How to make Oat Milk & Benefits

How to make oat milk

To make oat milk, you basically just need:

• 1 cup of oats and 4 cups of water,
• a blender and
• a nutbag, thin towel, t-shirt or another fine fabric for straining the milk.

For my oat milk, I always like to add a date (or other dried fruits) for some sweetness as well as a pinch of salt to give it some extra flavor. You can also add some other ingredients to pimp up your milk.

How to make flavored milk

As mentioned above, I like to add some dried fruits and a pinch of salt to my milk. You can also add some other ingredients to make flavored oat milk. Here are some ideas:

• Vanilla Milk: 1 tsp vanilla paste
• Cinnamon Milk: 1 tsp cinnamon
• Chocolate Milk: 1 tbsp chocolate powder
• Berry Milk: 1/4 cup of fresh berries

Things to consider

• Avoid slimy oat milk: When blending your oat milk, take care to not over blend it. Other wise your milk can get quite slimy. To avoid over blending, I recommend to use rolled oats (no oat flakes) and to blend the liquid for only 30 seconds. I would also avoid soaking the oats in advance as this causes a slimy texture as well.
• Storage: When you fill your milk in a sealed container or bottle and put it in the refrigerator, it should last for up to 5 days. You’ll probably smell when it’s gone bad.
• Milk separation: Separation is totally normal with homememade oat milk and even other dairy-free milk. Just shake the milk before using it.

How to use oat pulp

• Oatmeal is very good for your skin. Therefore you can use oat pulp for an oatmeal bath which will moisture and soothing your skin.
• As oats have great benefits for your skin, you can use oat pulp also as facial mask for hydrating, cleaning and exfoliating effects.
• Add oat pulp to your smoothies for some exta fiber.
• You can use oat pulp for baking goods, such as pancakes or cookies.
• Use oat pulp for cooking: Just be creative and use oat pulp when cooking. For example for sauces or in hummus.

Benefits

• Energy Booster: Oats are high in protein, which will provide you energy.
• Good source of fiber: Oats are packed with fiber, especially soluble fiber. Soluble fiber stays longer in your stomach and leads to slower digestion. That’s why it will give you a feeling of fullness for a long time and helps to maintain a healthy weight.
• Good for cholesterol and blood pressure: Oat fiber does not only have positive impacts when it comes to weight control. Soluble fiber also helps to cut bad cholesterol levels and reduce the risk of high blood pressure.
• Environmental impacts: The production of oat drinks has a lower impact on the planet than both traditional milk and soy milk. Also compared to other grains, growing oats requires less energy and doesn’t deplete the soils important nutrients.
• Cheap: Oats, in general, are very cheap. Just compare this: Buying 500g of rolled oats costs me about 0.95 EUR. Out of this 0.95 EUR I get about 5 Liter of homemade oat milk, so for one liter of homemade oat milk I pay 0.20 EUR. Compared to dairy-free milks from stores, for which I pay 1-3 Euro per 1 Liter, it’s super cheap.
• Simple: Oat milk is very simple to make at home. You basically need only 2 ingredients, a blender and fine fabric. Within 5-10 min you can prepare 1 liter of oat milk.