SWAMI got tweaked for my obesity inflammation issues, tomato disappeared off that version, and now I get sick, sick sick if I have them. Let your body tell you the real story, not your taste buds.

Quoted from BluesSinger

Lola!  Pimentos!  really?!!!wow... where does one find those?  i don't think i've ever seen them fresh...

anyone ever make chia seed milk?  hummm.. that's a thought.  I wonder if could make it using the powder...

I make Chia beverages. I do not generally call them milk, since adding chia is sort of like mixing gelatin with water. Great thickening. I like mixing in fruit in the Chia beverage. Lemonade with chia is good if you have compliant sweeteners.

Fresh pimentos are hard to find in my area. And the canned ones have citric acid or worse things for me.  Growing ones own works great during the Summer. Not so well now. But I have brought three plants inside and hope to still get some for a while.

I do occasionally find them in grocery and mMexican markets. But not where I normally shop.

If gardening is an option, you may want to plan not put in enough plants to have some to freeze.

I add freshly ground Chia seeds to my morning smoothie.  In addition to adding protein, good fiber and essential fats, it adds a bit of 'gel' which helps to thicken the smoothie.  Since I don't eat bananas anymore, it helps to give that great creamy, thick texture that bananas used to do.  

Oh, I have to make this. Thanks BluesSinger!

Quoted from BluesSinger

Oh feels so good to finally have a solution to some creamy stuff!  Now if only I could create a tomato I could eat.  Oh.. the pain     I love tomatoes as much as I love my husband.. It's such a loss for me.  I will grieve it till the day I die.  

Something's rotten in the state of that marriage  .

I just tried the flax milk recipe with the substitutions I had to make. This is what I came up with that tastes really good, but I may be making further adjustments. I will know more about that after it is cold, and the thickening is finished. I am very excited about being able to have a milk that is enjoyable and SAFE!!
I only made one-half a recipe until I get this worked out! I used 2 parts flax, 1 part each of chia and hemp seeds. (I will add more of these next time if this batch doesn't have as much "body" as I would like.) I added 1/2 cup fat free, salt free cottage cheese, a handful of organic dried, sweetened cranberries that were soft and fresh, about three chunks of dried pineapple, a little vanilla (a black dot for me), sea salt - (until it tasted right!), and I used a little veggie glycerin for an added sweetener. As I kept adding things until they tasted "right," the blending time was longer than recommended, but I did not do any straining at all after eventually blending the whole thing for about five minutes. It is perfectly smooth enough for me - I just don't like to waste anything that is so wonderfully good for me! Besides, I like things simple!

Spring, did you grind the flax and chia seeds before blending?  (or are you using a VitaMix? )

Quoted from Victoria

Spring, did you grind the flax and chia seeds before blending?  (or are you using a VitaMix? )

I processed both seeds in a small nut processor that I have had for at least forty years. It doesn't grind them, but it only takes seconds for it to make a sort of very coarse meal which is the way I have them in the morning as a cereal. I used some already processed for that. My blender is old, too, but very powerful.

I just had a glass of the milk since it has gotten cold, and the "structure" is perfect and the taste is delicious!! I will leave off the vanilla in the next batch because I didn't think it added anything. Oh, and I definitely don't see any reason to strain this milk. There is the tiniest bit of fine stuff that settles in the bottom of the bottle, but it is no problem for me - I just shake it up. Wish I had started making this during the hot days of summer - it is so refreshing! Bye, Bye, bought milk!!! Thank you, BluesSinger!!
Oh, and I didn't bother with removing the foam, either. It settles after being in the fridge for a while!

Wow thanks for posting BluesSinger & for the added comments everyone!! Think I will try it without any sweetener, vanilla or dates...

Quoted from san j

Something's rotten in the state of that marriage  .

what are you talking about!     Nothing wrong with my marriage!  I love my husband soo very very much.  I adore him!  

but I also love and adore tomatoes.  

Quoted from Spring

I just tried the flax milk recipe with the substitutions I had to make. This is what I came up with that tastes really good, but I may be making further adjustments. I will know more about that after it is cold, and the thickening is finished. I am very excited about being able to have a milk that is enjoyable and SAFE!!
I only made one-half a recipe until I get this worked out! I used 2 parts flax, 1 part each of chia and hemp seeds. (I will add more of these next time if this batch doesn't have as much "body" as I would like.) I added 1/2 cup fat free, salt free cottage cheese, a handful of organic dried, sweetened cranberries that were soft and fresh, about three chunks of dried pineapple, a little vanilla (a black dot for me), sea salt - (until it tasted right!), and I used a little veggie glycerin for an added sweetener. As I kept adding things until they tasted "right," the blending time was longer than recommended, but I did not do any straining at all after eventually blending the whole thing for about five minutes. It is perfectly smooth enough for me - I just don't like to waste anything that is so wonderfully good for me! Besides, I like things simple!

this is just amazing.. i just can't imagine it coming out like milk.. but what do i know until i try!      I can't have cottage cheese.. possibly that helped stablize it alot...  i wonder what it would taste like in tea.  What do you suggest to replace the cottage cheese?    this combo sounds more like a milkshake!!!  

BluesSinger - I wonder if the only reason that we don't get cottage cheese is because dr. D tested it on regular cottage cheese tat is sold in grocery stores? I can purchase pressed, organic cottage cheese with nothing added - no gums or fillers! I eat it on occasion as I crave it and seem fine with it.  

Dianne and BluesSinger, do you get any soft cheese, such as ricotta, paneer or . . ?

Or yogurt or kefir?

Quoted from Victoria

Dianne and BluesSinger, do you get any soft cheese, such as ricotta, paneer or . . ?

Or yogurt or kefir?

nope.   Buffalo Mozzerela is a neutral.

Quoted from BluesSinger

this is just amazing.. i just can't imagine it coming out like milk.. but what do i know until i try!      I can't have cottage cheese.. possibly that helped stablize it alot...  i wonder what it would taste like in tea.  What do you suggest to replace the cottage cheese?    this combo sounds more like a milkshake!!!  

No, it isn't anything at all like a milkshake! It is really and truly milk! Chia will help stabilize anything! Just add more than I did to replace the cottage cheese. I really like the pineapple and cranberry combo. The milk has a light, pinkish tint to it because of the cranberries. I am going to add some lemon extract to my next batch. I can't tolerate lemon right now so I will try a little extract and see what happens. I was amazed at the almost white color it was until I added the cranberries!

Quoted from BluesSinger

nope.   Buffalo Mozzerela is a neutral.

Fresh Buffalo Mozzarella is quite soft and could be blended instead of the cottage cheese.

Quoted from Spring

I am going to add some lemon extract to my next batch. I can't tolerate lemon right now so I will try a little extract and see what happens.

It wouldn't curdle the cottage cheese part of the *milk* would it?

Quoted from Victoria

Dianne and BluesSinger, do you get any soft cheese, such as ricotta, paneer or . . ?

Or yogurt or kefir?

Ricotta and paneer are black dots. I do get mozzarella and feta cheese as superfoods. The neutrals are all  harder cheeses. We do have a place to purchase homemade mozzarella cheese that is still steaming when you buy it but I don't think I'd go to the trouble to go buy it. It's a certain time of the day and not convenient. I get chia seeds as a black dot as well and I try to not consume black dots as well. Thanks for the suggestions though.  

Quoted from Possum

It wouldn't curdle the cottage cheese part of the *milk* would it?

I will only use a little since lemon itself is bothering me so much now, but you may have a very valid point! We'll see what happens!