Introduction
Hemp Seed Milk
I’ve been wanting to make my own hemp milk for ages.
For one, I know how easy it is to make most plant-based milks, and how much better they are when they’re made fresh versus the packaged kinds.
Secondly, I love hemp seeds. I love their flavor, their texture, their nutrition profile, that their subtle in presence yet packed with mana.
I actually really like store-bought hemp milk, however they’re generally not sold unsweetened, and I generally avoid unneeded added sugar. I also don’t think milk needs to be sweet; just creamy and rich and with a nice, delicate flavor. Why does it need to taste like it’s been filtered through a kids’ breakfast cereal?
It turns out that hempseed milk is even way easier to make than other nut & seed milks, due to something that I half expected: it doesn’t have to be strained! Although I enjoy the process of squishing and squeezing every last drop out of milk out of a nut milk bag – an experience that hilariously similar to milking a cow’s udders – it can sort of messy and time-consuming process, if simplistic. But with hemp seeds, it’s all good with just the blender, because of the soft texture of the de-hulled hemp hearts. Of course, if using whole hemp seeds in the kernel, you will have to actually milk it. (Have fun! :P)
Honestly, I’d feel like I was slighting you guys if I just put a recipe up here that involves blending seeds with water and a pinch of salt, so what I did was use the hemp milk as an ingredient in our star recipe. Don’t worry, I did include the detailed recipe for hemp seed milk below as well.
The Teal Smoothie
The star recipe today is what I’m calling a teal smoothie. Almost everyone these days has heard of green smoothies. They’re special and good for the body in their own right, usually involving blending copious amounts of green vegetables with fruit or otherwise.
The teal smoothie is different. It uses a bright white liquid canvas in our aforementioned hemp seed milk, and brightens the scene a glorious shade of blue-green with ingredients such as BioLumina spirulina, peppermint, cilantro leaves, and frozen blueberries.
The main cause of the hue is BioLumina spirulina. You may be thinking, “Why does he keep saying this new word in front of spirulina? I’ve heard of spirulina. What is BioLumina?” Well, I’ll tell you, of course…
The best spirulina on the planet, IMO.
BioLumina Spirulina
Easily said, BioLumina is the brand name of the spirulina that I always and only use. However, it’s not just that. This particular spirulina comes from the company New Phoenix Rising in Santa Cruz, California. I’m fortunate enough to have connected with these people who – I feel certain enough to say – are offering the best spirulina on the planet.
There are plenty of science-y reasons why it’s the best, and they’re linked here. Why I feel it is the best is through my own senses and intuition with this product, especially compared to the numerous other kinds and brands of spirulina that I have had throughout the years. It is apparent to me that this is a product and a food that is on just about the highest level of any I have interacted with. It’s color is amazing, it’s smell and flavor are special, and honestly it even makes crazy crop-circle like patterns on the inside of the jar and other things. I swear, it is definitely alive, and I suspect that it has some sort of fantastic sentience or alien information encoded within it. The first time I tried the stuff – a result of the emphatic encouragement from a very trusted friend who’s always steered me in great life directions – I swear, I felt such a high.
Of course brands & products make promises left and right, but you can’t deny when ya just feel it.
Anyway, I’ll let you do your research and experimentation, but if you’re interested in trying it, you can get it here. I’m fine with transparency in saying, I am affiliated with this company, but its because that’s how their company is structured, and, I believe in it that much. I truly feel that it would be of benefit to the world to get it in more bodies more of the time. The company’s founder is the pioneer of spirulina, Christopher Hills, after all, and his work bringing the algae to relevancy as an amazingly nutritious food source is well documented.
On another level.
The Teal Smoothie (cont.)
The recipe below is my own take of a clever creation by the same friend who introduced me to BioLumina. Her name is Jen and she’s an wizardess in the kitchen. She came up with these amazing milky creations that consist of a rich base of ingredients and a two stage process where you follow by making a sort of frappé with ice or frozen fruit.
I’ll offer more derivations off of this template in the future, but today’s is a quick one to mark my first day making hemp milk, and to introduce you all to one of my favorite foods on the planet (again, BioLumina).
Enjoy!
And shoutout to Teal Swan! This recipe isn’t named after her per se, but after naming it I was reminded of her, and I’d say the drink matches her vibe pretty well. I’d say there’s some magic afoot…
Behold.
Hemp Seed Milk
Ingredients
• 1/2 cup Hemp Hearts
• 2 cups Water
• 2 cups Coconut Water
Method
Blend all ingredients on high for about 1-minute, until smooth and incorporated.
Notes
The coconut water is optional. You could use water only, or coconut water only for that matter. I just wanted the subtle level of sweetness.
If you’d like to sweeten it, use sweetener of choice. Lots of people tend to use a few dates for sweetness when making homemade nut milk. Just keep in mind, they will thicken it more. Alternatively, add 1 tablespoon of maple syrup, sugar, whatever you’d like.
Vanilla hemp milk is popular. You can add 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract or 1/4 teaspoon of vanilla bean powder.
For chocolate hemp milk, add a couple tablespoons of cacao or cocoa powder
There are all sorts of flavor possibilities. Use your imagination, and let us know if you come up with anything amazing. ;)
This comes out a vibrant and beautiful color.
Teal Smoothie
Ingredients
In order of appearance…
• 1 cup Hemp Milk
• 1 tbs BioLumina Spirulina
• 1/4 tsp Vanilla Bean powder
• 1/2 tbs Erythritol or Xylitol
• 1 drop Peppermint essential oil (I use doTERRA)
• 1/4 cup Cilantro
• 1/2 cup frozen Blueberries
• 1 tsp Chia Seeds
Method
Slice Place in blender: hemp milk, spirulina, vanilla, sweetener, peppermint, cilantro.
Blend well.
Add blueberries and chia seeds.
Pulse blend 3 or 4 times, or until loosely broken down, but still in bits.
Serve.
Time
Pre-prep: 2-3 minutes
Blend time: 1 minute, each concoction
Total: 5 minutes max
Notes
This format works with any type of milk. Use your favorite, by all means.
This is a pretty healthy dose of BioLumina. They actually recommend you start slow, and work up to one tablespoon, because of its ability to pull radioactivity and other detrimental agents out of the body. Too much too soon could be hard to process. Feel free to half it if you haven’t had spirulina much before.
Vanilla Bean powder is a bit of a commodity. I use it here because of the high-vibe profile of this concoction. However, vanilla extract would be totally fine.
I love alternative sweeteners Erythritol or Xylitol. They are low-glycemic and erythritol is even calorie free, however their flavor is quite nice, not bitter or odd like lots of alternative sweeteners, and they’re processed from natural ingredients. You can use any sweetener you’d like, though just note that you may have to use more volume to achieve the same level of sweetness.
Any source of mint is fine – peppermint spirits, whole mint leaves, or other brands of essential oil. I just know doTERRA is especially food grade and excellent quality. However it being only one drop for flavor, I think any brand would be fine.
I know, I know… cilantro is a divisive ingredient and some people despise it’s flavor and aroma. Actually, the first time I had it was as a kid at a family friend’s new Mexican restaurant. My dish was served with a side of cilantro rice, and I swear I’ve never been so disgusted before. But I’ve come to love it! So maybe, even if you’re one of those two types of people that steers clear, today could be the day you switch! Or… you can just leave it out. Or replace it with another herb or green leaf. Up to you!
You can sub a different type of frozen fruit if you’d like, as well. Actually, most times I don’t even use fruit. I just use a bit extra sweetener and a big handful of ice cubes. I was out! But I’m glad… Blueberries just hammered home the nutrition of this drink.
Chia seeds and frozen fruit / ice are added at the last stage and only pulsed, as we want them to just break down enough to still give us some of their inherent texture in the end result.
Personalized glasses thanks to Alexa’s mother. Thanks Angela! ^_^
Results
This was the first I’ve made this particular version, and it was an instant success. I’ve made so many versions of this drink that I have a real feel for it now. I’ll probably share more in the future! There’s a sort of coffee flavor one made with Dandy Blend that is out of this world as well! Stay tuned. :)
Final Spiel
There’s kind of a lot of information in this post. If you’ve read it all, I’m so impressed and pleased.
Thanks as always for being a patron of this blog. We appreciate you!
If you make this, please please tag us @spacenlight on Instagram, hashtag #31NYR, and/or send us a DM showing us your creation! We’re on Facebook as well @spacenlight
We’ll see you tomorrow with a new recipe, and every day of January, as we continue 31 New Year Recipes! It’s been a real commitment and stretch for us, and we’re growing so much in this process. And it’s so exciting to have all of these amazing creations coming from our kitchen, hopefully to yours!
As always feel free to make it your own.
