Anti-inflammatory recipes help you practice daily meal prep and healthy eating habits, that pay off in your long run toward longevity. Below are recipe links from this blog to inspire your year, no matter what season you’re in. To your anti-inflammatory life! 🎉
Because an anti-inflammatory diet helps protect against inflammation in the body (skin, joints, teeth, vital organs) that are health warning signs.
And preventing inflammation flare-ups help protect against and prevent chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular diseases that are still among the highest causes of mortality.
Chronic inflammation is linked to tell-tale body signs that can also lead toward certain cancers and cognitive decline.
And type 2 diabetes (or lifestyle diabetes) is the one of the fastest growing diseases on our planet. No matter what genes you were bestowed, anti-inflammatory habits help fight against what’s stacked up against you in the environment that you don’t have control over.
Anti-inflammatory foods were and are a leading source of prevention, where anti-inflammatory spices are a big deal. Adding more spice in your life and to your diet helps support better health and longevity.
And sticking to an anti-inflammatory diet is also a remedy from following Diet Culture of some kind. It’s a long-term healthy eating strategy.
Where whole and minimally processed healthy food and ingredients in meals and bakes you eat are at the core of anti-inflammatory foods and your health eating. Anti-inflammatory foods are real (nutritious) foods that the body recognizes as healthy
And this includes plant-based foods, so eating plant-forward helps the body. And foods on a Mediterranean diet, which is a type of anti-inflammatory diet that includes healthy proteins and healthy fats, such as wild fishes and olive oil.
👉 Sign up to grab my FREE Anti-Inflammatory Diet Food Guide with printable food lists to help you make more healthy decisions for grocery food shopping. And get insights about an anti-inflammatory diet in the free guide.
And here on these pages of Anti-Inflammatory Lifestyle (Winter/Spring edition), you’ll discover simple and easy recipes you can make weekly. And get inspiration about anti-inflammatory living and seasonal foods you can lean into (that are more abundant and coins per ounce). To turn the pages forward/backward, click on the arrows at the lower corners of the pages. ↪
…Where, at home, you can make your own… no-butter bearnaise for a lower-calorie and anti-inflammatory-infused olive oil brunch sauce for a healthy Eggs Benedict savory dish… and you can pair with a low-fat sweet or low-sugar dessert recipe.
Happy self is a constant happiness. It’s not a situation that’s ever changing.
And if you were to ask me what happiness is, my description today from 5 years ago is virtually the same (even in evolved post-Covid years).
There are no new tricks under the sun (…and I still love rainbows).
And that’s why the older you get, the better you can get at it, because you have more practice and wisdom to deeply know that it’s inside you.
Because in my 30s, I got it all wrong.
…I thought happiness was based on external situations in life that I grew up believing. Like, it depended on my job happiness, my relationships, and what fun things I was going to do on the weekend.
But being dependent on those things, I was put on a roller coaster.
When those were good (aka life was good), I was on a happy high that felt like a euphoric drug.
When I didn’t have those things, it was low, and it felt like a Monday morning hangover.
…From a no-alarm Saturday jumping out of bed to a dragging-my-feet Monday morning feeling.
But I knew there had to be a better way.
I eventually grew out of my happy dependence, as my life situations shifted. Job and relationship loss will that do to you.
And in order for me to thrive in adversity, I needed to change also.
I came to realize that if we rely on things and people to create our happiness, we set ourselves up for disappointment and feeling unhappy.
…And it’s a roller coaster out-of-control feeling being happy and sad at the same time.
But empowered happiness (that I had published a book about) is about creating your own happiness anytime.
It’s a mind muscle that can be developed. This helps unleash your happy self that’s already inside you.
Then you don’t have to wait for your favorable situations or anything.
It also helps you get to know the deeper sides of you that help you grow.
…But that’s a secondary byproduct.
The main benefit is that you can feel happy right now, just where you are.
…No roller coaster ride needed!
…Sounds good, yes?
It does start with your thoughts that create the feeling in the mind-body connection. That’s no new science.
But sometimes (often?) changing thoughts is easier said than done.
Because when your thoughts and feelings are misaligned (by no fault of yours), you’re feeling bad, and then having a bad day…
And that’s when you wish you were more happy.
But as moody-easy as it is to get unhappy, the good news is it’s just a few steps back to get back to your happy mood. Don’t worry, be happy.
And below I share the 7 ways that I take.
Because a bad (trashy) day is okay, but a trashy season is not if you want to live your best life.
As an analogy, on actual trash garbage day where you are living, you roll the trash can out or you throw out the trash, and you feel a little lighter. The next day you’re happy to start over without yesterday’s old trash around.
That’s how a bad day (trashy day) and your expectation of the next good day can feel. It can be subtle or powerful depending on you.
And either way, your assignment should you choose to accept is to ensure that it’s a good day tomorrow.
These are 7 ways you can do today, to do just that:
Pay attention to those less fortunate. That way you are sensitized and get to feel lucky when nothing about you has changed. Contrast and compassion help us freshly see that we have more than we think. We snap out of thinking about ourselves only, and our worry, woes-me bubbles, and what we don’t have.
Plan things to look forward to. This can be a trip, reunion, meeting a deadline, etc.
Write out a short list of what you were grateful for last week. We all can come up with 5 things if we put our mind to it. Such as, you ordered a book that came in, you got a helpful notification, you implemented an idea, something you worried about didn’t happen, or you tried a new tea.
Recall something you did today that you quietly appreciated. Take a break and you can always lean into the season because nature doesn’t disappoint.
Look at happy memories/photos. Pre-digital era, we would print photos, scrapbook them, and pull out the past-time albums. Today you can just pull out your instant devices in front of you and access your happy photos. .
Find daily inspiration. What makes you daily happy from your 5 senses? This is an easy one… and an easy one to take for granted. So mix it up and shake up what you look at, smell, taste, feel, and listen to. 🎶
It can take just one thing to change to your happy self today. And then when you’re there, you can get to your happiest self. How?
Work on your purpose. We’re here to do heartfelt things on this planet. When you find the activity that you love and lights you up, that’s also helping the world, you’re creating impact and fulfilling purpose that lead to feeling your accomplished happy high.
…And to your highest happiest humble place (where ego isn’t).
It’s longer lasting and on a deeper level than the external things that your former self thought made you happiest.
And if you’re still trying to get to your happy, and you’ve done the things above, then ask yourself: am I really trying… or is my happiness dependent on s, p, and t (situations, people, and things)?
When empowered happiness is new, it can feel awkward or like you’re fooling yourself. That’s how misalignment can feel… but keep leaning on yourself to be your happy self, is the secret key to produce your own happiness.
You’re relying on you and not things and people that you’ve been counting on.
Then keep practicing, so that you’re helping yourself to bigger and better things. And so you keep growing and going, knowing how to create and be happy no matter what.
Because Life is ready to align your happy plans tomorrow with your happy self. Today, you’re one song away from getting to that happy self. 🎉
Rye bread cake is my new favorite cake for holiday sharing or any occasion.
No eggs or fat (butter or oil) ingredients needed.
Most cakes can’t say that. Not even an easy boxed cake mix.
This is one easy flour and milk cake you make from scratch.
And make no mistake, it’s a delicious, moist cake with no butter or oil.
…Where just earlier this year, I put on the debate between which is the better fat, butter vs. oil in a moist cake. Because I used to always use them interchangeably, based on my mood or what I had closest to me.
…So along those curious lines, I also wondered if rye bread is actually a cake?… and those bread vs. cake ideas collide in this dessert recipe below, where the dessert can be considered both.
And you can decide for yourself what the dessert should actually be called.
…Oh, and for a 3-D full-on experience, make the rye bread-cake for yourself, that btw is called rye bread (rứgbrauđ) in Iceland.
Icelanders bake this bread low and slow. And their European and Nordic counterparts (they’re invisibly tethered to), have their own similar versions.
The close inverted flag colors say it all… 🇮🇸🇳🇴
But going against the grain, I call it rye bread cake because the leavener of choice is baking soda (and baking powder if you wish). There’s no yeast. And no proofing.
That proof in simple baking terms, means cakes.
I try to keep it simple.
And it’s cake that’s soft enough to eat with a spoon-fork on a plate
It’s also better served with sweets (and not savory usually), so that’s also cake-dessert leaning, where you can adjust the sweetness.
You can make the cake consciously low-sugar healthier.
And adjust how you bake this bread (?) cake (?)…
Icelanders bake volcanic rye bread outside where they add the ingredients in a covered stainless steel metal pot. They bury it in the geothermal volcano underground.
The ground is like a community natural oven.
…Aww well hey, when you’ve got lemons (like they’ve got in Amalfi), make lemonade. …and when you have simmering volcanic heat, use that as your oven. Did you see my basalt and lava steam love Iceland photos ?
It wasn’t rocket science for the people of the fire and ice land to learn what they could heat with their natural fire pit resources. 🌋
And then dig the ready-rye treat out of the ground the next day.
Such a cool idea. And across the Atlantic, this is what the rye bread cake looked like when I dug my metal pot out (of my kitchen oven) after 60 minutes…
See how easy this can be!
Or sticking with tradition, you can bake a savory rye bread. And serve with non-sweet bites… dialing up the Icelandic salt.
Icelanders sometimes add their fishy tastes ontop (salmon, arctic char, and fermented shark)… eww. You’d agree if you got a whiff of the putrid bite where others I know have described the aroma as hair permanent solution. And Gordon Ramsay spit it out. No mouth wash is going to help. Not even Iceland’s natural water filtered through lava rock.
…And in those times, that would be a good use case for rye bread. Bread is appropriate and can serve as a palate cleanser.
And like other breads, rye bread pulls apart with your hands, like when you’re sharing and breaking bread.
…And yes this is the same rye bread cake I made (photos above).
It’s comfort food with a matching warm-comfort chestnut color from the rye.
And healthy rye is full of fiber.
…So if you do like me, this bread or cake is breakfast food.
I like to pair the rye bread cake with yogurt and honey to lean into early morning glee. I serve it like a dessert cake.
…And so do restaurants around Iceland further away from the geothermal underground. They bake in an oven like you and me, under a roof top. This is where I first tried this rye cake delight in Reykjavik (the capital of this geothermal cake wonderland).
They paired the rye plate with ice cream for dessert. But at home, I like to pair with the healthy pairings for breakfast.
…Like here I deliciously paired with a healthy Greek yogurt for a suitable breakfast plate, full of prebiotics and probiotics harmony.
That way your gut and mouth will both be thankful. And satisfying to your mind in mind-body alignment. 😊
But that’s up to you… you do you!
And whatever you decide to pair it with, it’s delicious on a plate.
And a little honey drizzle and walnut confetti on the cake helps the happy plate celebration. 🎉 Skál!
Love is not always a person. It can be a place as I discovered, that mirrors back soul healing and wholeness.
Traveling to places makes you think and wonder.
…And in my travels, I’ve seen rainbows and sunshine. And light and darkness.
That’s life on this Rock.
My visiting the Land of Fire and Ice, also known as Iceland, made me think. It gave me joy and hope-filled reminder glimpses.
And made me consider opposing darkness from nature’s soot black colors of basalt and sediment on every other corner.
The volcano in Iceland rules the land. Hekla (Volcano) provides the heat geothermal energy for its people. And the hell inferno also has the power to negatively change the dynamic landscape and alter life for the better, for those it warms and comforts.
And in my short Iceland visit, there were moments of bitter cold as winter quickly approaches. This encounter was less than a week ago as I write this.
Some of the days were rainy, windy, sunny, and icy, and many days were all of those conditions.
One of those mornings, I was tested with this…
And how shifting weather patterns can suddenly change your situation.
Because suddenly I slipped on black ice, and before I could blink, my two eyeballs were an inch from the ice on the ground. Scraped up with blood on the pavement, I picked myself up.
I wish I were being dramatic.
But later that day I ended up in a local urgent care facility back in Reykjavik.
I was in the care of people whose first language words are as foreign to me as an IKEA sign.
The Icelandic language more closely resembles German than the Romance languages I had some familiarity with.
But luckily, we share the same Atlantic Ocean with our Icelandic neighbors, and English is widely spoken. There was no need for me to panic.
And in my distant home calm-feeling moment, I had a choice in the pause for my situation that needed medical attention…
I could choose to be anxious or be brave.
Anxiety is my Vata body’s natural first response, but thankfully we are more than our bodies.
I could choose to believe in the best or fall down in more ways than just on the ice.
I wrestled a bit with my thoughts, and not having slept for several days on jet lag. But worked it out and choosing to believe on the positive notes won the fight.
That was my first test on this journey.
In my life’s crosshairs, the journey has taught me to become strong and fearless, and gradually turn why-me? pity party situations to a why-not-me? celebration. 🥳
We get to better evolve as we grow if we choose to.
That’s the better life.
And that’s the better empowered me.
Where I know I’m not a unicorn. Anyone can choose to be an empowered honey badger (who wants to), that btw is known as the most fearless animal to roam this earth. Those little Davids face their Goliaths daily.
They hunt venomous snakes, head-on confront giant lions that would have them for a snack, and crush tough enemy bones and shells all in a day’s work before going home to their rented basements.
They have a red badge of courage because they were born for it.
And so are you and me! ♥️
You too can be the badger, honey. 🦡
Your loving belief, movement, and desire to change is all that’s required.
It starts with your thoughts and the language you allow in your mind.
In my badger test on the day of my accident fall, the main universal language I kept reverting back to was the one in my head…
The Scripture verses from the love letter language of the Bible I had just plugged into recall weeks ago.
…Though I walk through the darkest valley, I shall fear no evil. For you are with me… Your rod and your staff. They comfort me… You place a table before my enemies. You anoint my head with oil. My cup overflows…
That’s what I memorized from Psalms 23.
And…
He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
He restores my soul.
And with those loving words, I felt the still presence of peace wash over me. That’s the feeling of love that you can’t get from expensive things, or in the same way from others on this planet.
It’s a love and comfort cleansing that washes over you from the spirit within.
The warm hugs of healing that are bottled up inside you.
Those moments feeling serenity last, as time passes and the situation is changing before your eyes and flashing you versions of your truth.
Spirit can leave an indelible voice in your mind that impacts the direction of your life, and even more than the person asking you what you want to eat for dinner.
It took me many years to discover this inner voice and love.
And when I did years ago, I realized it was there the whole time for my discovery.
I didn’t need to schedule a time or place to meet with my inner self. I carried this on my body onto the plane, as my 2nd personal item carry-on.
It was the only baggage that didn’t require packing and that weighs nothing, but gives everything.
It had always been faithful to me.
So in my Iceland face-on-ice meeting moment, I was confronted to give back. I was given a life test that felt like a graduation exam: would I exude faith or crumble in fear?
Faith was the character trait word in the Bible my eyes used to skip over: peace, love, joy, kindness, patience, self-control… and then faith.
Faith is believing when you cannot see.
It requires growth and maturity.
You don’t know if you really have it until you’re tested.
Which btw, I would not have known if I really had faith without a potentially traumatizing situation like the one before me.
Faith like most things in life come in gradient shades like from fully blind to color blind. Or you can be wishy washy sometimes with moods like wearing rose colored or blue blocking glasses.
But when you have solid-like-a-rock faith, you know it.. like you know when you pass a test with flying colors before you get the results back.
Because you were prepared and believe you will come out better on the other side.
Faith helps for any curve ball life throws at you.
A feeling of you got this.
And you know whatever you’re blindsided with, it will be something that you can handle.
That comes from an invisible love from above.
Faith is love…
It gives a sense of belonging, in a world that can be cold on any corner and cruel at certain times.
Unconditional faith lets you know that whatever season of life you’re facing, is meant for you.
The situation is there to help you grow and be a better version of you.
That’s the highest point of life, to get to that version.
So take the risks. Enjoy the ride. Believe. This adventurous world has got your back and you’re never alone. Never.
Pastry shell with an apple filling is a dessert that’s versatile and easy. And most importantly, delicious! As in a Red Delicious apple or similar fruit filling that’ll be delightful. These ones are decked out with Muscadine grapes, the in-season “cherry” choice on top.
These are shiny, but first you have to make the pastry.
And pastry is unique over cookie and cakes (that can made with healthy fats). But there’s no skipping butt-ah in pastry or else you have a paste.
…And you don’t need much for the effect. 🧈
The healthier truth is you only need a smidge ‘o butter to get buttery tastes. Think a knife pat vs. a whole stick.
..But-ah, it’s forgiving.
In return, pastry loves back.
You can’t mess up the pastry love (tastes) with its 2 ingredients… butter and flour. Sugar is not a necessary trio. And that makes this apple pastry a tasty low-sugar dessert. And an economical one.
…So it pays2-try pas-try!
And it’s also a lower calorie dessert option if you count water as a 3rd ingredient.
Water is often the most important ingredient in many recipes including this one.
Cold water is the kind that matters here for this easy dough make and bake.
And using a cold butter-flour-water trifecta makes it magical out of the heated oven.
Maybe that saves you?… where you don’t need to do a local bakery run in a pinch if ya got flour and butter in your kitchen.
And this recipe can be used or any rough puff pastry, from a whole pie to an individual pastry shell dessert pan.
Except one twist…
And this one’s a doozy in my book…
To make food life more interesting. And easy. It’s also always about the healthier but tasty ways in my shared world.
Tools like a pasta maker help do this.
That if you’re on the fence of whether you need one, if you like shortcuts (…who doesn’t?) this is a tool that helps you get thickness uniformity.
There’s a time and place for rustic, and it you want a consistent thickness roll that works for pastry, a roller will do that and help with the crisp finish.
With a roller, it’s still by hand because you’re cranking the machine handle. But the dough won’t bounce back like it often does with a hand roller.
A pasta machine is more like a press or iron.
And you can roll a few times after each fold that will create some well-worth-it lamination and flakey crunch texture at the end. You’ll be glad you did. And for fun if nothing else! 🎉
That makes bringing out the equipment worthwhile.
Which btw, a pasta maker comes in handy during holiday cookie season. You can even make cookies this way to get even 1/4″ cookie dough.
And then turnaround and make homemade pasta from the same machine.
This is the pastry shell bottom with the recipe below:
To construct the sealed pastry shell bottom, instead of one flat round piece of pastry dough, I cut out a round piece with a round cookie cutter on the bottom and attach to long pastry strips that become the sides.
This way you get more of a deep basket to hold more apple filling (making it healthier). Like a wicker basket effect. 🧺
But you do you!
This yields delightful pastry tastes and textures I can only compare to Palmiers if you know those (like my younger self did 🧒🏻)… they’re a little crispy and very buttery (even with the little pat of butter)
To make the apple filling: you can rough chop apples, and add in an oven-safe bowl or skillet with a little water, and bake alongside the pastry. No need to heat separately.
Be sure to add water so the apples don’t dry out. I love to add cinnamon and it leaves the nicest oven potpourri aroma. Baking and heat invigorates the spice.
When the apples are soft, you can bring ’em out of the oven while you check on your pastry.
This comforting autumn bake can be a warming autumn ritual, that pairs with a steaming hot mug drink you sip on.
It’s comfort food. And maybe you just had a comforting potato soup bowl (that’s low-sodium).
If you want to freeze the baked pastry shell, they will be just as good.
Let them de-thaw overnight in the fridge and they’re as good as new for the next day.
And just in time for apple season!
How ’bout them apples? If you like this apple pastry shell recipe idea, you might also love an apple cheesecake. 🍎
This makes 4 regular (2-3") muffin diameter-size pastry shells.
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Author Brandy @ Healthy Happy Life Secrets
Equipment
pasta maker or baking roller
cookie cutters
muffin or cupcake tin
Ingredients
1cupflour, plus bench flour
2-3Tbspbutter, cold
3/4cupcold water
Instructions
Add flour to a bowl. Cut off small bits of cold butter (from the fridge) and add to the bowl. Add enough cold water to create a soft shaggy dough disc. If too wet, add some bench flour to the dough disc top and bottom.
Cover the dough and let chill for about 10-15 minutes in the fridge (or freezer), or overnight in the fridge.
Add bench flour on the outside of the dough so it doesn't stick to your fingers and pasta maker or dough roller.
Fold the dough a few times to create lamination that will help the flakey crunch at the end.
Roll dough at least twice after folding dough. If using a pasta maker, use higher settings. On my pasta maker, it's "7" for about 1/4" thick rolled dough.
Butter or baking spray the bottom of a muffin tin for non-stick. With the rolled dough, cut out 4 round bottoms with cookie cutter. Add one to each muffin pan cavity bottom. With the remaining dough, cut approximately four 1" long strips and wrap around as a ring for each cavity to make a basket shell, patching together with the round dough piece.
Bake at 375°F/190℃ for about 35 minutes until dark golden bottoms.
Popover is a sweet one you can fill with your favorite fillings like a pudding, custard, or jam that goes great with warm tea. Like this one straight out of the warm oven. The nice steam is blurring the lens.
This is not a bread …and actually a popover is usually described as pudding or custard and an egg based batter. But I like to compare it as easier than making choux and bread, with just 3 ingredients (and no need to knead).
With easy 5 minute prep and 30 minutes of bake time, you’re done in the time it takes for easy pastry. All my notes below.
And however you describe a popover, it’s hard to beat a sweet bake like this one here that looks like a choux pastry inside and a muffin on the outside. It’s a versatile bite great for any brunch table, dessert occasion, or sweet craving.
And one you can easily do, like as easy as making pancake batter.
A popover is especially magical in the oven because it does not need any leaveners like baking powder or baking soda, like in a cake or muffin recipe that is more dense.
The oven does all the heavy lifting rise when you do all the steps (and you will know what those are from below).
Then with the all the flavor options, you have a versatile popover dessert you can fill with so many sweet (and healthy) options… so, it’s a tasty crowd pleaser.
And like muffins, they’re better fresh and home baked than store bought. I remember my first muffin was a muffin made from a box. The fun part was draining and adding to the batter, the small can of blueberries that came in the box.
Kinda like these blueberries sitting in this popover with cinnamon pears. Sounds a little like a (papasan) chair for fruited desserts. 😋
And a popover, when opened inside, is lighter than a muffin or cupcake. Like this one that sat in one of those tins…
Inside a popover, is a light and airy baked bite. One that can be no-butter or a pastry substitute.
Because NO butter can be a dilemma in your kitchen when you run out and don’t wanna run out (to get more). And in that case, a choux dessert is easily ruled out.
…And then you’re faced with your cooking oil options in your kitchen.
If you’re not up for baking a cake, you have less easy sweet options. Maybe pancakes or brownies?
…Sometimes, meh… those can get boring (like my muffins from a box 😊)… and maybe saved for another day.
So then I got you!
Because a popover saves the dessert day.
You can use the oil you have for priming the baking pan.
…Or if you do have a little bit ‘o butter, you can use it to coat your muffin pan bottom… and the benefit is the buttery flavors will actually infuse into the muffin for a buttery popover taste.
Your oven will also have a buttery aroma that’s pleasing to most. And again there’s no butter in the batter itself.
But butter is a sensory pop-over-load that you can lean into when your popover is popping over in your oven.
All you do is make a simple popover pour-over liquid batter (like a pancake batter)!
Let the batter chill and then bake in the oven for 30 minutes until golden brown.
And on the other side of the oven, if you open a popover when it’s still popover warm or piping-hot out of the oven, you’ll let out the steam (and experience a mini steam facial).
This makes a popover uniquely different from a pancake.
And what it most resembles is a choux (not a shoe 👠) that’s a pastry. A popover can’t fill those choux.
Popover vs. Choux
Inside a choux you’d delightfully notice has a light and hollow interior.
choux inside.
And so does a popover.
But unlike choux, you don’t need to guess at the number of eggs based on the baking day and rely on your intuition. Which, btw, eyeballing to me is usually more reliable.
But with a popover, you don’t need to do either. You can just use the recipe and easy to remember 3-ingredient proportions to make as many popovers as you want, in any shape you can make and dream up. 💭
Oh, and choux has another distinct disadvantage of relying on butter for it to work (or else you can end up with a pancake batter or pasta dough 😊).
And choux is usually using both the oven and heated stove elements. With a popover, you need only use your warm oven.
That makes it easier… and more energy cost-saving at that!
So with all those reasons, ready to pop over to your kitchen and make your dessert that’s easier than a Dutch baby?
Whisk eggs by hand to incorporate into a liquid in a bowl. Combine in flour and milk and refrigerate overnight (or chill in the freezer for about 10 minutes before using). This is a liquid batter.
Coat the bottom of your muffin pan.
Pour the liquid batter into the muffin pan, about half full for uniform muffins. Or if you want more of a rustic look, where the muffins have different large muffin tops like a wild mushroom, then fill a little more to the top.
Bake at 350°F for about 15 minutes, then turn the oven to 375°F and bake for another 15 minutes until the top is golden to deep browned. You can create a sheen on top with milk or egg wash if you like.
