Place the sliced almonds and fresh blueberries aside for garnish. Stir the 40g almond butter with 1–2 teaspoons milk just until loose enough to drizzle or smear. It should still be thick, not runny. If the almond butter is too stiff, it will clump and not create clean swirls on the glass. That deliberate, specific loosening — thick enough to hold its shape, fluid enough to streak — is exactly what produces the clean, visible swirl this smoothie's whole presentation depends on.

Add the milk, Greek yogurt, almond butter, honey or maple syrup, vanilla, lemon juice, and salt to the blender first. Add the bananas and frozen blueberries on top. Blend on high until very smooth and thick, stopping once or twice to scrape down the sides. If the mixture is too thick to move, add more milk a tablespoon at a time until it blends cleanly. The smoothie should be thick, creamy, and deeply purple, with fine blueberry flecks but no obvious fruit chunks. That specific layering order gives the blades genuine liquid and yogurt to work with immediately, letting the frozen blueberries and banana settle into an already-moving mixture rather than resisting above the blades.

Taste and adjust: add more sweetener if the berries are especially tart, add a splash more milk if you want it more drinkable, add a few ice cubes or a little extra frozen blueberry if it is too loose. For the look in the reference image, keep it thick enough to hold garnish on top and to cling slightly to the inside of the glass. That deliberate thickness target, clinging slightly to the glass, is what lets the smoothie actually support both the almond butter swirl and the fresh fruit garnish still to come.

Using a spoon or small spatula, lightly smear or drizzle the loosened almond butter inside each glass in vertical streaks. Do this just before filling so the swirls stay defined. Do not overwork the swirl or it will disappear once the smoothie is poured in. That deliberately minimal, last-minute application protects the swirl's own real definition — overworking or applying it too far in advance would smudge or settle it before the smoothie ever has the chance to show it off.

Divide the smoothie among 4 glasses, about 250ml each. Top each serving with a few fresh blueberries, sliced almonds, and a light drizzle of almond butter. Serve immediately. That immediate serving captures the smoothie at its genuinely thickest and coldest, with the almond butter swirls still visible and defined against the glass.