Healthy Blueberry-Almond Smoothie
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Before making this blueberry-almond smoothie a little over a week ago, I hadn’t made a smoothie in over a decade, and I’m not sure why. I’m terrible about drinking water, and unless it’s peach season, I’m not the best fruit eater. A whirl of sweet hydration is just what I need as hotter days move in or, as it turns out, even when they don’t—I’ve been making this smoothie every day, rain or shine, brisk or balmy.
This recipe is one of two delicious recipes (see the next post: Almond-Sesame Soba Noodles with Quick-Pickled Vegetables) I’ve made from my friend Phoebe Lapine’s The Wellness Project, a book that chronicles a yearlong wellness journey, one, however, that began years earlier.
In her early twenties, Phoebe had been diagnosed with an autoimmune disease, Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis, and felt overwhelmed by her doctor’s strict protocols and the contradictory information she received at every turn.
After experiencing mixed results and a life of deprivation, she adopted 12 of her own wellness directives—including limiting sugar, caffeine and alcohol, switching to all-natural beauty products, prioritizing sleep and relaxation, experimenting with filtered and bottled water—to find out which lifestyle changes are actually worth the time, money and energy.
The Wellness Project is part memoire and part health primer, and I’ve learned so much reading about Phoebe’s experiments—to me Phoebe is like The Skimm of the wellness world. She describes wellness as a journey not a destination and makes reading about health fun and accessible, which is so rare.
You can read more about The Wellness Project on Phoebe’s website, and while TWP is not a cookbook, I wouldn’t fault you for buying it for the “22 inflammation-fighting recipes for clearer skin, better digestion, and a thriving thyroid.” I have no doubt they’ll all be keepers.
Once you make this smoothie once, you’ll never need to refer to this recipe again: 1 cup almond milk, 1/2 cup frozen blueberries, 1 banana, 1 tablespoon almond butter, pinch sea salt: blend until smooth. Adjust consistency with more almond milk if you wish.
Violet’s Big Blueberry-Almond Smoothie
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: 1 smoothie
Description
From Phoebe Lapine’s The Wellness Project
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
- 1/2 cup frozen blueberries
- 1 medium banana
- 1 tablespoon almond butter
- pinch of sea salt
Instructions
Combine all of the ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth. Add more almond milk if necessary to create your ideal consistency Pour into a tall glass and enjoy.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Category: Drinks, Smoothie
- Method: Blender
- Cuisine: American
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10 Comments on “Healthy Blueberry-Almond Smoothie”
What can we use instead of almond butter?
Are you looking for a nut-free substitute? Peanut butter will be fine otherwise!
Ali, I’m digging this smoothie. I’ve been trying to make smoothies daily for breakfast…..eh, I have a 50% success rate on that. I’m trying different ones, especially with beets (I have weird affinity to beets. I recognize this idiosyncrasy.) And I’ve been looking into Ayurvedic eating. Anyway, this smoothie looks awesome! I think I’ll try it with peanut butter and then maybe sunflower butter. Almonds upset my tummy sometimes. What’s up with that?! 🙂
I’ve maxed out my book requests at the library, but this book will be on my next massive request. Hehehehe. I love libraries.
Dana, what’s in your beet smoothie? I’d love to try! Do you have a vitamix? Or can any old blender do the job? xo
A great smoothie and a book filled with valuable information!! Thank you so much for sharing with us!
Ali, just made your smoothie! It’s delicious. You always find winners. xoxo
Yay!
I’ve had Hashimoto’s thyroiditis for many years and can tell you there are NO special doctor instructions or “limitations” — whaaat?! I’ve never heard of such a thing. My doctor told me it was a fairly common autoimmune condition that’s simply treated with a thyroid supplement. I’ve been taking one tiny Synthroid pill a day and…that’s it. No lifestyle or eating limitations at all. Thyroid now tests normal. Ymmv of course, but in all the years of having this and knowing many friends who have it (it really IS quite common), I’ve never heard any medical verification for any improvement via diet or other lifestyle modifications. If you have it, you have it — scientifically the ONLY thing you can do is take a thyroid supplement because the damage is already done and thyroids don’t magically regenerate. Hashimoto’s is not a life-changing dread disease; it’s easily treated and you get back to normal right away. But hey, whatever you want to believe makes you feel better – it’s just not scientific to believe you can treat it with special foods or whatever. You can’t. You can improve your general health but it won’t impact the thyroid damage already done. The blueberry smoothie looks delicious, though.
The color alone make me want to sit outside on a nice evening under my Scarlet Maple and sip to my heart’s content.
Getting ingredients tomorrow after work. YUM!
Yay! Love this one 🙂