Creamy Activated Black Sesame Milk

Open the superpowers of sesame.

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Season: Spring, Summer
Dosha: Kapha, Pitta, Vata

I get a lot of questions about milk. And to be clear, this includes all of the MALKS out there too; milk-like-beverages made from almonds, or cashews, or oats, or or or. “Are these ok?” my clients want to know.

Before I dive into a diatribe as to why you must absolutely run to the store, buy your weight in black sesame seeds and make this creamy, dreamy Black Sesame Milk let’s be clear: all foods (from an Ayurvedic perspective, and from my perspective) are “ok.” But whether or not they serve to nourish our bodies, support our digestion and help us to thrive remains to be seen. There are no good or bad foods in Ayurvedic wisdom, but there are certainly circumstances where a food will be better for us than something else. And when it comes to milk, there are only a few answers that really fit the bill the majority of the time.

So, how do I answer all these milk questions? My answer is: give this Black Sesame Milk a try. : )

What does Ayurveda say about milk?

From an Ayurvedic perspective, dairy milk is one of the most nourishing substances we can consume. Hands down. This is particularly true for athletes and active folx who have a propensity to diminish their nutritional stores (and thus their vitality – called ojas in Ayurveda) more readily. Milk is a superfood for us.

Here’s where things get tricky. Most of the cow’s milk produced in the United States comes from a breed of high-producing Holstein cows favored by American dairies, and this milk contains A1 protein – a protein undigestible by humans. (That’s right – brain explosion!) The A2 protein, however, found in many breeds of uncommercialized cows, as well as sheep and goats, IS digestible to humans almost as gently as breastmilk.

If we can get our hands on A2 dairy milk, milk is WONDERFUL for our bodies. But, if this milk is tricky to come by (and at your local coffee shop, it probably is) we’re less inclined to drink it. And, from an Ayurvedic perspective (and also the perspective of the 1 in 4 Americans who believe their lactose intolerant but are – in fact – just unable to process commercialized dairy1) this dairy milk is difficult to digest. So, Ayurveda wouldn’t recommend it.

Good thing there are so many MALKS out there…right? Well, maybe.

What’s the deal with alt-milk (“malk”)?

Almond, oat, cashew, rice, soy – all of these not-quite-milks-but-malks are floating around in the ether, and they’re *better* for us, right? The answer (as in all of Ayurveda) is IT DEPENDS. It depends on two things: one, how the nuts, seeds or oats were processed before they became malk? And two, what other ingredients did the producer add in there to make the “nut juice” (I’m sorry, there’s just no other way to describe this!) become a creamy, dreamy “milk?”

From an Ayurvedic perspective, malk is a great option if it’s been sprouted (or activated!) first. Why?

Nuts, seeds and oats are all ingredients that, when planted in the ground, will sprout new life.  These ingredients are hip to their own superpowers and to protect them, they coat themselves in a natural biotoxin or anti-nutrient to prevent predators from interrupting the important work of perpetuating their species. The most common anti-nutrients are phytates (also called phytic acid) which bind to iron and zinc, and — to a lesser degree — trace minerals such as calcium, magnesium and potassium. Less common but just as noteworthy are lectins, a anti-nutrient/protein found in most plants and especially in beans and whole grains, which bond to carbohydrates.

These anti-nutrients slough off of our precious ingredients when the seed,  nut or grain is planted in the ground and starts to sprout; the moisture, minerals and acid in the soil signal to the little seed that it’s time to grow! And, when we soak, “sprout” or activate our nuts, seeds and grains by soaking them in water with a bit of acid or salt overnight, we replicate this process. By doing so, we make their nutrition bioavailable to us, we prevent the digestive distress and discomfort that comes from eating these foods without soaking them (hello, farts from your favorite Mexican restaurant!) and we can absorb and benefit from these incredible foods.

Here’s the thing: most malk producers don’t take the time to activate their ingredients before blending them into creamy milks. An overnight soak with a HUGE vat of almonds is not so cost effective. So plain old almonds are typically used, and the anti-nutrients are in your milk when you pour it over your cereal. And, so your body probably isn’t benefitting from the minuscule amount of protein and trace minerals in your malk because your digestive system isn’t able to assimilate these nutrients properly; they are not made bioavailable.

Here’s the other thing: un-sprouted almonds, cashews, and oats don’t blend into creamy milk that well. This is why most of the malk out there contains stabilizers, gums, emulsifiers, and added flavors. All of these are typically man made or highly-derived ingredients which our bodies don’t recognize and can’t use as food. We don’t digest them well, which means (crap) these malks aren’t so *good* for us either.

So what kind of milk DO I order at the coffee shop?

Great question.

A1 dairy is undigestible, and A2 can be hard to find depending on where you live.

Alternative malks are almost all chock-full of anti-nutrients, and/or ingredients to make them look and feel creamy like milk. And these ingredients plus the anti-nutrients mean that almost all malks are just as gnarly for our digestive systems from an Ayurvedic perspective.

So we’re standing at the counter of our favorite coffee shop, stumped. The milk/malk connundrum confounds me just about every time I go get a cozy warm beverage at a sweet little cafe, where the last thing I want to be is that lady who has a million questions about her milk options, and scrunched her nose up at all of them. Most of the time I settle on herbal tea, no milk at all, and then make my creamy milk drink at home with homemade almond or A2 milk, truth.

But, now that Creamy Activated Black Sesame Milk is in my life, you’d better bet I will be avoiding coffee shops altogether because this malk slaps!

So, do I HAVE to make my own malk?

No, you don’t. But you’re going to want to.

Yeah, yeah I know – making our own malk/milk at home is just one more thing to add to the to-do list when we are already overflowing with to-dos. I hear you. Sometimes I – too – just buy the other stuff and say f*ck it. But I always feel better drinking, and get excited just having a quart of this gorgeous milk in the fridge. So, I take a few minutes to make it happen when I can.

The process I outline below involves spending two minutes thinking about making black sesame milk the night before, and covering your seeds with water + a pinch of salt to activate them. Then, you take 2 minutes to blend them up with the other three ingredients you already have in your pantry and VOILA.

Why black sesame?

Black sesame – also known as nigella seed – is a superfood in Ayurveda and in many traditions worldwide. These flavorful little seeds are known in Ayurvedic medicine for:

Ok, black sesame milk let’s do this.

The recipe below is S I M P L E. It will require you to have a nut milk bag, and a high speed blender (which we already want you to have so you have all the tools you need to really get after it in the kitchen!) But the bulk of the work is done overnight, while you sleep. When it comes to the actual blending of the milk, the whole thing comes together in about 2 minutes in the blender, then strain and you’ve got a creamy, nutritious, exotic looking and truly yummy alternative to all those OTHER milks out there, and their broken nutrition promises.

 

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