Anti-Inflammatory Recipes Archives - Page 2 of 15

Easy Desserts – Pumpkin Healthy For Holidays

Holiday time reminds me of comforting pumpkin that matches the fiery orange leaves of the season.

A couple pumpkin holiday easy desserts you can make are below…

These days, our culture is rediscovering pumpkin pie from the lens of healthy foods. And maybe you have an extra can of pumpkin in your pantry ready to be used?

Pumpkin pie is one of the healthiest desserts on the planet with antioxidants (Vitamins A and C) minus the buttery pie shell that you can easily turn into a pretty trifle.

Trifles are easy desserts to make with as little as 3 ingredients in one bowl.

Like this trifle parfait, where all you need is a can of pumpkin, Greek yogurt, and ricotta for starters!

…A parfait is btw my favorite sweet for year-round brunch (all day) because it has probiotics and protein.

And well, it’s kinda exciting! Like jumping into the pool… except your spoon is coming out full of tasty filling goodness onto your plate. 🍽️

Assembling a parfait trifle like this requires no baking skills.

But if you want to add a baked egg-filled sponge cake, that’ll make it super delicious and even more worth sharing.

Like a family style and sized one to share.

I worked in event planning in Mediterranean cuisine (Spanish, Italian, and Lebanese) restaurants where family-style sharing plates were always part of the dining experience, so that’s always on my mind. 💭

It even makes a pumpkin smile.

To make the trifle: bake your sponge cake (or you can use light tea cookies of your choice).

You can dip in coffee (like you would for tiramisu lady fingers) if you like, and leave overnight in the fridge so the flavors soak in.

This gives a nice brunch vibe.

Then when assembling, layer the canned pumpkin that you can douse with cinnamon and allspice for fall tasting vibes.

Add a layer of ricotta or mascarpone cheese (that’s more healthy than most cream cheeses).

Then add another layer of the canned pumpkin.

Add more sponge cake and melted chocolate for some dramatic color and taste.

Then top off with Greek yogurt… and make a fun swirly design with a knife. Dust with cocoa if you like!

And that’s it!… then you’re ready to share!

And if a trifle doesn’t excite you…

Another great dessert is a ricotta scone you can put together in one bowl with as little as 3 ingredients.

Add ricotta, a small amount of flour (about 2 parts ricotta to 1 part flour) and 1 egg for healthy. You can always add more flour for a more traditional scone.

Add any fruits, zest, and/or spices you would like. I added banana and dried cranberries (craisins) and cinnamon.

Form into a circle. The thickness will remain the same.

Cut or score the circle before you bake so there are less crumbs after you bake and cut.

Oh, and if you want a more traditional crumbly scone (that’s expected for your afternoon tea 🫖… and if you’re watching The Great British Baking Show)…ah, and is still healthy, you can try a low-sugar orange scone.

That was a mouthful… and you can get your sweet mouth-filled in minutes after you bake.

Bake on 350°F for about 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. And voila!

And finally… even easier for easy desserts, you can always make a chocolate pumpkin mousse that you don’t need to share! 😊

Pumpkin Mousse with Chocolate – No Baking

Pumpkin mousse is a healthy dessert that’s so easy to make in 5 minutes with no baking!

Is it delicious? …Of course! Especially when chocolate is added for a delightful pairing.

But make no mistake this is a luscious creamy dessert scoop THAT NEEDS NO added sugar. Recipe below. 🧡

You can use anti-inflammatory unprocessed cocoa and pumpkin from a can or 100% pumpkin that’s pureed in with A-B-C vitamins and fiber. 🎃

Pumpkin is one of those holiday ingredients that reminds us of fall when we see PUMPKIN EVERYTHING.

Plus, this chocolate pumpkin mousse dessert snack has almond and coconut flours that are gluten-free.

If you want, you can make your own almond flour easily with whole almonds that you add to your chopper tool or food processor.

Almonds are a food kind of healthy fat, so you can have synergistic nutrition absorption with the pumpkin-almond healthy duo (since pumpkin’s Vitamin A is a fat-soluble vitamin that btw, is good for eyes).

…And is a tasty duo with pumpkin-chocolate flavors, using cocoa for the recipe.

Or cacao that’s not a typo for cocoa. 😊

It’s the raw, unprocessed version of cocoa.

But if you can’t find 100% cacao that’s anti-inflammatory healthy, you can use any unsweetened cocoa that’ll be almost as good.

Besides pumpkin that’s the star ingredient for this mousse, another fall flavor incorporated is tart cranberry… thanks to another later American holiday where you can give more thanks to the feast on the table.

And cran-pumpkin together is a glorious pairing in both sweet and sour taste, and punchy fall vivid colors.

Dried cranberries (or Craisins) that are commonly used in salads, are low calorie and high in Vitamin C.

You could use juicy whole cranberries for flavor, but they would make this recipe too wet, and then we would have to add more dry ingredients or flours.

With mostly dry ingredients, you don’t need much flour.

You can adjust the coconut flour based on the creamy perfect mousse texture you want… even though you can’t go wrong here!

After you pull together and hand mix all your ingredients, take an ice cream scooper (or spoon) and test the texture thickness of your choc-pumpkin mousse that can be like soft ice cream scoops.

Your eyes can get big because you’ll want a bite. 👀

And when you get the textures to liking, you can let the glorious and healthy flavors melt in your mouth.

This site is all about happy and healthy living and eating ways and inspiration. If this is your first time here, I encourage you to find out more about me and this healthy recipe blog.

Pumpkin Mousse with Chocolate

This is a creamy no-bake mousse that is full of anti-inflammatory healthy ingredients.

Course Dessert, Snack

Cuisine American

Author Brandy @ Healthy Happy Life Secrets

Equipment

ice cream scooper (optional)

Ingredients

2 tbsp 100% pumpkin from a can (or pureed pumpkin)
1 tbsp 100% cacao, unsweetened (or any cocoa)
1 tbsp dried cranberries, chopped small
2 tsp almond flour
almonds, chopped (optional)
coconut flour (about 1 tsp for texture)

Instructions

Use a spoon to mix your ingredients together and enjoy!

Italian Bean Salad with Gorgonzola Cheese

Italian bean salad is inspiraton from one salad dish I used to make every day. 🥗

That was in my teen years when I worked in the pantry of an italian restaurant with marble floors where you could hear silverware drop like a drum band.

…Those young years, I was responsible for lunch salads and desserts served at the tables that I could see from the open-style kitchen.

While the job was a summer one, the salad is one that stuck with me for many decades later when I became a food service professional… and can be one that you make.

It’s loaded with Italian ingredient greats… like gorgonzola, radicchio, and arugula that have distinct flavors.

Those are common in big American grocery stores where you can play a version of Guy’s Grocery Games 😊 as they’re usually hiding among the salads, produce, and cheeses.

Maybe see how long it takes you to find them camouflaged amongst the greens… and cheeses. 🧀

No green cheese, but blue healthy moldy cheese. Penicillium Roqueforti is mold that gives the blue veining easy to point out.

That makes it easier to find the cheese in the grocery store.

…And as for time, shopping will take the longest from sourcing (or farm) to table as salad prep can be quick and I think is relaxing, even though this Italian bean salad has 11 ingredient types to add.

If you can’t find radicchio, you can also substitute for Belgian endive, and blue cheese or a French cheese for gorgonzola.

Then you’d have an Italian-French salad.

They are worth the hunt as their flavors add interesting variety.

And eating variety is healthy for our microbiome guts. As you peruse, you’ll probably explore different sections of your grocery store than just around the perimeter for the staples.

And some may be right under your nose (like it was for me in my shopping adventure)…

I got lucky as there was a big gorgonzola cheese wheel that looks like a cake.

…So it wasn’t likely to be a miss. 🎂

Packaged up, you can’t smell the cheese… but imagine if it were open 🤔, that would have also attracted attention.

This good moldy cow’s milk cheese is a milder blue cheese. It doesn’t have such a funky aroma like a strong smelling blue cheese that purposefully smells rotten (but is healthy).

The cheese is named after the Gorgonzola northern Italian town it came from that’s famous for the blue veined cheese.

As a creamy cheese (almost like a cream cheese texture but not quite as creamy), it blends in with all the flavorful ingredients of this bean Italian Salad.

The beans are what make this Italian bean salad pennies per bite.

Added cannellini beans are the white beans…

And like most beans, they are high in protein and fiber good for losing weight and a healthy diet.

Beans are almost always great adds for soups and salads.

These cannellini ones are used in main Italian soups like Tuscan Ribollita and is one you can substitute in an everyday minestrone.

Beans can sometimes be boring, but you won’t be missing any bites in this salad as each one is flavorfully loaded.

It’s great for intuitive or mindful eating to slow down and lavish the flavors.

You’ll also get more flavors from the walnuts and apples (or pears). This is a fully nutritious bowl that’s a mouthfully fun experience to chew on…

You get bitter (arugula, radicchio), slightly sweet (onions), citrusy, herby (pesto), acidic (balsamic) and balanced (spices).

You get soft (beans), creamy (gorgonzola), salty (capers), and crunchy (apple, walnuts) textures.

Ready to make this flavorful Italian bean salad? 🥗

Italian Bean Salad

In an Italian restaurant I worked in as a teen pantry helper, my job was to prepare salads and desserts! This one is inspired by that restaurant with great Italian ingredients you can find in most big grocery stores.

Author Brandy @ Healthy Happy Life Secrets

Ingredients

arugula salad
radicchio
cannellini beans (white beans)
gorgonzola cheese (milder blue cheese) crumbles
pesto sauce (basil, pine nuts)
balsalmic vineger
oregano, lemon pepper, coriander, parsley
white onions (Vidalia or cipollino onion)
apple or pear (diced or sliced)
walnuts (optonal)
capers

Instructions

Add a bed of arugula.
Fill a radicchio leaf with a mixture of beans, cheese, capers, and onion.
Add fruit and walnut on the salad. Drizzle with balsamic vinegar (or light vinegar of choice as an alternative) and pesto. Flavor with spices.

Vanilla Milkshake with Cinnamon (Low Sugar and Low Fat)

Vanilla milkshake is a plain shake, but made doubly delicious with cinnamon. And to shake it up even more, it can be enjoyably healthy.

In fact, there’s no room for high-fat or sugar as this one is filled with egg yolk nutrition that’s full of vitamins.

Jump to Recipe

vanilla milkshake mixed with cinnamon and zhughed up. — Recipe for this low-fat and low-sugar vanilla milkshake below. 🧡

And it’s only about 150 calories for an 8 ounce glass.

That’s not your usual fast food milkshake, that can often be 500 calories or more.

Plus fast food milkshakes are usually loaded with 60 plus grams of sugar (that’s over 15 teaspoons).

Also on healthy notes and Ayurvedic terms, vanilla calms and cinnamon is Vata balancing and Kapha calming, so this is a healthy drink in more ways than one!

…But it tastes anything BUT healthy.

In case you’re wondering what Ayurveda is and why it matters here is that your body knows sometimes before you do, if you’re feeling balanced… and where happy, calm, and peaceful are healthy.

You get clues through your 5 senses.

How this milkshake helps to give you clues… when you smell cinnamon or vanilla, you’re attracted to the aroma and that means adding more is balancing! That’s an example of Ayurveda in a nutshell.

Another sure-fire sign: you don’t make a sour face and maybe you turn a frown upside down into a smiley face. 😊

And an interesting fact about cinnamon is it has been around since B.C. times long before vanilla that dates to modern A.D.

Cinnamon is referred in the Bible as a precious spice and anointing oil. Cassia is mentioned as cinnamon (that’s our common modern cinnamon spice in the markets).

Cinnamon is a symbol of love, prosperity, and abundance.

So in those ways, adding cinnamon is good luck in life blessings.

Cinnamon as variety to vanilla milkshake pleases Vata. And cinnamon is also great in an ice cream cousin like this cinnamon ice cream baked into Baked Alaska

…But, that’s getting dessert steps ahead, as Baked Alaska may be a step or two more work… and maybe one to try on another day or as a baking project where you clear out your freezer.

But making a milkshake doesn’t involve all that work.

It’s simple steps and you most likely already have the milkshake ingredients in your kitchen stash.

So let’s get started…

You don’t need to have an ice cream maker but that will make your milkshake making life easier.

Without an ice cream maker, you can freeze, and after 30 minutes stir up the icicles. And then freeze for another 30 minutes or so (or until slushie ice cold before you bring out and enjoy.

Part of the fun experience is watching your dessert melt in front of you.

And waiting builds up excitement!

…Ready to milk shake it up? 😋

Vanilla Cinnamon Milkshake

Author Brandy @ Healthy Happy Life Secrets

Equipment

ice cream maker

Ingredients

3 egg yolks
2 cups unsweetened almond milk (vanilla)
1 tbsp cinnamon (common or Cassia cinnamon)
pinch of sugar

Instructions

Beat egg yolks with a whisk. Add a pinch of sugar to help emulsify.
Heat milk and cinnamon on medium heat until small bubbles form, stirring constantly.
Add heated milk to egg yolks while stirring constantly for at least 30 seconds.
Refrigerate until cold.
Add to ice cream maker for about 15-20 minutes.
Add to glass and freeze. Enjoy!

Fresh Peach Juice Healthy Drink Ideas

Fresh peach juice is a great cold summertime drink you can make with a summer glow or sunrise effect. 🌅 And if you want to make your drink taste like a peach pie without the fat calories, you can also do that with the steps below…

When you add enough cinnamon, you will get a delicious sweetness pairing that tastes like a peach pie or dessert. 🥧

peach galette to go with fresh peach juice. — A whole wheat peach galette is a whole way to get your peach-fill. 🍑

But you can also keep it cool (and the hot oven off!) with an easy fresh cold peach juice drink.

Just add cinnamon that’s an Ayurvedic balancing spice for Vata that’s calming and sweet. That’s what I’m talkin’ about!

There are two common types of cinnamon: Cassia and Ceylon.

For this drink, you’ll want to use the Cassia cinnamon that’s the common cinnamon spice you find in most grocery store spice aisles.

Even the easy to find Vietnamese cinnamon is more like the Cassia type.

It’s the tastier cinnamon version that is great for baking with. Ceylon is the more anti-inflammatory one good to add to drinks like tea or coffee.

And with Cassia cinnamon, this flavor paired drink will transform and turn into a peach pie… and maybe remind you a bit of old fashioned apple pie from the enhanced heavy sprinkle of cinnamon spice… 🥧 You’ll want to mix in a dollop and not a dust.

For the peach juice part: fresh peach juice is easy to make with a blender and when peaches are ripe and super soft. That usually takes time from when you buy from the market.

And that can be a good thing…

For a later date juice (or delay in making the juice), you can ripen in a controlled environment…

Put your peaches in your fridge fruit or crisper drawer that’s lower humidity than other parts of the fridge, where fruit will ripen faster and stay fresh. You can preserve your peaches for weeks.

When you’re ready to make your fresh peach juice drink, it will already be ready to serve cold because the peaches are cold.

Quicker Peach Ripening Method:

…Or if you keep peaches out at room temperature in a fruit bowl, they’ll ripen even faster if you’re ready to make your drink as they go from ripe to rot pretty quickly.

This way, you’ll chill your drink after making it.

Either ripening way works. It’s 6-of-one half-dozen the other as we used to say in catering. The mantra is the same and your preference liking.

…Make it slow or fast based on a calendar is the question.

Either way when you start the home fresh peach juice making process, a fresh peach drink can be on your menu as a next day chilled morning beverage instead of mango or orange juice…

That’s good for Vata variety.

And with peaches, you can also get a special sunrise effect when you add water that brightens the day. 🌅

A morning sunrise fresh peach juice drink.🌅

The simple steps are below 🍑

You can turn your juice into a refreshing sweet peach-ade with a little lemon juice instead of a tart lemonade.

Peach is an abundant seasonal summertime fruit favorite and staple. It’s bright, juicy, and high in Vitamin A and C antioxidants.

You can also make one other summertime favorite: old-fashioned porch peach sun tea… that’s a great way to celebrate a summer break! ☀️

Old Fashioned Summer Porch Tea from Fresh Peach Juice

You can take a large glass jar and brew old-fashioned summer tea that’s super easy to make. I’m pretty sure that comes from my adult southern roots living in the Carolinas. 😉

You would basically pour fresh water into a glass jar that has a lid. Then set the tea bags in the jar, using about 4 tea bags for a 6-cup or 3-pint jar.

A classic brisk tea like Lipton gives a super crisp or brisk tea taste.

The bags conveniently have strings, so you can easily tie the bag strings together and hang the labels over the top opening and then secure the lid.

Then set the jar outdoors on a patio that gets sun for at least part of the day. You don’t have to boil water.

And like magic 🪄, you have sun tea in about a day or two. You can leave outside longer for an even more raw, brisk tea taste.

When it’s done, refrigerate or add ice cubes and enjoy!

And finally, with peaches you can use also add fresh diced peaches into your drink or daytime Sangria mocktail for some zhugh and sunny hues.

How fun in the sun, right?

And if you’re peach inspired and don’t want to stop there (or still have extra peaches you don’t know what to do with), you can make a peach profiterole that could take the summer peach vibes to a whole ‘nother (baking) level! 🍑

Print Recipe

Fresh Peach Juice Sunrise

Course beverage

Cuisine American

Author Brandy @ Healthy Happy Life Secrets

Equipment

blender

Ingredients

½ cup diced peaches
½ cup water
Cassia cinnamon spice to taste

Instructions

Blend softened ripe peaches leaving about 1/3" or 1 cm to top of glass. You can add a little water if you prefer less concentrated juice. For peach pie drink: blend in cinnamon spice to taste.
For the sunrise effect, add fresh cold water to fill up to the top of the glass. Bottoms up!