hemp milk

[exurb]

Thanks goes to Raw Truth for giving me the idea of making milk from raw hemp nuts!

The nice thing about it for those of you like me who finds it a little cumbersome to make nut milks, straining, washing the bag, using the pulp before it goes bad, etc... :rolleyes:

is that when you make it from hemp, the blender will just blend everything in, and you don't have to strain. I like that I can do it really fast in the morning, no soaking, straining, etc., just pop those hemp nuts in with some water and flavorings and you're all set!

You can make it with a little agave (or maple syrup), or dates., flavor it with a little vanilla, pinch of salt, cinnamon, whatever...

yum!!!

I thought maybe if people are new (and think raw food prep is too much of a chore) or like me can't be bothered to make nut milks with all the straining, it's a great idea.

Plus, it's become almost impossible to find almonds that are not pasteurized.

The only downside I see is that the hemp nuts can be a little pricey, you could try to find a good source for them in bulk. Though compared to soymilk at just under four dollars for 2 quarts, the hemp milk probably costs the same.

[Ginger]

I havn't tried making help milk yet.. thanks! :D

[salsababy]

Exactly what is the process of making hemp milk and how do you strain it? Curious...I have a container of hemp nuts that I don't really eat.....RawTruth- help please!!!

[RawTruth]

Gosh, I'm glad I had too much energy to go to sleep early tonight and ended up cruising ... the threads here (gosh, life has changed! hee hee).

Hemp milk is the easiest thing in the world.

Just put a couple of tablespoons of hemp seeds in the bottom of your blender -- DRY! Turn it on/pulse for a few seconds and they'll get pulverized.

Then, pour in some water -- 6 oz. or so is what I'd do, just enough to pour over some raw granola -- and blend.

There, you've got hemp milk.

I never added any flavorings myself since the raw granola I made was sweetened with date puree and had lots of cinnamon and apples and raisins, so it was naturally sweet already.

Have fun!

Yep -- NO straining.

[Bethanie]

:) I haven't heard much about hemp, does anyone see any health benefits from eating or drinking hemp seeds or drinking the milk?
I am drinking coconut milk and finally got off the soy.
Bethanie

[Bobbie]

I have a hemp milk maker which will make milk from any other nuts/seeds. I thought I'd better try hemp as thats what its designed for, but I didn't like it.
But recently I've been adding hemp and water to strawberry smoothies if I don't have any milk and its delicious!!!
You're right, it's the easiest way to make milk. I don't know why they bothered to design a machine to do what a blender will do.

Hemp seeds contain omega 3,6 and 9 and are considered the most balanced source of EFAs.
When I take flax oil every day I don't feel any different, but if I take hemp oil every day there's a definate difference to my skin, eyes, memory, and brain function.

[salsababy]

Thanks so much RawTruth. It looks so easy!!!

[Bethanie]

:) I was told about all the wonderful benefits i would get from using flax seed oil but i never could tell any difference from when i wasn't taking it.
Now i will try using hemp oil, thanks for the help. Also i will get the seeds to use for milk, i'm sure i will see some benefits there also.
Bethanie

[RawTruth]

Here's an article the title of which is pretty self-explanatory:

Hemp Seed: The Most Nutritionally Complete Food Source in the World (http://www.ratical.org/renewables/hempseed1.html)

Enjoy!

[brwnrawgirl]

Yes thanks for the tip. I love raw milk but do grow tired of all the straining. I'll have to buy some hemp nuts today... I hope Whole Foods sells them.

[Caroob]

Hello! Do you use hemp seeds with the shell or without? I have both at home but cannot find any use for the ones with shell, and the others are much more expensive and have to be kept in the refrigerator aswell.

Don't you put them in water for a few hours before making the milk?? How long do you think the milk will last in the fridge?

Thank you :)

[Sharon in Colorado]

That sounds good, though I do wonder if the hemp seeds sold in the US are deadened - I read that on The Sprout Peoples' site. They have to be dead to be sold here, thus cooked.

Anyone know?

Update: I read this from http://www.sproutpeople.com/seed/hemp.html

I am contacting Manitoba Harvest to get the temp of their hempseeds/nuts.

[RawTruth]

Don't you put them in water for a few hours before making the milk?? How long do you think the milk will last in the fridge?

Thank you :)Just use them exactly like I described above. Someone mentioned cost. I don't drink glasses of seed or nut milk myself; I've just used it over raw granola or raw oatmeal before, so it's not expensive for me.

[GlimR]

I use shelled hemp seeds from Nutiva...their info says..

"While other firms heat their hempseeds, we simply remove the seeds' hard outer shells, yielding a 100% raw gourmet product."

So...those are the ones I use and they are delicious and very handy.

[Sharon in Colorado]

Thanks Glimr. MH hasn't responded. I have their protein powder, but I will see if Nutiva is available from my HFS.

[wyjoz]

Here's a recipe for Hemp Ice Cream: http://rawfoodtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=21128&highlight=Hemp+Cream

[Sharon in Colorado]

I use shelled hemp seeds from Nutiva...their info says..

"While other firms heat their hempseeds, we simply remove the seeds' hard outer shells, yielding a 100% raw gourmet product."

So...those are the ones I use and they are delicious and very handy.

I don't know why but I'm still thinking about this. I'm just wondering if it's raw, Like a "raw" Lara bar because THEY don't heat it, but if it has to be deadened before being shipped out to the states, and they don't themselves heat it, they would consider it raw even though the enzymes have been destroyed.

I guess the only way to find out is to try to sprout them!

By the way, doesn't matter so much as I do use cashews that aren't truly raw but I do like to know these things just for my own information. It is nice to really understand if something has been altered in such a way to destroy the enzymes.

[Sharon in Colorado]

I did get some Manitoba Harvest Hemp Seeds, Nutiva wasn't available. I started the sprouting process, so far nothing, but there is a malty smell.

Will keep you posted...

Has anyone else tried to sprout their hemp seeds? Howza about everyone put a teaspoon of them on a wet paper towel in a warm area and report back?

Would like to know just out of curiosity if these are really living...

[Sharon in Colorado]

I finally got a response from MH.


Hello Sharon,

Although our processing practices are proprietary, I can tell you that our shelled hemp seed nut is sproutable and therefore enzyme active. Thanks for your continued support!



Autumn



Autumn Bree
U.S. Marketing & Education

Manitoba Harvest Hemp Foods & Oils
15-2166 Notre Dame Ave
Winnipeg, Manitoba R3H 0K2
Toll Free: 800-665-HEMP (4367) Ext. 8
Direct: 204-953-0232
Fax: 204-956-5984
Email: autumn@manitobaharvest.com
Web: www.manitobaharvest.com

However, it's been 3-4 days and they still have not sprouted.

Has anyone else tried to sprout their seeds yet?

I feel like I'm having a one-way conversation with myself here.

Input, ...anyone?....

[raw-siobhan]

Ive been keeping up with your posting here...I dont have a lot to put into the conversation which is why I havent added to the posting, but I am very interested on this topic. Have no fear, what seriously DOES look like a one-way conversation with yourself is definitely falling on eager ears (namely mine). Keep up the great work. :)

[RawFoodieMom]

I finally got a response from MH.



However, it's been 3-4 days and they still have not sprouted.

Has anyone else tried to sprout their seeds yet?

I feel like I'm having a one-way conversation with myself here.

Input, ...anyone?....
That is really disappointing. I've really trusted Manitoba Harvest's hemp seed nuts. Sharon, I will try to sprout mine and see what happens. I'll let you know, okay? :)

[Sharon in Colorado]

Now this is really interesting! I'm going to show my conversation with Manitoba Harvest chronilogically:

Me:


Thank you for your response. I did purchase some Manitoba Harvest Hemp Seeds at my local Vitamin Cottage here in Colorado Springs, CO. I soaked the seeds on Sunday, and since then they have been on a moist paper towel. So far I have not seen any sprouting. I sprout other seeds, and they usually show a small tail bud by the 2nd day. Generally how long do hemp seeds take before they start the sprouting process?

Sharon

MH:


Hah! I'm not too sure. We actually found out by accident. I'm not positive but I can say that the seeds are low temp processed and we have sprouted them in the past.

Autumn Bree

Me:


Thank you anyway. I guess I will keep waiting. What I read was that hemp seeds have to be deadened to be sold in the US, by law. I read this on the Sprout People website, so I was wondering if maybe you were working with already deadened seeds for sale in the US, and just processing them at low enough temperatures to consider them raw, even though they aren't viable.

Sharon

MH:


No. absolutely not. We grow them and they are delivered to us VERY viable. It is only when the shell is in tact that the seed needs to be deactivated (usually done through irradiation or high heat treatment) to render the seed unviable. We shell them so this is unnecessary. It is not possible to plant one of our shelled hemp seeds and grow and hemp plant and that's what the US government is concerned with. We just had a discussion last week and one of our founders shared a story of seeing the little tails come out in some of shelled hemp seed that was found in a moist paper towel and that's what I'm sharing with you. Our internal QC manager says that's possible although more difficult to do. Usually when people are sprouting at home, the item has a shell.

Autumn Bree

MH, in another follow-up:


I just dug deeper. The problem lies in the intact-fullness of the shelled hemp seeds you are using. Most of ours from going through centrifugal force have had bits broken off that render them unable to produce a tail. When we did our testing it was scientific and involved whole pieces. Does that make sense? So in actuality it may not be possible for you to produce tails on your shelled hemp seeds.

Autumn Bree

Me:


Okay, I see now. It has to have the shell intact to be sprouted. That puts my mind at ease!

Thank you for that info, that was very helpful.

Sharon

Me, again:


Thank you again, Autumn, that really does help and makes a lot of sense. This tells me that even though it may not sprout, doesn't mean that the enzymes aren't intact.

I really appreciate you getting this information. I'm going to pass this on to a raw & living foods discussion group - some of us are buying hemp seeds and making hemp seed milk with it.

Sharon

So what do you all think?

[RawTruth]

Their response makes total sense to me. Although, if you want to be absolutely sure that this is correct, I suppose you'd need to sprout unhulled seeds.

[RawFoodieMom]

From what I understand from the emails from Autumn, hemp seeds still in the shell cannot be sprouted because they have to be deadened to be sold, so you can't buy hemp seeds still in the shell that will sprout. What I'm understanding is that when they deshell them, the centrifugal process breaks little bits off of the de-shelled nuts so that's why they won't sprout. You'd have to find a nut that didn't get much damage while being de-shelled, which would probably be very difficult.

I can see why they wouldn't sprout from what they've said. They're very soft nuts. It sounds to me like they're still enzyme active. But maybe we should ask them what temperature their "Low-Heat Process" is? Low heat to some companies seems to mean up to 200 degrees sometimes...

Debra

[Eilene]

I just tried the Hemp milk for the first time. I love that it is so easy to make. I used 6 oz. of water to 2 TBL of Hemp Seed & added a little Agave as I like mine sweeter. I poured it over my Maple Cinnamon Buckwheat Crispies cereal for the book Raw Food Real World. I LOVE this cereal. It is always in my refrigerator. It was great with the Hemp milk. It was thicker than the almond milk I usually make...but was still very, very good and EASY. Thanks for the recipe!!! :-)

[Sharon in Colorado]

I looked very closely at my teaspoon of attemping to sprout seeds before throwing them out this morning. I suppose I could have taken a picture, although they were so small I am not sure that it would be visible with my quality of camera.

Anyway, what I saw is on a few of them, something looked like a little bud coming forth. However I do not know if it was like that before I started trying to sprout them. I will probably try another teaspoon of seeds with a before and after photo.

I do recognize that "malty" smell though, which is the smell of the sugars coming forth before the sprouts start. The malty smell changes to an earthy sprouty smell when they start sprouting.

Meanwhile my regular sprouting seeds (alfalfa, clover and radish) that I put in my sprouter yesterday are already sprouting!

If what she wrote was accurate, then at least a couple of the seeds that didn't get broken up during processing should sprout.