Creamy Chocolate Avocado Smoothie
Last year around this time, I was severely ill and experiencing one of my worst Ulcerative Colitis flares to date. My body was rejecting any and all food and I had lost a drastic amount of weight. We flew down to Southern California to see a highly recommended naturopath and as a girl with a passion for food, I vividly remember the day my appetite came back. The only problem was I couldn’t keep much down and there were only a few things that sounded appealing to me. Gluten-free frozen mac&cheese, baked potatoes, and chocolate milkshakes to be specific. Funny what our body mind craves in desperate times!
We stopped by one of the many juice bars in Orange County and I told the girl behind the counter that all I wanted was a chocolate milkshake but that I couldn’t actually eat ice cream or milk. She recommended a smoothie made with almond milk, peanut butter, chocolate syrup, ice, and a banana. It was heaven. My husband drove us back to our hotel and I used every ounce of self-control to abstain from slurping down the entire cup with fear that it would upset my stomach. I lived on those smoothies almost every day for the following 10 days until we made the treck back home.
As we’re nearing the year anniversary of that last flare, we’ve decided to partake in a 30-day cleanse of sorts. Taking a cue from Stacy at Paleo Parents, we have kind of created our own program by combining the Whole30, Paleo Autoimmune protocol, and 21DayDetox programs. Starting August 1, I will be off of all types of sugar and nightshades, with limited intake of fruits and eggs. I’m also temporarily cutting out nuts and seeds for a couple of weeks to see if it will help a few other problems I’ve been experiencing as of late. And my loving husband is willingly coming along for the ride!
I usually flare once a year, but this is the first year where I have really paid attention to the specific foods, and their preparation, that my body can handle. I’ve also been going through a series of food allergy testings and clearing with my naturopath. We’re praying that all of the steps we’ve taken will keep me in remission. We’re partially doing this 30 day challenge to reprogram our bodies from craving sweets and treats, but also to give my system a clean re-boot as a precautionary measure given the time of year.
Don’t worry though, I have plenty of those chocolaty baked goods you all love so much saved up for you to post during this next month! To name a few, a perfect chocolate chip cookie, s’more tart, and egg-free Mint Chip Ice Cream.
So with that – here’s the smoothie recipe. Even though I won’t be able to eat it!!
I’ve been making a variation of that smoothie now for the past year, but have altered it to better fit my dietary needs. I use raw cacao instead of the syrup and have switched (not without a fight) from peanut butter to almond butter. I’ve also recently started adding a half of an avocado to add some healthy fat and vitamin E. The avocado taste is not detectable but it makes this smoothie incredibly smooth, thick and creamy. I also sprinkle in all of my supplements when I make this: L-Glutamine, Vitamin D, Vitamin B12, Folic Acid, and fish oil.
| Ingredients (serves 1)
8 ounces almond milk |
Directions
Blend for 30 seconds until smooth.
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[...] Creamy Chocolate Avocado Smoothie from Danielle over at Against All Grain [...]
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[...] recipe for a non-dairy chocolate shake can be found here at Against All [...]
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[...] of eggs. I’ve never been a huge breakfast person in general, but without the option of of my chocolate avocado shake or the baked goods like muffins and waffles, eggs have been our go-to for the last week. I know [...]
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[...] Creamy Chocolate Avocado Shake [...]
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[...] Avocado is such a dream food. Spread it on toast instead of butter. Use it in frosting, pie, cake, pesto, tacos, burgers, ANYTHING. Grill it. Bake it. Fry it. Eat it. Drink it. [...]
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[...] right, that’s avocado in my smoothie. I tried out this Creamy Chocolate Avocado Smoothie Recipe from the Against All Grain blog. I wasn’t sure what to expect and was a little apprehensive [...]
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[...] Image Credit and Recipe [...]
It would be so helpful and interesting to be able to follow what/how you eat during the 30 day period. Or perhaps that is too intrusive. I almost curious, but mostly wishing you well.
Loving the new blog design, and this shake! Looks perfectly refreshing.
Silly me, just realized I was not looking at the blog I thought I was, and thus realized this design might not be new! This is what happens when you have 50+ blogs in your reader! Forgive me
Praise God you’ve been one year since the flare! Prayers that your cleanse will help keep you in remission, Lord willing! May I ask who your naturopath is that you refer to in this post? I live in Orange County and would love to be able to connect with her. I do not have UC, but several other issues and I recently had a major flare that took me two weeks to get through the pain. Although I know it’s no where as severe as your condition, I would really like to find a trusted naturopath to work with. Yours sounds great. Thank you! Blessings, Kelly
Hi Kelly. Thank you for your prayers! I saw a few different people at the Whitaker Wellness Center and then also a Chiropractor who specializes in muscle nesting and NAET. His name is Ralph Umbriaco.
Thanks so much, Danielle! I appreciate you sharing his name! It’s my privilege to pray for you! May God continue to grant you good health! Blessings, Kelly
We go to Dr. U also! We live in Southern California and have seen him for years. We’ve had all our kids’ allergies cleared and it has made a huge impact on the health of our family! Your recipes are such a blessing to us as well. How cool that you went to Dr. U for treatments.
Small world! We’ve known Ralph since I was a baby!
You are in great care and hands with Ralph & Wellness center… Iwas treated many years ago by Dr U … Knew him from Mariners Church… We have some great NA doctors here in OC…. Health is priceless… Western docs wanted to diagnose me with MS, and my Eastern doc found mercury toxins from the fillings in my teeth. When I had them removed,sure enough it had been entering my body for years, making me seriously ill, and heavy metal attack the nervous system… Long story, but a God story.. Dr Abell is Laguna Hills is amazing too !!! So many foods come at us that can reck havoc in or bodies as well … These days I am too fightng for my health, which I am worth it !!!
Praying you up …
I was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis back in January of 1996 (I was 35 yrs old and with a year old boy). I couldn’t tolerate any foods and the pain was horrible. I became allergic to “Sulfa” so nothing seemed to help. They removed my whole colon in April of the same year. I have a “J” pouch which thank G-d works really well.
I wish I had known of an alternative to my problem, the truth is that the Doctors didn’t know what to do with me and or my situation. They said that they’ve never saw “any thing” like that!
I wonder if I am/was allergic to some foods or what exactly happened to me, so violently and so quick.
I decided to go Paleo/Primal a few months ago to loose weight but I am staying Paleo/Primal because of the health benefits.
Love your recipes. Thank you!
Thanks for sharing Rossana. Best of luck to you as you continue on the Paleo journey!
I wish you much luck on your journey. I too have been fighting mainly allergies and chronic fatigue for the past few years. As a nutritionist in the UK specialising in this area, I thought you might like to know that I have developed a whole grain, dairy, legume and specific lectin free auto immune programme designed to strengthen the body barriers.
After years of research, I think the problem is that gluten specifically (and I include the glutens in EVERY grain here, not just gliadin ones, and there are other foods which can do the same) have encouraged our body barriers (gut, blood-brain, lungs, skin etc) to become too permeable. This progresses (usually kicking off greatly in mid-30s) and leads to reactions, inflammation and auto-immunity anywhere in the body according to where a genetic weakness exists.
It is not an easy task at all, but we are having success with it. You can read more about our journeys over here in the UK with it at the http://www.trulyglutenfree.co.uk website. The programme is not just diet but I have devised a whole supplement regime to speed healing – by far the most difficult task since most manufacturers have NO idea that, for example pretty much all Vitamin C is derived from corn and is from one factory in China, that most glutamine is corn-derived, pretty much all veg capsules contain carageenan whther it states it or not etc etc!! Manufacturers hate me
Love the blog by the way – nice to find a grain free colleague; bit lonely out here!
Perfect timing! I have been eating a Paleo diet for a long time (since 2003) but have just decided to cut out night shades, eggs, and all dairy again (except ghee). I have Hashimoto’s and I think it would be beneficial so I will be joining you except that I have started already.
Yum, this looks so tasty and filling!
And I’d also love to hear what you are eating/how you are feeling on the cleanse. I am planning to do some sort of cleanse when my son is weaned so I am trying to come up with a plan and figure out which is best for me (and hopefully find myself a good doctor to help – I am looking into Naturopaths in San Diego). I love hearing other people’s stories.
All the best to you on your cleanse!
Would you share your detox program with us? I would like to do a detox as I have been on an 8 month long plateau in my weight loss journey. I need to jumpstart that again as I still have 60 pounds to lose. Love your recipes and blog.
danielle, thanks for the great recipe! you mention your supplements you added, which ones (brand) do you use and where do you recommend purchasing? i would like to incorporate some, but it takes a lot of research to find reputable sources:) thanks again!
I can’t legally offer an medical advice (including supplements and medications) on this site. I am going to be doing an FAQ post soon though and will list the brands with the disclaimer that I can’t offer dosage advice etc.
thank you danielle – i’m looking forward to the post. i think this is information a lot of people would find helpful!
Oh, yum! I can’t wait to try this. I can’t have cacao, honey or flaxseeds right now, so will need to do some modifications, but am looking forward to trying something creamy and different! Thanks!
I’m so happy for you that you’ve been flare free this year! hooray!! It sounds like I’m currently at where you were at when you went to see the naturopath in southern cali. I’m in the 8 month of my UC flare, and my parents and i are just about ready to fly up to the Mayo Clinic if things don’t turn around soon. ( I just started the SCD 1 week ago). anywho, best of luck in your cleanse! and congrats again!!
Thanks Caralyn. That flare landed me in the hospital with 2 blood transfusions (for the 4th time since I was diagnosed). Where do you live? I have an amazing ND in Burlingame that I really attribute getting me out of that one. You go to Mayo and they’re just going to pump you with steroids or Remicade…
I would love to see what recipes you come up with that are free from sugar, nightshades, fruits, eggs, nuts and seeds! I’m sure they will be delicious and creative.
Ok,I’m headed to the kitchen right now to make this for me and my hubby- though I think I’ll use coconut milk because I don’t have any almond- thanks!
I will be done with the Whole 30 at the end of this month. Even though I have been eating mostly paleo for almost a year, I too wanted to go strict for awhile and do a reintroduction to see how my body reacts to different foods. I am still eating nuts–just not so much. And good luck with limiting nightshades; that would be the hardest for me. Glad to know you have been flare free! And I always welcome non treat recipes from the blogs I follow. Sometimes, I feel like I eat more treats now that I did before going paleo! Thus, the need for the Whole 30….
Same here on the treats comment!
Mmmmm, made this recipe today. I doubled it since I figured it would be a hit with my children, ages 20 and 21. I was correct, they loved it! I put the mixture in my gelato maker, and all I can say is, “YUM!” I also put some in the freezer in ice cream molds in order to make chocolate pops. I did add 10 drops of vanilla stevia to the recipe. Thanks for providing wonderful recipes. =)
Hi! Wondering if you’ve posted more details about your naturopathic treatments for OC? Would love to read more, about what has worked, what hasn’t, etc…
(and, the milkshake looks fab! timely, since I tried a “fake” choco milkshake last night and it was pretty bad… I think I needed the almond butter and almond milk!
Made this today before a yoga class & I loved it! Not only did it serve as a meal, but it keep me going through my class & I wasn’t hungry at all, even 3-4 hours later! Great recipe:)
WOW, this recipe looks good. I’m currently in a flare and haven’t been able to eat for a couple of weeks. Blend Tec works great. I would like to chat with fellow UC/Crohn’s sufferers. Has anyone used of Neltrexone in very low dose to stop swelling?
Hi Dianne- I used naltrexone last year for a bit but I didn’t notice a difference. The studies have all been done on Crohn’s patients so I’m not sure if it’s helpful for UC. Praying for your flare to end soon!!
Found your blog just this week and am loving it. I have been paleo for a year but want to tweak it towards SCD. I would also love to hear about your cleanse recipes. x
Good idea with the avocado! I’m going to start adding that to my 2 years olds smoothies (I can’t get him to eat avo alone and it has so many good properties).
I’m also really interested to see how you feel after eliminating the nuts/seeds. My husband and I have done paleo for 3 years, but just recently we decided to go paleo zone in an attempt to curb our sweet tooth and paleo dessert addiction! I have really enjoyed zoning my meals and both have us have realized we feel much better with a huge reduction in our nut consumption. It does make me a little sad because I love your sandwhich bread recipe so much, but in general I feel less bloated and just better all around without nuts!
Good luck! Here’s to another year without a flare up!
I’d love to know who your ND is in Burlingame. I grew up there but am now moving to Orange County. I will definitely look up Dr Umbriaco. Thanks!
Hi Sara- her name is Melody Wong. She’s AMAZING. If you go to her, please tell her I sent you!
Good luck, Danielle.
The healing journey will never end…all we can do is become more in control of it.
Thinking about you.
1. I drink a similar shake for breakfast every day. LOVE it. I use rice milk, cacao powder, peanut butter powder and frozen banana.
2. We better go out before Aug 1
Would LOVE to follow along with your clense!! I am fighting a nasty Candida overgrowth….have been for 2 years and can’t seem to kick it to the curb. Also can’t seem to stay strong enought to stay off the sugars and grains
Would love a “support system”!!
Hey Harmony – I kicked candida (a high level too) with some fighting probiotics as my ND called them. She didn’t even make me change my diet
What fighting probiotics did you use?? I am fighting Candida and easing into the diet, any help would be great!
YUM! I stopped at Whole Foods and got everything I needed today and made this for a snack! It is really good and totally satisfies my chocolate craving! Two of my kids – 4 and 6 – liked it too. Thanks, Danielle! Keep us posted on how your detox goes. Praying for you.
Thanks Susan! I’m a chocolate lover so that’s why I make it!
While preparing for this detox (mentally and in the kitchen!) I’ve decided a few things:
1. While off of seeds temporarily, I will still consume spices made from seeds (ie cumin, coriander etc).
2. I’m temporarily cutting nuts, but will continue using coconut as I’m pretty positive my body processes it well. I’ll adjust if needed.
3. I may decide to do pasture eggs instead of going off completely to see if it is the corn/grain that the chickens are fed that passes into the free-range eggs I usually buy. I’m at a total loss of what do for breakfast without them!!
4. I will occasionally still use grass-fed butter or ghee but am going off of all other dairy for 30 days.
5. I may or may not give up my one cup of coffee in the morning. It depends how much my son has worn me out the day before
Think that’s it for now. I’m sure we’ll need to re-evaluate things as we go so I’ll keep you posted!
I just found your site. It’s so beautiful! I have recently been diagnosed with several food intolerances and a candida infection in my blood from many, many years of heavy prednisone and antibiotic use due to my asthma. Right now I’m egg-free, dairy-free, sugar-free, yeast-free, allergen-free (I have over 20 intolerances now including almonds, avocado, cruciferous veggies, pepper..) and almost completely grain-free. Breakfast is by far the most difficult meal!! I so miss eggs and english muffins! Right now the only exception to being grain-free for me is the rice protein shake that I my naturopath has given me to have with my slippery elm bark and other digestive repair powders with. I’ll be so interested to see if you can conquer breakfast without eggs
. Thank you so much for the wealth of information on your site!!
You may want to check out the Paleo Parents and/or the Paleo Mom blogs if you haven’t already. Both of them are posting about being on the paleo autoimmune protocol.
I just found your blog and I am loving going through it. My 15 year old daughter was diagnosed with UC in May following a 4 month flare that took that long to get diagnosed. She was in UCLA for 12 days and is on Predisone, Asacol, and 6MP. They insisted diet had nothing to do with her condition and said I should take her home and give her lots of pizza and pasta to fatten her up. Her flare only ended when I put her on GAPS intro in the hospital. We are working to wean her off the meds, but it is against medical advice of course. Is there a reason that you chose SCD instead of GAPS? I am going to look up your naturopath in S. CA, that isn’t too far from us. And Dr. U too! This has been such a journey, I feel like all I do is research and cook. I have 8 children at home, my 15 yo is the oldest. The expense is killing us, lol. I will be following your journey as we embark on ours
Thank you for sharing your story! I hope that the dietary changes can help your daughter. I didn’t actually know about GAPS when I went on SCD. I read Breaking the Vicious Cycle which is what led me to starting it. Yes, SOOO expensive but I guess there’s no price to put on health. Please feel free to email me if you have any questions.
I made this today and it is super yummy! I used coconut milk instead becuse that is what I had on hand, but I can’t wait to try it with almond milk, too. It filled me up for several hours!
My 10 year old daughter has Crohn’s. She was diagnosed last Sept. and we have not been able to get her stabilized off of prednisone since then. Nine days at Children’s hospital, trying med after med, and she is just having a very hard time with it all. She is getting her second blood transfusion in 10 months this week. We are trying to get everything ready to direct donor. I started researching diet and experimented with SCD/Paleo for myself and it helped my IBS tremendously. I am having a hard time getting her to buy into the dietary changes and it is just so hard for a sweet little girl that is going through so much. Every kid event/party/Sunday School class has a food element to it and it is so frustrating. Thank you so much for your recipes. Your blog is beautiful.
You are in great care and hands with Ralph & Wellness center… Iwas treated many years ago by Dr U … Knew him from Mariners Church… We have some great NA doctors here in OC…. Health is priceless… Western docs wanted to diagnose me with MS, and my Eastern doc found mercury toxins from the fillings in my teeth. When I had them removed,sure enough it had been entering my body for years, making me seriously ill, and heavy metal attack the nervous system… Long story, but a God story.. Dr Abell is Laguna Hills is amazing too !!! So many foods come at us that can reck havoc in or bodies as well … These days I am too fightng for my health, which I am worth it !!! Praying you up …
I just moved to irvine and don’t know any of the docs here. Would love to hear your NA and other recs!
Thanks. I looked up Dr U but had trouble finding his contact info.
http://naturallivingandwellness.com/html/who_is_dr_ralph.html
Thanks! That’s what I found before but when I click on contact us there is no phone number listed. Do you have his phone number?
Hi again,
I tried the email on Dr U’s website but it doesn’t work (bounced back). I also want to make at apt at Whitaker. Is there anyone you recommend?
Thanks!!
Hmm here’s his office number. 949-574-7700 Anyone at Whitaker is great but we saw Dr Filladay.
Wow this sounds great!! I have been looking for a way to boost the healthy calories in my smoothies without adding nut butters (sometimes the taste just doesn’t go) or bananas (too much sugar). I never thought avocado! Bookmarking this for later
~Ang
is this smoothie aimed for weight gain?
the calorie count for this (1 serving) is around 600.
what if you’re trying to lose? this ain’t it, i assume.
I don’t count calories usually but this generally acts as an afternoon boost for me and sometimes a lunch replacement when I’m on the run
I made this for my dinner tonight….yum!!!
This was a really great recipe! I even stuck my fish oil/butter oil blend in it and couldn’t taste it. I did use maple syrup as a sweatner instead of honey. It needed probably 4 tbs or so because I used unsweetened almond milk. Thanks for posting this!
I am absolutely going to make this tonight. I am so into chocolate, but I am cutting out dairy and processed sugar. I have made shakes similar to this but they lacked the avocado and dates. I like the idea of adding these foods in for sweetness and creaminess! Thanks!
This looks sooo yummy, but now I’m scared to try it based on some of nutritional data I saw online. I was curious to know the nutritional breakdown, so I entered it using all said ingredients (with the exception of the honey) using “spark peoples” free recipe analyzer, and I was floored by some of the results.
I know this smoothie has a lot of nutrients, but I was still shocked at these numbers for 1 serving:
664.3 calories
42.6g fat, mostly monounsaturated (good!)
1,664.1mg Potassium
75.3g carbohydrates
18.7g dietary fiber
31.8g sugar
14.7g Protein
I guess I should have never looked at the nutritional breakdown at all because now I’m afraid to drink it.
I’ve mentioned on FB before that this smoothie was created mostly as a meal replacement for me. It was also created at a time where I was very underweight so maybe that’s why I didn’t notice it! That being said, it is a very large smoothie and probably should be changed to 2-3 servings. Regardless, I’m surprised with the carb and sugar count mostly too! Make sure you are entering unsweetened almond milk and also unsweetened almond butter. You could easily do with reducing the dates as well, I just have a sweet tooth!
This looks amazing! I’ve done a vanilla avocado smoothie that is similar. Definitely need to try this and add the cacao. Thanks!
I just made this shake yesterday. My kids (5, 4, & 1 1/2) and myself gobbled it right down! Great recipe-thanks! I made it again today and added a BIG handful of fresh spinach to it. No one noticed and it increased the nutritional value. Absolutely delicious! Can’t wait to try more of your recipes!
Thank you so much for sharing this. It looks delicious. I wish I could have chocolate!! I appreciate your writing about your food struggles with your medical condition. Sometimes I don’t think people understand how people like us struggle and the way that you wrote this blog really communicates the burden that it can be, but also how you can find joys in a new recipe you found or a new food you discovered that you can eat.
Hi! I used to love protein shakes similar to thin but I can’t eat the, b/c of the banana. Is there anything good I can replace it with so I won’t get migraines? I’m new to all this gluten free diet and this looks wonderfully, course so many recipes call for bananas that I’m getting frustrated . Thank you for any help or ideas!
The bananas are usually just used to sweetened and thicken. I would add more avocado and sweeten it with more dates.