Homemade Almond Milk – The Secret Ingredient for Great Tasting Mango Smoothies

At Reform Kafé we use ingredients that promote good health and that are non-inflammatory — even if it costs a little bit more and takes more time.

At Reform Kafé customers comment they love our mango smoothies, and sometimes ask for the recipe.

Good news for those who ask, the recipe is simple, and something you can do at home — one whole mango, one cup of Ice, a tablespoon of sugar, half a lime, and almond milk.

Next, our mango smoothie recipe follows the same principals that guide our entire menu. The guiding principals are fresh ingredients, no preservatives, cook to order, plant-based only, source responsibly, and avoid packaged items whenever possible.

This means, we use homemade almond milk for our mango smoothie. Almond milk is an excellent alternative to dairy, soy, and rice milk. But, not if it is in the cartoon. Almost all almond milk from a carton contains carrageenan and thickeners.

What is carrageenan?

Originally considered safe, carrageenan is used in nearly all processed and packaged almond milk. According to Dr. Joanne Tobacman, MD, Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine, University of Illinois at Chicago, she says, “Carrageenan exposure causes inflammation; the amount in food products is sufficient to be harmful.”

Tapioca or soy lecithin are used to thicken packaged almond milk. Both are highly processed carbohydrates that quickly break down into sugars.

In order to stay true to our commitment of using fresh and non-processed ingredients that have no preservatives, we make almond milk from scratch and in-house.

Health benefits of almonds

Homemade almond milk has higher concentrations of the nutrients found in almonds, compared to processed and packaged almond milk. Almonds contain vitamin E, copper, magnesium, and high-quality protein; along with high levels of healthy unsaturated fatty acids, high levels of bioactive molecules, and antioxidants. Enjoy these health benefits when drinking a Reform Kafé mango smoothie that uses homemade almond milk!

About Reform Kafé

Reform Kafé is a plant-based restaurant located at the Green Tiger House in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Launched in 2017 — on a mission to transform its community by serving healthy and delicious food — bringing awareness to supply chains, pesticide use, animal welfare, waste, good health, and social justice. Reform Kafé, has engaged GCOMM360 to help build its Responsibility Program.

About GCOMM360

Founded by Philip Beere; a full service communications agency dedicated to telling stories of innovation, sustainability, and market transformation. Services include crafting narratives, custom content, writing case studies, green rating/certification consulting, and digital (web site development and social marketing).

BAKING SODA TO CLEAN PRODUCE

Reform Kafé is committed to sourcing healthy, high quality ingredients for the dishes we serve you. Yet, like all who try to source pesticide-safe produce in Thailand, we face challenges.

In Japan and the European Union, excessive chemical residues are only found in 4% of samples. In Thailand, this number is and alarming 56%.

Regardless of these challenges, Reform Kafé is committed to serving you high quality, healthy ingredients. For the next 180 days we are building our Responsibility Program, and it includes the goals that follow: