Several weeks ago, after many doctors, prescriptions and 2 diagnoses of Fibromyalgia, I was diagnosed with an allergy to gluten. I felt horrible. I went through months of pain and exhaustion. I never suspected what I was eating was actually killing me. With the help of Google and WebMD I had diagnosed myself with either RA or MS. I didn't have the stomach issues that you would expect after reading about gluten allergies so I never suspected it..not even once. Who would really associate total body joint, nerve and muscle pain with a food allergy. Well, one wonderful doctor did and I will forever be thankful to her.
Moving on, it is common that people with gluten allergies develop an intolerance to lactose. Some people never experience this. Sometimes it goes away once the gluten has been cleared from the body, other times not. I didn't want to risk it. I was ready to feel better so I removed all gluten and lactose from my diet. Recently I added back a little dairy and don't seem to be having any problems. Mainly just cheese, I don't drink dairy milk at all. I'm not a morning person but I'm always hungry the moment my feet hit the floor which mean I always have cereal in the house (especially chocolate cereal..chocolate is the best way to start any day). This is what led me to almond milk. I don't like coconut so I avoided coconut milk from the start. I've never tasted it and I don't even know if it tastes like coconut but I just couldn't bring myself to try it. Almond milk took a little getting used to. After years of dairy milk you can expect an adjustment period. It wasn't bad, just different. After a couple of days I didn't even notice the difference anymore.
I am the only person in the house that drinks almond milk so I expected some to spoil before I drank it all. I looked for an expiration date on the carton one day and noticed that it said to use it within a week of opening. It's like the box milk that you buy during hurricane season. It has a shelf life of forever but once you open it you need to use it fairly quickly. I wasn't thrilled about that. I will use boxed milk during an emergency when I can't get fresh milk but I worry about exactly what goes in to it that preserves it for long periods of time. I had just started my healthy eating plan and didn't want to continue using processed products daily. And then the luckiest thing ever happened. I saw a promotion to test and review the Ecosak. It was like fate! Perfect timing! So I applied and I was approved. Hello free product that I can actually use, a product that I didn't know existed but that I would get so much benefit from.
So, it arrived last week. I was so excited. Couldn't wait until I went through the recipe ebook to find the perfect recipe to try first. First recipe: almond milk, of course. The recipe was simple and easy to follow. And the best part, it was yummy! So much better than the carton at the grocery store not to mention I know every ingredient that went into it. Next best thing: I can play with the recipe and make as little or as much as I need. No more waste. Score for my checkbook!!
Well, as you can imagine the kids were not as thrilled as I was. They watched me doing my little experiment and waited anxiously to see (and taste) the results. They were not impressed. They still drink regular milk so I didn't expect them to like it.
That made me curious. What else can I do with this wonderful simple little bag. Orange juice, maybe? Yep, lets do an experiment!!
So I grabbed up the short people, the Ecosak and some oranges. I peeled, sliced and threw the pieces into the Ecosak. I handed it over to the kids and told them to make some orange juice. They LOVED it! They had a blast! I let them squeeze and squeeze and squeeze. They were finally finished and ready to taste the results of their hard work. Ainsley wasn't impressed. She doesn't like orange juice. Chris drank up and when I asked him what he thought about it he said it was a 10. He was ready to make more!
The Ecosak works great! It catches all of the pulp and small pieces so you end up with nothing but smooth milk/juice. I'm having a blast using this. Initially I thought it would be great for making almond milk and now I am realizing it is going to be wonderful for making juices also. I really like that it is a simple, easy to clean bag that I can store easily. I don't have a lot of kitchen space or cabinets so I try to avoid bulky machines. I don't like having things sitting on my counters. Except the coffee pot. It has to stay there for easy all day access lol.
I recommend this product to anyone that is interested in making their own milks and juices at home. It is inexpensive, well made, easy to use and works exactly as it should. You can pick one of these up on amazon. I have added the link below.
I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.
I wonder how well it does coconut milk.
ReplyDeleteI bet it would work great! I'm sure it would be similar to making the almond milk.
DeleteI have seen these around but never knew exactly what they were used for. I bet my kids would enjoy making orange juice too and without the mess is great for me.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure they will! My kids had a great time. My son asks every night to make more :)
ReplyDelete