D.I.Y. Oat Milk Magic

The emerging crowd favorite among all our modern choices for plant-based milks will swoon you even more when you find out how easy it is to prepare at home.

Oat milk is not only a healthy alternative to cow milk, but also one of the most nutritious amongst its many loveable plant-based milk peers.

Aside from offering the mezcla perfecta of fiber, vitamins, and minerals, it has also been said to aid in the regulation of blood sugar levels.

For more details on the nutrition riches of oat milk, check out this clear and concise breakdown by PTSkills.

Maybe you found this recipe because you are allergic to cow milk or just want to consume less of it. Maybe it makes your tummy hurt, or you prefer the taste of plant-based milks, or maybe you practice a firm not-my-mom-not-my-milk vegan diet.

However you arrived here, welcome to my little be-well recipe to make your own oat milk wherever you may be with access to a blender. "Recipe" I feel remains a generous word as this is incredibly quick and simple to prepare and requires few ingredients. 

A great side benefit of preparing your own alternative milks is the reduction of waste from buying so many tetra-pak and plastic containers. Depending on where you live, recycling tetra-pak containers can present challenges as the materials they are made of, although generally recyclable, are very difficult to separate to actually be recycled. Tetra-Pak containers are sometimes required to be taken to designated tetra-pak recycling centers to be properly processed and more often than not end up in landfills.  

The three ingredients you will absolutely need to prepare your own oat milk are: 

1. Oats: instant or rolled dry oatmeal ("steel cut" will not work for this recipe)

2. Water

3. Sugar, Honey, Stevia, or your sweetener of choice. Start with 2 spoonfuls for every 1 cup of oats, add more to taste. 

As usual, there are a few extra ingredients you can add depending on your own taste and what you have available to you. 

4. Salt, I find just a pinch per 1 cup of oats in a recipe is enough. Remember: you can always add more but you cannot take it out if you add too much. ;)

5. Vanilla, start with a teaspoon or una cucharita per 1 cup of oats. Add more to your own taste.

6. Cinnamon, start with a teaspoon or una cucharita per 1 cup of oats. Add more to your own taste.

The main thing that matters in making oat milk is the ratio of oats to water. My rule of thumb is 2 cups of water for every 1 cup of oats. Keep this ratio consistent and you can make any amount of oat milk that you'd like. 

However much you plan on making, that can comfortably fit in your blender, you will first blend the oats, water, sweetener, salt, cinnamon, and vanilla together (on a "liquify" setting or equivalent).

The next step is to strain, strain, strain. The starch from the oats will form a gelatinous texture upon blending. We want to take this away for our oat milk to be as creamy and delicious as possible.

Any size strainer will do the trick, by just pouring your oat milk out of the blender, and through the strainer into another vessel. You can always use a spoon to press the liquid through the blended oats that will inevitably gather in the strainer if you find it is pouring too slowly.

Something to remember here is that you may want to strain more than once! Try a sip after the first strain, and use your own judgment & taste to adjust accordingly.

Depending on your oats and blender, straining 1 or 2 times should suffice to remove the “gooey” starch element of the oats and to separate the milk from the blended oats. It is important to sip and taste along the way and to avoid over-straining so as to not sacrifice any creamy deliciousness.

One small inconvenience of homemade oat milk is that being homemade, it is also free of added preservatives and therefore won't have the same shelf-life as store-bought oat milk.

The solutions to this are:

1. the freezer: making a lot at once, separating enough for the next 1-3 days, and freezing the rest, thawing as needed, or

2. just making a little bit at a time, but semi-frequently. 

Homemade oat milk lasts about three days if it is kept sealed and refrigerated. Natural separation between the oats and water base is normal, and will just need to be shaken up to get back to its desired consistency.

The more you practice this recipe, the more second nature it will become and soon you will be able to whip up your own homemade oat milk without a second thought. How to enjoy it once it’s made is up to you and the possibilities are truly endless.

Some of my personal faves include pouring a cup over some warm granola, using it to replace cow-milk in crepe and pancake preparation, or just drinking a cold glass on its own. Let me know in the comments below how it goes for you and how you like to best enjoy your own DIY Oat milk magic.

Bonus Recipe: Oatmilk Mushroom Latte

Take your homemade oatmilk magic to the next level by making it an oat mushroom latte with Ryze mushroom coffee. With a base blend of six organically grown adaptogenic mushrooms, Ryze offers a sustained energy and focus boost while also supporting immune function and mind-body balance. The blend includes a small portion of organic arabica coffee, so does come with a slight caffeine boost- but no jitters.

Ryze oatmilk latte on ice. 

Adding a tablespoon of Ryze to your glass of DIY Oatmilk Magic will transform your drink into a homemade oat mushroom latte. The grounding, earthy flavor of the mushroom coffee blend is perfectly completed by the nourishing creaminess of the oat milk.

The best part is this oat mushroom latte can be prepared both hot or cold. Stir a tablespoon of Ryze into a cold glass of your oat milk, then add a bit of ice (maybe a touch of honey for sweetness). Or you could warm your oat milk on the stovetop and stir in the Ryze as it heats to craft a cozy, hot oat mushroom latte. Add a cinnamon stick and you have the perfect drink for a crisp fall day, to ground yourself in some downtime, or to warm yourself up for a productive, focused morning.

Be sure to enter the code YOGASELVATICA at checkout to receive 15% off your Ryze purchase.

Ryze latte with a cinnamon stick 

love + light,

Lex