Anti-Inflammatory Eating Made Easy: 75 Recipes with Meal Plans for Beginners

by Michelle Babb, Hilary McMullen (Photographer), Julie Hopper (Contributor)

Combat chronic inflammation, ease over-stressed digestive and immune systems, and make better food choices with this easy-to-follow nutrition plan and cookbook Inflammation in the body shows up in the form of aches, pains, digestive distress, skin rashes, and swelling, and can lead to arthritis, type 2 diabetes, food allergies, skin conditions, and weight gain. Inflammation can result from undiagnosed food allergies or an autoimmune condition, or a diet that contains lots of processed foods, sugar, and meat. Adopting an anti-inflammatory diet can help. Health and wellness luminaries such as Dr. Oz, Michael Pollan, and Mark Bittman have all touted the benefits of an anti-inflammatory diet, and people are becoming increasingly aware of its benefits. Seattle nutritionist Michelle Babb lays out a sustainable diet plan that’s a snap to maintain—it's essentially a Mediterranean, or pescatarian, diet that increases the intake of plant-based foods. With Anti-Inflammatory Eating Made Easy, you’ll eat as much as you want, lose weight, and heal your body. And the great thing is that with this diet, you never go hungry! As long as half your plate is vegetables and fruit, and the other half is starch and fish, you may start to see health improvements in weeks once you adopt the diet. Dramatic lifestyle changes can be difficult, but this easy-to-follow plan makes anti-inflammatory eating approachable, understandable, and delicious.

Genres: Cookbooks, Health, Food, Cooking, Nonfiction, Nutrition

286 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 25, 2014

Reviews

[Exina]

4 stars

Six recipes out of 75 – not bad – see my updates. It gave me some new ideas. I’d really like to try Pumpkin Coconut Curry with White Fish – I think it would be delicious with shrimp, too.



Nice photos, easy recipes.

[Maureen]

The diet is pretty much pescatarian, & modified paleo. I've made over a dozen recipes from this book and haven't had a dud yet. We're halfway through the 21 days, and feeling ok. The hardest food to give up has been nightshades (peppers & eggplant.) It feels good to go dairy & refined sugar free, though we haven't seen the anti-inflammatory benefits play out. Husband is starting to fantasize about which foods to start back in with. He's missing eggs, cheese & wine! We have a road trip coming up, it'll be a challenge to feed ourselves on the backroads of Nevada & Utah without caving in.

[Aneesa]

I made a dish with JUST brussels sprouts, currents, pecans, and stock that was SO GOOD. But I don't really like sweet potatoes. Or quinoa.

[Amanda]

It was fine. I really struggled to find any of the recipes appealing to my picky palate, or serviceable for my large family of allergic reactions. Of 75 recipes, I got maybe four useable/adaptable dishes. Contrast that with Danny Trejo's taco book, where we use every one of the recipes and share them with anybody who seems mildy interested. Too high a standard, I guess.

[Amber]

This diet plan is a great concept, but it is very unrealistic for the average person. To extremely limit your diet to a few different items for 21 days is very difficult to achieve. Then to slowly introduce potential inflammatory foods every 2 days to see how your body reacts would take a long time. The recipes consist of a lot of ingredients that are not in the average persons pantry. Thus you will need to buy a ton a new items.

[LRCA14]

A good collection of recipes and meal plans, especially if new to anti-inflammatory eating and don't mind lots of legumes and beans. Very limited and basic info on anti-inflammatory research, but then again, it isn't intended to be this type of reference book.

[Julia]

This book has lots of information as well as really tasty recipes that are not too fancy but not too boring.

[Meg]

Dropping to three stars, because too much spice.

[Heather]

Good information on inflammation and why elimination works, but the recipes seem too complex for me and contain too many ingredients that I do not like.

[Abdullah Al]

**Rating:** ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5/5
**Title:** The ultimate approachable starter guide for pain relief and vibrant digestive health!

If you are new to anti-inflammatory eating and feel overwhelmed by complicated dietary rules, this book is the exact starting point you need. It breaks down the transition into manageable, bite-sized steps, making it effortless to build habits that naturally soothe digestion, strengthen immune defenses, and reduce joint discomfort.

Here is why this cookbook receives a enthusiastic 5 stars:

* **Approachable & Not Overwhelming:** With 75 carefully curated recipes, this book avoids overwhelming beginners with endless options. Every recipe is straightforward, clear, and specifically designed for effortless preparation.
* **Structured, Stress-Free Meal Plans:** The included meal plans take the guesswork out of daily cooking. They help you organize your shopping list, streamline meal prep, and ensure you stay consistent without spending hours planning.
* **Targeted Health & Pain Relief Focus:** The recipes specifically target key pillars of wellness—calming sensitive digestion, relieving joint stiffness, and nourishing the immune system through natural, nutrient-dense ingredients.
* **Simple, Everyday Ingredients:** No specialty stores required! Every ingredient can easily be found on standard supermarket shelves without straining your grocery budget.
* **Noticeable Physical Relief:** Following these simple meals leads to quick, tangible changes—reduced bloating, noticeable relief from daily aches and stiffness, and sustained, vibrant energy throughout the day.

Whether you are recovering from gut issues, managing chronic pain, or simply looking to eat cleaner without stress, this cookbook is an indispensable guide for beginners!

[Mahafuz]

Anti-Inflammatory Eating Made Easy is a practical and approachable guide for anyone interested in making more mindful food choices. I appreciated how the book takes a potentially complicated topic and presents it in a simple, easy-to-understand way, especially for beginners.

The recipes are varied, flavorful, and realistic for everyday cooking, while the meal plans make it easier to put the ideas into practice without feeling overwhelmed. I also liked the emphasis on wholesome ingredients and balanced meals rather than making healthy eating feel restrictive.

What makes this cookbook especially useful is the combination of helpful information and practical recipes. It provides plenty of inspiration for building nutritious meals while encouraging readers to develop sustainable eating habits. The straightforward format makes it easy to return to whenever you need fresh ideas.

Overall, this is an informative and useful cookbook for anyone looking to explore an anti-inflammatory style of eating. The recipes, meal plans, and beginner-friendly guidance make it a valuable addition to a healthy kitchen. Five stars!

[Laura]

This book was immensely helpful. I thought many of the recipes would be a tolerable stretch for me, but found that they were delicious enough to adopt as recurring items in our menu! I have done several elimination diets over the years to discover what foods I cannot tolerate, but this book's cleanse plan surpassed those for a few reasons:
1) knowledge about why types of food were inflammatory: this had helpful information on avoiding nightshades or corn so I felt informed in my choice, rather than restricted. I've never cut out gluten before, but doing so gave me tremendous relief.
2) recipes relied on simple and unprocessed ingredients - easy enough to find in local stores. It didn't incorporate "faux" meat or protein products. The recipes were easy to plan for the week (breakfast, snack, lunch, dinner, and dessert categories) and fix.
3) Recipes were delicious and increased the amount of vegetables I eat. This drastically improved my outlook about removing foods from my diet and feeling successful with it.

[Sandy Wilmering]

This book opens by explaining inflammation, tools for your success, and a 21 day nutritional cleanse to combat inflammation, including menus and options for the variety lover, the repeater eater, and the grain avoider. The rest of the book is broken down into sections for Breakfast, Healthy Snacks, Soups and Stews, Salads and Sides, Vegetarian Main Dishes, Pescatarian Main Dishes, Hint-of-Meat Main Dishes, and Desserts.
There are a lot of recipes I want to try from this book. The ingredients look to be readily available at the grocery store, and the directions seem very straight forward. Nutritional information was not provided for the recipes, otherwise I would have given this book a 5 star review.

[Adrienna]

I am learning what foods are inflaming my body and stirs up the acid reflux, as well as labeled as pre-diabetic, and these are all symptoms based on food I am eating...even high blood pressure. There are other conditions as simple as anxiety and depression. Obesity.

Now it is time to be informed, too long, holding on what I believe is causing it and read items that plays a major part on these symptoms. I see that you do not necessarily have to become a vegetarian or vegan to help with these issues, and meats you can eat, but only found two recipes to try as a future vegan.

*Research 2018

[Cindy]

While the scientific reasoning is sound (at least to me), most of the recipes would cause me to venture all over town to search for the ingredients. They sure aren't available at Kroger. In fact, I don't even know what some of them are. I would like to assume that I am well educated as I have a masters degree and have served as a public librarian for many years until retirement. I will continue in my search for easier recipes for an anti-inflammatory diet.

[Margaret Klotz]

While I’m sure this book has its benefits, I had to give up on it early on when the author made it clear that her definition of “hypoallergenic” was not accommodating to those of us with tree nuts allergies. She conveniently leaves out tree nuts as one of the top eight allergens (she for some reason substitutes corn, which is not on the FALCPA list) and has tree nuts listed as one of the main substitutes for other foods.

[Verna Seal]

A cookbook that contains recipes that I will actually eat!

[Rhea]

Fantastic book! Everyone should eat this way.

[Bri]

Interesting recipes! However, most call for the use of a food processor which I do not have so I was unable to make many of these dishes.

[Anne]

I’m sure it’s great for some. Found another book on this topic that is better fit for me.

[Kevin]

some good easy recipes

[Nita]

Interesting. Actual book is easier than ebook. Especially with recipes.

[Marlene]

There is a lot of good information in this book. The recipes look good and doable. Now to put it into action.

[Elaine]

Ok

I took notes on the cleanse and anti-inflammatory ingredients but the recipes were a little complicated for me. Looking forward to the cleanse and reducing inflammation.

[Dana]

I really love the recipes in this cookbook. The diet plan involves avoiding anti-inflammatory foods and the recipes don't include dairy or other foods deemed inflammatory. It includes a 21 day cleanse with a variety of ways to follow it. The recipes are simple and delicious and don't include fake dairy products. Even if you are not following an anti-inflammatory diet, I still recommend the recipes because they are fantastic! I have made several of them and plan to make many more of them. The recipes are easy to follow, don't include difficult to find ingredients and are scrumptious!

[Palimpest Living]

Far more beans/legumes than I would have expected or liked, given that they can be so hard to digest. Also based on the Mediterranean Diet, citing Ancel Keys, even though we know he was not on the up and up! Also did not include potentially extremely helpful things like bone broth.
That said, the recipes were great. They avoided all major allergens, were creative, and still mainstream and delicious enough to easily serve to friends and family and enjoy.

[Denise]

This book actually contains both an easy-to-understand description of inflammation causes and tools for recovery as well as recipes that an average cook can actually make and enjoy! This is a book I'm going to buy.

[Marla]

Maybe it's me- this is the same old, same old stuff everybody's saying: more freggies, whole foods, detox, gluten free, re-introduction - bleh! nothing new here.

[Doan]

The recipes are new and fantastic. Great to add to the family rotation of meals without following the 21 day cleanse.

[Mie]

I used it for group presentation at nutrition class. After trying anti-inflammatory diet (more salmon) for a week, I lost 2 pounds. I love the concept of anti-inflammatory diet.