How have I never made pistachio milk before now?

I had a huge amount of pistachios left over from Christmas and didn’t know what to do with them (other than eat too many in one go), so I decided to attempt a new milk and was more than pleasantly surprised.

Pistachios have a huge amount of health benefits. Here are some of them:

• Loaded with nutrients such as potassium, Vitamin B6 and manganese. They are actually one of the most Vitamin B6-rich foods around, which helps regulate blood sugar levels and the formation of haemoglobin
• Higher in antioxidants than most other nuts or seeds. Only walnuts and pecans contain more, plus these antioxidants are more easily absorbed than from some other foods
• They contain lutein and zeaxanthin which have huge benefits for eye health
• Low in calories yet high in protein. Although most nuts are beneficial to health, they are usually quite high in calories. Pistachios are among the lowest calorie nuts. With protein comprising about 20% of their weight, pistachios are second only to almonds in terms of protein content
• They have a high ratio of amino acids, which are the building blocks of protein. Essential fatty acids cannot be synthesised by the body so they have to come from our diet
• They are high in fibre. Most fibre moves through the digestive system undigested but some types of fibre are digested by the good bacteria in your gut, acting as prebiotics. Gut bacteria then ferment the fibre and convert it into short-chain fatty acids, which have several health benefits
• Lower cholesterol and blood pressure

So there you have it, a concise list of reasons for why eating pistachios will benefit your health.

I wanted to add cardamom as I think the flavours go so well together. You could even add some rose water if you fancied, as all 3 flavours really compliment each other.

I actually used this milk to make porridge this morning and it was so creamy and delicious!

Ingredients

1 cup pistachios
3 cups purified water
1 date
1 tbsp maple, honey or agave
1 tsp ground cardamom
Pinch Himalayan sea salt

Method

Simply put all the ingredients together in a high speed blender and blend until completely smooth, then squeeze through a nut milk bag into a bowl and transfer this drained liquid into a bottle.

Love & health,
Lauren