easy homemade cashew "yogurt"
Ever since I gave up dairy a few years ago, I do not miss it very much. When I say I gave up dairy, what I mean is that I gave it up more on an every single day basis. You know, milk in my cereal for breakfast, cheese in my salad for lunch, yogurt for a snack, and sometimes a cheese snack before dinner. I didn't realize how much dairy I was consuming on a daily basis until I realized my body was not cool with it anymore. Acne, acid reflux, things that Drs would love to write me a quick fix prescription for, I cured by significantly reducing my dairy intake.
Nowadays, dairy is more of a once in a while treat for me. I do love a slice of pizza as a treat, and goat's milk cheese seems to be my friend in small doses .... however, the one everyday dairy thing that I do really miss is my yogurt snack. I used to snack on this organic blueberry yogurt every afternoon, and I so enjoyed eating it because it felt like a treat, but I also thought that I was doing something good for my body. I haven't really found a store-bought dairy-free yogurt that is worthy of a daily yogurt snack habit ...... and mostly because the taste is kinda meh, and also because I cannot get over how much sugar most store-bought yogurts contain. SO, I've been on a mission for quite some time to figure out an easy, dairy-free, homemade yogurt, with no refined sugar added.
I tried for a while with coconut milk. I would culture it, leave it in a cool dark place (which happened to be my oven) then realize I use my oven on a daily basis, so that was not convenient, but I sacrificed for the hopes that my coconut yogurt dreams would come true. Then, two days later, I would get so excited to try it, and it would always fall a little short. Just not the yogurt taste and texture I was looking for, and not worth my precious oven time.
I've blended cashews with some sweetener, but then I felt like I was just eating cashew cream .... which is fine, but was lacking some of the benefits of yogurt I was looking for. Then I spotted a cashew yogurt recipe on Green Kitchen Stories that uses my new favorite ingredient, psyllium husks, to give the yogurt a thick and creamy feel, but also adds a serious boost of fiber. This was the yogurt compromise I was looking for! I have since made a big batch of this yogurt every week for the past few weeks. I cannot get enough of it.
My favorite part is how easy this is. If you soak your cashews the night before, and leave the other couple ingredients needed on your counter, you can have this blended and ready to eat in less than 10 minutes .... less than 5, if you're super fast, and have a high-powered blender. I hope you enjoy this close-to-yogurt, dairy-free snack as much as I do!
easy homemade cashew "yogurt"
This recipe is adapted from THIS RECIPE I found on Green Kitchen Stories. Feel free to sub 3 soaked dates, if you're not into the banana, or other fruits, if you want to experiment with different flavors.
MAKES | about 4 yogurt parfaits
INGREDIENTS
2 cups of cashews, soaked 3 hours or (ideally) overnight
1 teaspoon of psyllium husks + 1/2 cup of filtered water
1 ripe banana
1 teaspoon of vanilla
1 tablespoon of coconut oil
a pinch of sea salt
2 tablespoons of lemon juice
about 1/2+ filtered water
to make a parfait:
about 1 cup of fresh or frozen berries, such as blueberries, raspberries, or blackberries
about 1/2 cup of your favorite granola
additional add ins: bee pollen, chia seeds, hemp seeds
METHOD
- In a small bowl, mix the psyllium husks with water and set aside to allow it to thicken.
- Drain the soaked cashews, and place them into a high-powered blender, or a food processor. Add the banana, vanilla, coconut oil, salt, and lemon juice. While the blender or food processor is running continuously, add the water in a slow stream. You might need a little more than a 1/2 cup. Add additional water a tablespoon at a time, until the mixture runs smooth, but is still thick and creamy.
- Transfer the yogurt to a bowl, and stir in the thickened psyllium husks. Place in the fridge for 30 minutes, and then your yogurt is ready to enjoy.
- If you want to make a parfait, layer your parfait ingredients alternating with layers of yogurt. I like to do this in small mason jars, and store them (with a tight lid) in the fridge. These will keep for a couple of days in an air-tight container in the fridge.