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Anti-Inflammatory Recipes – Get FREE Guide

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! 🎉

anti-inflammatory recipes.

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.

You can read about my inflammatory journey signs and preventative anti-inflammatory lifestyle ways that dodged flareups.

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.

👉 To learn more, 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. ↪

Turmeric Soup

Mushy Peas

Healthy Chicken Salad

Salmon Salad (No-Mayonnaise)

Radish Salad

Sourdough Bagel

Healthy Mayonnaise  (Egg yolks)

One of my favorite meals is weekend brunch. 😊 You can make your own no-butter bearnaise for a lower-calorie and anti-inflammatory-infused olive oil brunch sauce to pair with delicious savory meals like Eggs Benedict (with French bistro vibes🍽️). You can make this recipe and other healthy-conscious (but always tasty) waffle iron recipes.

And low-sugar desserts where the sweet tooth list is growing (variety is the spice of life! 🍥)

🍴You can also get more anti-inflammatory recipes and food ideas for the table from the Summer/Autumn anti-inflammatory food recipes. 🥄 That for some may be the season you’re celebrating and living out (literally or figuratively!).

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Centering – From Loss to Happiness

There are situations and times in life where you get to re-evaluate your current life.

There’s always a good side to most situations, the way I see it.

…And that helps the situation and  happiness.

…Maybe that’s how you approach life? Or if it’s a newer concept for you to consider to adopt, keep reading as I share more of my insight on this…

Because every situation is an experience, and is also a learning experience.

The experience is either sweet or bittersweet. But not totally bitter if you have a habit of better perspectives.

…Even in the sour situations where it feels like life is pitted against you from several angles.

Those times are simply tests that if you pass (or get past them as time will do), you become a better person on the other side.

Because life is rigged in your favor.

You come out better on the other side of the storms.

Sometimes getting through takes weeks, months, year, or even decades.

But in the process, for one, you learn how to navigate the stings and difficult situations better for the next time around… whether they are the same or similar situations.

Or you get to help others through their situation, that’s healing for you as well.

Because similar (test) situations often do boomerang back around.

And you get a chance to pass again with flying colors or go through just a ‘lil better than the first or last time when you were possibly blindsided (or in shock).

You become more experienced (and wise if you choose).

And if you look at it that way, no situations are wasted. They help you advance in life… and grow wiser toward your finish line.

And that’s a great goal. 🎯

Stressful or sad situations help you chill out and not sweat the small stuff as much.

You get to learn to let go that can be a long lesson to learn in life, like it was for me.

And to surrender to life, that’s an even longer lesson.

Lessons learned come from being tested.

And if you are, afterwards you get tobecome happier and less concerned with outcomes.

It all works out eventually. Or you work out your perspective.

And that’s your choice whether you want to experience that type of happiness. And sometimes peace.

You decide what perspective you take.

Like in this picture window… you have a choice to focus more on the  ornate artful sides or the green landscape?

I first see the ornate artwork in this season of mine.

And you see what’s drawing you in now.

The greenery is real and part of this summer season we’re in.

…And it was during this time that I experienced family loss.

 

I was provided a bittersweet and sometimes sour situation, and was able to see how to appreciate each day even more from a different lens…

And that season I took to my now-happier season and surroundings.

And you can too.

…Starting with the things in your home.

You and I get to make changes, decorate, or minimize decor.

And that helps you to not let things get stale in how they are viewed.

Because the alternative is getting used to the sights and sounds around you…  and that is not living appreciatively when you don’t see or hear attunely anymore to those gotten-used-to things.

That naturally happens over time, and is how this life is… and also the way we’re wired to see and feel unless we do something to snap out of those stale default ways.

The opposite way that you can activate is by appreciation. This allows you to fill up with gratitude, and that can easily carry over into other areas of your life with positive impact.

It’s a sensitized feeling that comes from humble meaning you put to your thoughts that affect your feelings.

Being sensitized and also changing up your unwanted or negative thoughts (about our situations), can 100% change your life today.

And that can start from finding passion in aspects of your life, like taking care of what you have.

Stewarding is managing what you have (and not taking for granted).

That way, one day you will pass what you’re still stewarding onto someone else or other people who will be the beneficiary.

As the benefactor, you can decide what you pass on. It’s a gift.

By finding things and assigning to people who would appreciate, you get to appreciate in the journey and in the meanwhile. That’s a complete winning score. It has a lasting effect. And you grow and get more.

Plus, the experiences you amass in the process, help to make you a better person. You can heal in breathing fresh air, or the feeling of closure and moving on.

Those moments can be peaceful and centering, like sitting in a waterfall centering room like this.

Where moments are experiences. And taking on living each day not wasted has new meaning. And that is a cleansing cathartic experience in itself.

Wherever you are, give it a go today! 🎉 You’ll be glad you did.

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Sleep Aids – Melatonin vs. Magnesium vs. Ashwaghanda

Sleep aids are helpful when you can’t sleep.
…Because there are times in life when you need sleep help.
Like when you miss your own bed.
…And sometimes stressful work or personal situations arise, and your mind runs on overdrive creating emotional turmoil within.
Deaths, divorces, and moves are some of those common situational times.
And if you have a combination of stressful situations, you can be deeply tested within.
…Not breaking down is how to come out stronger and better than before the situation arose.
In my recent case, stress for once wasn’t from a work-related stressor.
Stress was common during my corporate work days I used to do in the mover-and-shaker nation’s capital political area I grew up in.
Where people in the area are generally nice, but care more about what you do and what you can do for them.
Self-centered behaviors dominate over kindness and goodness.
Gratefully, I moved away from this area years ago, so I could get centered. …And to feel less stress.
But I kept getting pulled back to this area that I grew up in, that is air polluted with stress.
It’s a subtle pollution.
Rarely do you hear about long living Centenarians (like in the Blue Zones) in this pressure cooker environment (that looks like it has it all on the outside).
But some countries with seemingly less feel sorry for this type of self-absorbed culture that I called home for decades.
The “lesser” kinder cultures realize materialism doesn’t bring long lasting happiness.
I learned this on my life journey, and got off the material “happy” roller coaster, and jumped on the contentment bandwagon in slower paced places.
Joy is not the same as a temporary happy feeling.
Joy is underrated, until you don’t feel it… like in this current season where I was busy and feeling empty.
But coming back to the busy area “with so much” I grew up in was unavoidable.
Working remote on weekdays actually gave me a sense of purpose and a break from the stressors during the season.
And natural sleep aids helped me during the trying months.
I couldn’t pinpoint why I felt depleted.
…And did fun activities with familiar people.
But I remembered, how busyness and doing “fun” things doesn’t equate to feeling joy and satisfied with life.
They are temporary distractions.
They don’t fill the missing hole feeling you can’t put your finger on.
That was an old way of life I had grown out of.
But was pulled back into.
And I was also in a cycle of not getting enough sleep that didn’t help.
Food-as-medicine nutrients help in ways like sleep in those sleep depleted times.
Where I’m eating healthy as I normally do and I fit well in my summer (year-round) clothes and clothes sizes.
I am also taking herbal supplements.
The three I take arere: melatonin, magnesium, and ashwaghanda.
The first one I knew to take is magnesium, that’s a mineral.
It worked for a little while, until it didn’t… until the stressor grew.
Magnesium is good for helping you to relax and calm.
That was an easy choice, as it’s a daily mineral in foods like nuts and leafy greens.
But if you have emotional turmoil or worries that keep you up at night, magnesium may not be strong enough.
And taken with melatonin (the 2 “m’s” are good) can be an even better solution.
Since both magnesium and melatonin can make you drowsy, you want to take at night or about 30-45 minutes before bed.
And if you have anxiety, taking a third daily supplement like ashwagandha can help.
You can take ashwagandha as a non-drowsy drink herbal tea or as a pill.
But if it’s mostly sleep deprivation that has got you, then I found melatonin is the more effective bedside companion.
Melatonin helps to put you to sleep and is also good to have on hand if you’re traveling. It helps regulate your circadian rhythm (which is your body’s signals of when you’re sleeping and awake).
Tryptophan is the precursor to melatonin. It is an essential amino acid that converts into serotonin, melatonin, and Vitamin B3.
And you’ve probably heard of tryptophan from turkey dinners… maybe at Thanksgiving when people easily fall asleep because of the effect of tryptophan in turkey.
And salmon, chicken, eggs, dairy, soy beans, chia seeds, and milk also have tryptophan. Good to keep in mind if you’re trying getting your zzz’s! 😴
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Fruit Pastries – Low-Sugar

Fruit pastries are so easy to make. And such a tasty dessert that can be made light with just a little butter.

You’ve probably seen fruit pastries at bakeries or French pastry shops. These homemade ones are inspired by those…

fruit pastry.

And I first saw them at a gourmet food market called Sutton Place Gourmet that’s now branded as Balducci’s. “Gourmet” was the word we used for foodie today.

The bakery section had the fruit desserts with strawberry, kiwi, and blueberry on a curd pastry base (that I now know how to make and you can too!).

Besides fruit colorful, they were one of the few individual desserts out there… as in, no need to share. So they stood out!

Plus, the desserts also had a shiny glaze ontop, even more than the one in my  strawberry gaze plate. 🍓🍓 They looked like shiny food magnets you’d stick to your fridge.

Those were the days that I worked in hotel catering.

And never back then did I think I would make these fruit pastries at home.

Each can get her own tart.

Also, below I’ll tell you how you can make these fruit pastries and keep this pastry tart dessert recipe, low-sugar… with sweet and sour-tart tastes.

Basically, a tart tart. And a sweet tart (for the sweethearts 💕).

Oh, and you can also make these low-fat. I already pointed out the little butter than can be added.

…It’s a myth that you need a lot of butter to make pastry. I think we learned buttery habits from pies that are a kind of pastry.

It’s true you need a little butter (as in a pat or two, but not a whole stick). Measuring is not so important with butter in this application.

And unlike cake, neutral oil will not work well the same in taste or texture in a sweet pastry. If you’re a cake girl 🙋🏻‍♀️, see my butter vs. oil notes.

The less butter in pastry gives it a less buttery taste, but the compromise is well worth it if you want to keep it more healthy. The hint of butter tastes are definitely still there in moderation.

And you can still work with the dough to make pie and pastry shapes.

You can even make these checkered pie design (with you know the country cross hatch pastry pie-style 🥧)… or simply just place them on a checkered napkin 😊for a homemade effect.

The obvious simpler way (like the open-face fruit tart photo’d above) can be done easily with 5-10 minutes of total prep time, 35 minutes baking time, and 5 minutes or less curd (stove) making time.

There are 3 simple steps for these fruit pastries: make the tart shells, curd, and arrange the colorful fruit (the fun-nest part!).

The prep steps are: bring out the ingredients (including the butter first to not forget like I often do) for the pastry, preparing fruit you’ll use, and separating an egg yolk from egg white for curd (easier to do when an egg is cold).

Some tips:

Save the egg white for a savory meal or a light, but protein-full dessert like cottage cheese chocolate mousse or a ricotta semi freddo dessert.

For the butter, since it’s a modified smaller amount used in this recipe, you can set it ontop of the stove while the oven is preheating. If you’ve got a standard kitchen appliance setup like mine, one or more of the stove burners turns warm when the oven is turned on (even though the stove itself is turned off).

Heat rises.

And as that happens, you can make the curd on the stove. They work great in mini fruit tarts too.

Like these (cute?) ones! I paired strawberry with tart rhubarb on a lemon curt tart that I’m taking to a picnic. Two tarts in one. 😋

They look like little dessert sushi. 🍱 And they make great catering dessert adds.

…Oh look, one extra for moi!

It looks a bit craggy, haha. Like a wheel that won’t go far!

But truth is, I never aim for perfect shapes. Good is good enough. Because I know they’ll get gobbled up in nanoseconds.

I kinda like that they’re rustic, as there’s no mistake that these are home made!

And make no mistake they are as delicious (if I may say so) when you pop them in your mouth.

…Did I already mention they have no added sugar (as a bonus)? 

I kept mine without added sugar (besides the sweetness in natural fruit).

But on that note, for a glazed look and to keep it low-sugar, you can add a healthy drizzle of honey that pairs well with the fruit flavors and especially well with pastry buttery flavors. This keeps the dessert bite sweet and in good balanced taste proportions…

The small amount of lemon curd goes exceptionally well with strawberry.

…Maybe serve with a strawberry lemon trifle parfait?

Some like raspberry, but I think straw-lemon is a heavenly balanced pairing. And butter and honey is on that same high level.

You’re in for a sweet treat (…even if it’s bite size sweet craving one!).

Ready to make this? 

fruit pastry.
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Fruit Pastry Tart (Low-Sugar)

This is a simple dessert that makes for a great catering table. This will make 6 mini tarts or 2 hand-size pastry tarts.
Course Dessert
Cuisine American, French
Author Brandy @ Healthy Happy Life Secrets

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup all purpose flour
  • 1 Tbsp softened butter
  • 1 Tbsp water (plus more)
  • lemon curd (instruction below)
  • fruit of choice
  • honey (optional)

Instructions

  • Cut the softened butter into small pieces and incorporate (fully coat) into the flour. Use just enough water to bring the butter and flour together. The water will make up for the small amount of butter that will adhere to the the flour. Make a pastry disc. Cover and refrigerate for a few minutes.
  • Shape pastry in muffin tin. Bake at 350°F for about 35 minutes or until edges and bottom are golden brown. Let cool at room temperature.
  • Make the lemon curd. On low heat, combine 1/4 cup flour, 1-2 Tbsp butter, 1 egg yolk, and 1/2 tsp lemon juice or zest. Add the egg yolk last. Stir constantly so egg doesn't cook. Once the mixture comes together, remove from heat. Refrigerate for a few hours.
  • Add a small amount of curd in pastry tart shells. Add fruit of choice on top such as as seasonal berries.
  • For a glaze look you can drizzle a small amount of honey ontop.
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Butter vs Oil – Which to Use in Moist Cake

Butter vs oil is a question I have in many sweet bakes. And maybe you too?

…And so I tested this fun debate in a cake (cupcake 🧁), which is a great application way to test in case you’re curious.

…Plus I LOVE cake!

And it’s not difficult to make basic moist cake with 4 ingredients you may already have on hand in your refrigerator and pantry: flour, egg, milk, and a fat (…plus you want to add a rising agent and sweetener for an elevated cake experience).

…Ah, but which fat to use?

My difference between butter and oil cake notes are below…

Btw, can you guess which is which?

…The muffin or cupcake (depending on your perspective) on the left is baked with butter, and the one on the right is baked with canola oil.

But that could have been any type of edible cooking oil, like healthy light olive oil. And it includes coconut oil (one of my fave oils to bake with).

Depending on what final effect you want to have on your cake, you will want to ask yourself and consider: should I use butter or oil?

Some things I tested with both were: taste (of course! 😋), size, and texture.

But all things are not created equal because butter has water.

Oil does not…. remember, the old saying that oil and water don’t mix (as they’re opposites and oil repels water).

Because of this fact, butter will need less liquid in the final cake batter. And also less flour for the butter batter to get a similar texture batter to the more liquid oil batter, before baking.

For moist cake texture modification (for 1/4 cup butter or oil), you can use:

3/4 cup gluten/all purpose flour with butter (or 1 cup flour for oil)

3/4 cup milk of choice with butter (or 1/2 cup milk for oil)

And so… you can see a slight butter vs oil variation changes a recipe.

Where you have your choice of fat.

If you have both available, choose wisely!

…It’s a matter of preference (or what you have in your kitchen).

And if you can’t remember which to use, use the path of least resistance (aka easy) as your guide… that’s what I do!

Think of store-bought box cakes as a standard model in this case…

Most the box cake ingredients on the back of the box list adding (your) oil.

It yields a more consistent cake.

It’s also easier overall as most people have an oil bottle handy and ready to go, that’s sitting at room temperature in a cabinet.

Unlike butter, that needs to be creamed for a cake batter, but only when conditions are favorable.

Butter needs to be softened, which means it needs to be out at or warmed slightly in some way to room temperature.

…So the baker has to remember to bring out butter of the refrigerator in time or heat it up as an extra prep step. You can do this if you have a pep in your step!🦶But not all of us do… or by the end of the week.

…And that prep in butter vs oil difference alone is a BIG difference that can delay a cake being made and baked. 😊

I know it would be for me as I don’t usually think to take out the butter and eggs (🧈+🥚) in advance.

…And I bake a lot! So oil is more practical for that reason alone.

And for a taller final cake, oil turned out better in my simple cupcake test.

But before you determine oil as the winner for moist cake!… see the notes below (because you could change your mind 💭).

Size – Butter vs oil

For size, there’s a HUGE difference. The cupcake on the right is oil and the muffin looking one on the left is made from a batter with butter. They came from the same baking pan out of the oven (and only the slight modifications above).

butter vs oil cake size

Taste – Butter vs oil

Butter vs oil don’t make a big taste difference in a cake if you use a mild tasting oil.

In cookies, pastries, and other sweet bakes, butter vs. oil can and will make a big taste (and other) difference.

But for cake…  if you have both butter and oil on hand, think easy cupcake or easy cake! 🎂

Texture – Butter vs oil

So then, the other important question is about texture. You would think since an oil cake is taller, it would have a nicer texture.

And before it goes in the oven, the batter I made looks slightly different. The butter one on the left has more of the pretty “ribbon effect.” The oil one on the right reminds me of sourdough starter 😁

But they look similar in amount of water/flour (from above quantity modifications).

But out of the oven is what matters… AND surprise!

butter vs oil texture

The cakes look similar, but the butter one on the left is slightly better with more of a pronounced crumb if that is important to you.

And as you saw above, the exterior (before you slice into) will look about the same except for height difference.

So if you want more of a homemade-style traditional cake, use butter. And for a southern cake, use butter 🧈

But for an easier, sky-high taller cake, use oil.

Modern, easy cakes = oil.

So there you have it!… butter vs oil in a cake.

I pick oil almost ever time for a cake, but there’s one other point to consider in my low-sugar baking world…

It you want to use a sweetener that’s not granulated or brown sugar, such as honey (that also I tested for this butter vs oil cake test)… butter and honey are a sweet pairing.

They go hand-in-hand in taste.

And if you’re using coconut milk (vs other milks) like I like to use, it goes well with oil in cakes.

Regular milks will be better with butter. They are slight preferences but the more you bake from scratch, the more you recognize them.

Happy baking! 🎉

butter vs oil cake size
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Easy Cake - Butter vs Oil

You can decide which to use in this easy cake you can make into a loaf, round, or cupcakes
Author Brandy @ Healthy Happy Life Secrets

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup neutral oil or butter
  • 3/4 cup milk for oil (or 1/2 cup milk for butter)
  • 1 cup all purpose flour for oil (or 3/4 cup flour with butter)
  • 1 egg
  • 1/4 cup milk
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/3 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp lemon juice or vinegar

Instructions

  • Combine wet and dry ingredients in one bowl.
  • Bake at 350°F/180°C for 20-25 minutes (or until a toothpick comes out clean).
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Ricotta Dessert (No-Bake) – Semi Freddo

Ricotta dessert with meringues, that’s a (no-bake) frozen semi freddo dessert I can eat any day. Especially hot summer days!

And if you like the 2xx protein (ricotta and egg whites) combo, you’ll love this low-sugar healthy dessert.

ricotta dessert that's frozen into a semi freddo.

I added a lemon custard because that’s the fruit tasty season we’re in. And some toasty coconut vibes that pairs well. It’s light. And it looks light.

The lemony color and egg white color is so pretty.

Btw, lemons are citrus and are actually a winter fruit. 🍋

But they are enjoyed in desserts in summery, so you can enjoy lemons year round like you can bananas.

And if none are at hand, this would be delicious with simply raw honey or a vanilla extract. Or your blue or red berries. You decide!

And you can make this dessert so easy, and as easy as you can put together food layers in a breakfast parfait.

Here, with a dollop of smooth ricotta and pillowy light egg whites combined, you’ve got a summery low-fat dessert to enjoy!

And when you freeze your dessert, then you can a delightful frozen (semi freddo) dessert good for balmy hot days when you want to peel off layers and jump in the water. 

I first heard about the half cold dessert when I was consulting with an Italian restaurant in Capitol Hill where the food was freshly prepared daily by a Tuscan chef.

And I had seen half spoon decorative (and tasty) smears on dessert plates… in lieu of ice cream. The semi freddo held up better (after all it’s half cold!) and didn’t slide off of a plate like ice cream does, when the melty temperature hits.

But if you’re not near authentic Italian eats, then making this frozen dessert can become your new home gelato flavor wheel of choice.

This is a gelato wheel I saw out and about..

And using a wheel as inspiration, the best part of this ricotta semi freddo recipe is you don’t need an ice cream machine or special gelato maker to make this semi freddo ricotta dessert! You just need a freezer and some basic kitchen tools.

Gotta love that this is one freddo you don’t need to be ‘fraidy of!

Also check out these lighter (great for summer!) desserts, that are restaurant delicious!

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Ricotta Dessert - Semi Freddo (Low-Sugar)

This is a delightful healthy protein dessert.
Course Breakfast
Cuisine American, Italian
Author Brandy @ Healthy Happy Life Secrets

Equipment

  • mixer

Ingredients

  • 2 egg whites
  • 2 Tbsp ricotta
  • curd or sweet (honey) drizzle

Instructions

  • Beat the egg whites on a mixer into a fluffy meringue about 3-4 minutes on medium-high setting. This is a low-sugar recipe so there is no sugar add to the egg whites (if you choose). You won't get peaks but you will get a fluffy meringue cloud that will work well in this meringue dessert.
  • Add ricotta by hand and combine fully. Add to a freezer safe bowl or glass.
  • Freeze for at least 30 minutes and then add curd if adding. Freeze again for a cold elevated dessert experience or enjoy!
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