• Drain the almonds and rinse them under a stream of clean water.
• Split the vanilla bean in half and scrape out the seeds if you are using a blender instead of a juice extractor.
• If you are using a juice extractor, feed all the ingredients, except for the water, alternately into your extractor. You will get your delicious plant-based milk on one side, and a wonderful oilseed paste on the other, which you can reuse for other recipes.
• If you are using a high-powered blender, blend all the ingredients and then strain the mixture through an organic cotton nut milk bag. What you collect in your cotton bag is called okara: it is the residual pulp from your blended nuts. Rich in fiber and protein, okara can be reused in many recipes, so don't throw it away!
• Serve this divine drink and enjoy!

*Why do we soak oilseeds and nuts?

Oilseeds and nuts contain phytic acid as well as enzyme inhibitors. Phytic acid is an organic acid that protects the seed; when consuming the seed in its rawest form, the phytic acid is still intact and will bind with important minerals such as calcium, magnesium, iron... thus preventing their proper absorption. Phytic acid can also bind to proteins and block their proper absorption! In the long term, high consumption of foods rich in phytic acid can impair immunity, disrupt hormonal balance, lead to demineralization...

Now let's talk about enzyme inhibitors: these are substances that, as their name suggests, bind to enzymes and decrease their activity. Their role is also to protect the seed until it is in an environment favorable to its germination; for this, the seeds will need a sufficient amount of moisture in order to germinate, thereby releasing the enzyme inhibitors!

And where does hawthorn pollen fit into all this?

It is extremely rich in complete proteins because it contains all the essential amino acids. It also contains a great amount of iron. This trace element is very important because it is part of the composition of hemoglobin in red blood cells, myoglobin in muscles, and is essential for the proper functioning of cellular respiration.

Sweetened with coconut blossom sugar, this drink will by no means destabilize your blood sugar levels. Coconut blossom sugar has a very low glycemic index (around 30) and also has a high content of minerals, antioxidants, and B-group vitamins. It contains 36 times more iron than brown sugar, 4 times more magnesium, and 10 times more zinc! "