Anti-inflammatory food ideas are delicious and good for health prevention. Finding the right healthy pairings, spices, and flavors bring make the rainbow variety out. 🌈 Learn more about anti inflammatory foods in this article.
One of my favorite happy and healthy topics is food as I have a catering and food event planning background… and so, coming up with home food ideas to eat is both meal planning practical AND super fun.
And learning to satiate sugar cravings with low-sugar desserts was a smart anti-inflammatory lifestyle move to help prevent eczema flare-ups and health complications down the road.
A printable 200 anti-inflammatory food grocery shopping list helps. Plus some additional healthy food charts you can learn about below.
But first, to spice up your healthy food knowledge, here are 5 Trivia Questions for you.
The answers are at the bottom… but I have a hunch that you may know the answer to one or more of them, and will definitely by the time you finish reading to the end. 😉
…So here we go with the 5 questions!
What is the difference between an herb and a spice?
Which 4 vitamins are fat-soluble?
Where is gluten found in wheat?
Besides wheat, what are 1-2 starchy CROP foods we could eat? (Hint: Grown and raised in big fields)
AND…
What food category does pumpkin fall in?
I had to add that last tricky trivia question in there because pumpkin is all the rage in taste these days. It seems earlier and earlier each year.
I’m still pouring coconut flavors into my beverages as it’s too hot for pumping pumpkin for me just yet… and maybe you too where you are?
In all healthy fairness though, pumpkin puree we often add to our dishes and bakes, is a nutrient-dense anti-inflammatory food loaded with fiber prebiotics good for gut health.
The downside: it has a high/fair GI rating so it can raise blood sugar spikes but still good for an anti inflammatory meal plan idea.
And so, you’ve probably heard of nutrient-dense foods at the core of anti inflammatory food which means they’re packed with nutrients compared to calories. And they have few ingredients. Often they’re whole foods like fruits.
They’re preventative protectors to help fight inflammation that’s recurring, ongoing, or chronic inflammation. Inflammatory properties often have at least one of these symptoms: redness or irritation, heat, swelling, or pain.
Those are earlier signs that can lead to certain chronic diseases such as heart disease, Diabetes 2, certain cancers, and cognitive decline diseases. So one way to handle is to reduce inflammation occurrences with a healthy lifestyle and healthy eating.
And you’ve probably heard of polyphenols that are nutrients in plants and the orange color in pumpkin gives away its healthy advantage rich in beta carotene that’s converted into Vitamin A in the body as needed, so you can think of them as one and the same 🎃
Polyphenols protect the plant, but we get the benefit as an antioxidant (to help protect against disease) in vegetables, fruits, grains, beans, nuts, tofu, and our plant-based diet. These are also good for weight loss meal plans.
There are 13 essential vitamins our bodies can’t make on their own. We get them through food or supplements. They’re critical for key functions like immunity, metabolism, and digestion that help us lose weight and maintain healthy weight.
These are essential nutrients on the anti inflammatory diet and anti inflammatory food ideaas for your food plans.
Vitamins A, C, E
These 3 essential vitamins fight inflammation or swelling. These are important antioxidants that fight cell-free radicals, to help protect against cancer. And you already know one way (eat more 100% pumpkins!).
Since Vitamins A and E are fat-soluble, it’s good to pair healthy fat in your body with them. Like sweet potatoes with walnuts or a drizzle of olive oil that’s common in a mediterranean diet… or how about a healthy bake like carrot coconut oil cake? 😋 That’s one of my anti inflammatory recipes.
Foods like avocados and almonds are rich in Vitamin E and (monounsaturated) healthy fats, so that’s why you probably see these superfoods in the healthy news headlines everywhere you turn.
Vitamin C is easy to find in fruits, but it’s water soluble (I think of it like going down a water slide out of your body). And so, you can take more and that’s why I take a daily supplement, in addition to eating from the rainbow Vit C foods.
Vitamins B
Daily, we need our B vitamins. All 8 are essential like those listed in a B-complex vitamin, and they work in synergy with each other.
Vitamins A, E, D, K are also essential and are the fat-soluble vitamins. Sometimes you naturally take advantage of this. Like when you use EVOO to cook your salmon.
But being more intentional, you can find other opportunities like:
Carrots with hummus made with EVOO.
Spinach with walnuts.
Or an avocado green smoothie with a plant-based milk.
And, here are some of my fave good anti-inflammatory food ideas:
One morning snack I enjoy is celery with almond butter that has protein and fiber. Or natural peanut butter paired with a Granny Smith apple, sliced up bananas, or in good old-fashioned PBJ (or favorite seeded jam) toast.
Another good starter is watermelon with EVOO and mint. If you have a headache, the first thing I do is drink water that’s always good for hydrating your system. And mint leaves or mint tea is good for soothing aches.
In fruits and veggies, the different polyphenol-phytochemical pigments are healthy antioxidants. SEE THE PRINTABLE rainbow food chart and learn learn about your natural body’s antioxidant and glutathione production benefits.
But here are some foods to include in your daily food variety, and how you can “eat-from-the-rainbow” 🌈:
Red
Red Apples – If you like crisp, Fuji or Gala varieties are easy to find. Or a traditional Red Delicious that’s a softer apple and tends to bruise easier.
Tomatoes – if you find a tomato medley, they all have differing degrees of sweetness, like a green tomato is less sweet. Yellow tomatoes are less acidic and taste sweeter than a red cherry tomato. And a plum tomato usually found in an Italian dish has a deep red or red-orange color different than a slightly sour grape tomato for a Greek salad.
Both overall, tomatoes and avocados aren’t as sweet compared to other fruits. They’re botanical fruits, but we think of them as veggies in our dishes. They actually come from the flowers of plants.
Squashes are considered fruits, and pumpkin popular in September and October is considered a squash. So a pumpkin is a fruit (and that answers that trivia question).
Orange
Carrots – are underrated I think. A bag of carrots is always good to have on hand and are usually abundant year-round. You can eat them as snacks, or cook them slightly soft for better nutritional benefits.
Or you can julienne them or puree them for your carrot cake and breads. If carrots get too dry left out, you can simply add them to a bowl of water to revive them. They’re a lot like us even though their roots are different! 🥕
Oranges – are seasonal even though we see them sometimes year-round. They’re more abundant in the cold winter months like November – January in the U.S.
But, nothing is guaranteed for any food, and you may have found oranges harder to find as there has been a crop shortage, as of 2021. You can find mandarin oranges or small clementines more easily. They’re less acidic and easier to peel if you want to find their good sides.
Yellow
One of the most practical fruits we have around is a banana. Green bananas have a lower GI (glycemic index) than ripe bananas. That makes sense as they’re not as sweet. I like to eat green bananas and use the ripe ones for baking or a smoothie. If you shop around, you’ll know where to get the greenest ones in your town.
Green
Avocado – already mentioned as a superfood, besides on toast, you can make a smoothie or a mousse dessert. You can add on top of any salad. And since they don’t last long after you cut into them, you can easily make an easy guacamole dip. 🥑
Spinach – spinach is a powerful vitamin-rich food and Popeye learned this when got his strength guzzling spinach down.
But for us ordinary characters, we can get bored with the bland spinach taste in a salad. So, I have many anti-inflammatory food ideas:
One idea is to wilt with a little liquid and heat, and then add to your plate slightly cooked to keep the nutrients intact. You’ll find you can add a lot more spinach once it’s tamed down with water and heat
It’s the difference between when your hair is just blown out shiny straight, compared to a wild frizzy humid hair day. 😄
And… when you have a big bag of spinach that can last a couple of weeks in the fridge, but by then is not as fresh… here are some FRESH spinach ideas:
Smoothie: Spinach, pineapple, Granny Smith apple, and nut or plant-based milk. The tart and sweet complements the green smoothie goodness. Add your powders and seeds all day! And you can substitute with kale.
Spinach con queso dip
On medium stove heat, you can wilt the spinach with warming milk, and then add cheese to melt, while stirring. And you can sprinkle baked kale chips on top for extra anti-inflammatory food ideas.
Tortilla with melted cheese spinach (Quesadila)
Bake tortilla. I like low and slow (200°F for an hour) so they don’t burn, and then add shredded or cut-up cheese that’ll be quick to melt in the oven. Add your fresh microgreens or herbs on top AFTER you bake.
I like to add allium-healthy flavors like red or green onions. And tri-color bell peppers for a mouth fiesta 🎉. And a bean spread (with EVOO smashed pinto or cannellini beans).
That is a super anti-inflammatory food idea and you may have heard that beans are the vitamins that Blue Zone Centenarians take. 🫘
Maybe spinach ain’t so bland after all!?
And one food that hasn’t been mentioned yet is fatty fish oils found in fish. Good healthy eating ones are small fish like sardines or wild fish like wild salmon. They would be good to add to any meal planns.
Blue
Blueberries – bake well into morning bars, balls, or scones.
Blueberries also great for smoothies, and jams. And if you’re not a fan or allergic, you could do the other common berries like strawberries or raspberries, or the newer popular berries like elderberries or red lingonberries. I think it’s interesting that we haven’t even come close to identifying all the berries around the world!
Purple/Black
Black beans – I like to bake black bean brownies or energy balls that makes these longevity bakes. You can add espresso on top of the cocoa to give some deeper flavors. Or you can make a cool beans soup. 😋
…Now that’s thinking like a Centenarian! These are worth adding to your anti-inflammatory food ideas.
Red Onions – On the outside, they’re s dark purple hue and inside they’re white. They are pretty and healthy.
Onion rings – And you can easily make healthy baked onion rings. Cut rings (parallel to the top of the onion like the latitudinal equator lines if you could imagine it like a globe). Then dip into a whisked egg, then flour, and then Panko bread crumbs. And then bake. So easy and impressive for a snack!
White/Brown
Mushrooms – these are fascinating as they have so many benefits to the earth and our immunity. The earth needs us and we need the food on the earth.
And adaptogens like mushrooms help with our stress and anxiety. And they have become a whole new taste revolution. Umami – oh, mommy!
Cauliflower – they are a good source of Vitamin C and low in calories for healthy weight loss. You can bake them into your pizza crust or eat my favorite ways, as Crudite. That’s raw on a veggie plate we always had when I worked in hotel catering.
Breakfast Mushroom Oats Porridge
What’s not to love?
For plant based breakfasts, there are many anti-inflammatory food ideas worth keeping:
Breakfast Quinoa – as a pseudo grain and naturally gluten-free, this is my go-to cereal. Quinoa takes a little bit of cooking time like rice, but you can batch cook in advance so it’s cool and ready for the next few mornings.
Lunch/Dinner Quinoa – It’s also versatile for your savory lunch meals and dinner salads. My favorite combo is chickpeas and quinoa with a coarser Celtic sea salt.
Warm Oats – this is definitely a morning staple. I like to eat warm with fresh fruit but that’s about Vata-me… and what about you?
Cold Oats – You can also do Overnight Oats and just pull your cup or glass out of the fridge in the morning. Add your chia seeds, berries, yogurt, and bananas for a Pitta perfect parfait. 😊
Almonds – these are great snacks. And unlike a chip, it’s good to eat more than one. They have the healthy fat, but also vitamins, minerals, and protein.
Extra Virgin Olive Oil (or EVOO)
Besides in cooking, EVOO is with baked goods, dips, and on toast that are Mediterranean diet ideas, that’s a type of anti-inflammatory food diet.
Spelt and sprouted grains come from whole grains and have high levels of vitamins and minerals. They’re easier to digest with a lower GI (but not to be confused with gluten-free!). You can get GF versions, but those are wholesome wheat grains.
And that’s a good idea and thought to leave it on! I hope this helps you on your food healthy lifestyle!
…Oh, and here are the answer to the 5 TRIVIA questions above (that I copied here):
What is the difference between an herb and a spice?
Which 4 vitamins are fat-soluble?
Where is gluten found in wheat?
Besides wheat, what are some other starchy crop healthy foods we could eat?
What food category is pumpkin in?
Trivia Question Answers:
1.An herb comes from the leaves of plants, and spices from the other parts (flowers, fruits, seeds, roots).
2.Vitamins D,E,A,K
3.Gluten is found in the starchy endosperm in the middle layer of the wheat cereal grain. The seed is deep inside and the bran is the outside of the grain.
4.Corn, rice, and millet are a few. Millet is more popular for humans to eat outside the U.S. but you can find it if you look around.
5.Pumpkin is a squash, and squashes are fruit. So, a pumpkin is technically a fruit. You may never look at pumpkins the same, and at Thanksgiving when you think you need a fruit pie on the table. Idea: You can make an easy pumpkin pasta sauce (especially if you can’t eat tomatoes).
And that’s a wrap (corn wrap?)!
