Sunflower Coconut Milk

Makes 1L.

Prep Time 5

Servings

Calories 250kcal

Soak the sunflower seeds in filtered water overnight in the fridge. You can soak your coconut also if you like (in a separate bowl), but it's not necessary if you have a good blender.
In the morning, rinse and drain the seeds, and add to your blender along with all remaining ingredients except for one of the cups of water (if you've soaked your coconut, you can use the coconut soaking water, just measure it before soaking so you can take it off your 3 c measure).
Blend for 1 minute on high until the mixture is completely smooth and creamy, then pour into a nut milk bag over a large bowl.
Add the fourth cup of water to the blender and blend for ten seconds to clean the blender, then add this water to the nut milk bag too (no waste!).
Squeeze your nut milk bag gently for a minute until all the liquid is extracted and you're left with a dry pulp.
Pour the milk into a clean glass bottle, seal tightly, and store in the fridge for 2-3 days. Place the pulp into a sealed container in the freezer, ready to use for another recipe (see the notes below for ideas). Drink and enjoy!

My absolute favourite nut milk bags can be found here. They leave the milk wonderfully smooth and last for a very long time.
While using lecithin is totally optional here, I do highly recommend it since it helps to bind the milk ingredients, thus preventing separation. Alternatively, just make sure you shake the bottle before pouring to avoid separation.
You can use this lovely creamy milk in any way you'd use normal milk, but it's particularly delicious poured over grawnola and fruit, or in a decadent homemade hot chocolate, or my favourite - mixed with 1/2 a teaspoon of this matcha green tea and a dash of stevia or this monk fruit powder to sweeten.
You can use this milk in any of my recipes that call for plant-based milk, from these Chocolate Hazelnut Ice Creams to these lovely Beetroot Blueberry Muffins.
I always recommend soaking your nuts or seeds overnight in the fridge, especially in warmer weather, as it makes a significant difference to the shelf life of your milk (you're more likely to get 3-4 days out of it, rather than 2).
Keep any nut and seed milk pulp and put it in a sealed container in the freezer. It keeps for many months, and can be used to add to cakes, baking, breads, as well as to make these delicious Raspberry and Chocolate Macaroons here. Simply substitute 1/4 of the required flour for pulp in any of your favourite recipes, from baked cakes to raw bliss balls.