<strong>Makes: about 3 cups of milk and a large cup of sesame pulp.</strong>

Every single thing happens for a reason; there is a blessing in every challenge; always see the positive in the negative....I could go on all morning! The point here is that my Vanilla infused sesame seed milk is indeed a blessing from a challenge...that being I purchased the hugest bag of sesame seeds recently (self service, got a bit carried away), got home and wondered on earth I was going to do with all of these little seeds. I'm not talking 1/2 cup here, I had about 6 cups - now that's a challenge! So, I put my thinking cap and Hey Presto! We have this lovely creamy, vanilla infused, dairy and nut-free milk.

Firstly though, let's not ignore the humble sesame seed and it's nutritional value. It may be tiny but my goodness it packs a punch (it also turns into tahini.....and oh my goodness me, my teaspoon LOVES a bit of tahini).

Sesame seeds are a great source of manganese, copper (which provides relief from rheumatoid arthritis), calcium (helps prevent PMS, colon cancer, osteoporosis), magnesium (supports vascular and respiratory health), iron, phosphorous, vitamin B1, zinc (supports bone health) and dietary fibre. Significantly they also contain two unique substances called sesamin and sesamolin which have been shown to have a cholesterol lowering effect in humans. Sesamin is also said to help protect the liver from oxidative damage.
<h4>You'll need:
1 cup sesame seeds, soaked overnight in water
4 cups filtered water
Seeds of one vanilla pod
Sweetener of choice, to taste (I used 2 heaped teaspoons maple syrup)
Pinch of sea salt</h4>
Throw all of the above ingredients in your high powered blender and blend for 1-2 minutes, depending on the quality of your blender. You want it to be really smooth. Pour the mixture through a nut bag or strainer into a bowl, straining really well until you get all the liquid out of the pulp. Store in the fridge in an air tight bottle or jug for 3-5 days. The pulp can be dehydrated and used as meal (as you would almond meal...I'll post a recipe for this next week). You could also add it to porridge, soups etc.

<em>If you would prefer your pulp not to have a vanilla flavour, don't hesitate to make the milk without the vanilla and sweetener, strain it and then pop the milk back into your blender with those ingredients. </em><em>If you choose to heat this for a hot drink I discovered yesterday that it doesn't curdle (like my almond milk does). Perfect!</em>

Source: theholisticingredient.com