Tame The Flame with Meals That Heal Inflammation

Inflammation is the body’s emergency response system – an alarm designed to protect and heal when faced with injury or infection. Think of it as your body’s built-in firefighter, rushing to the scene to contain damage and repair tissues. While acute inflammation is essential for healing, chronic inflammation keeps the alarm bells ringing indefinitely, leading to damage rather than repair. The key to health lies in silencing this long-term alarm – and the right foods can do just that.

Chronic inflammation often starts with subtle signs that are easy to overlook. Fatigue that doesn’t go away, bloating after meals, skin conditions like acne or eczema, and nagging joint or muscle pain are just a few of the ways your body may be signalling distress. Left unchecked, this constant state of inflammation can contribute to serious conditions like arthritis, cardiovascular disease, autoimmune disorders, diabetes, and even neurological issues like depression or Alzheimer’s.

The solution lies in addressing the root cause, and that begins with what’s on your plate.

My newest book, Meals That Heal Inflammation (2nd edition) is a guide to extinguishing the flames of chronic inflammation with healing food. Instead of bland, restrictive diets, it offers recipes so flavourful and satisfying that you won’t even miss junk food. With vibrant, nutrient-dense meals like turmeric-spiced salmon and indulgent treats like key lime pie and chocolate cake, you’ll enjoy every bite while fueling your body’s healing process. It’s proof that eating for health doesn’t have to feel like a sacrifice.

The book emphasizes anti-inflammatory powerhouses – foods that naturally calm the body’s inflammatory response and support overall health. These include leafy greens like arugula and Bok choy which are packed with antioxidants. Fatty fish such as salmon, sardines, and mackerel provide omega-3 fatty acids that actively fight inflammation.

Berries like blueberries and strawberries deliver powerful antioxidants, while turmeric and ginger are renowned for their pain-relieving, anti-inflammatory properties. Healthy fats from avocado, olive oil, and macadamia nuts nourish cells, while fermented foods like sauerkraut and coconut yogurt improve gut health, a key player in managing inflammation. Cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage contain compounds that detoxify the body and reduce inflammation.

In addition to an extensive anti-inflammatory food chart, Meals That Heal Inflammation provides tools to help you make lasting changes. You’ll find an anti-inflammatory food pyramid to guide your choices, a portion checklist to help you create balanced meals, and a food journal template to track your progress. These practical resources make it easy to transition to a lifestyle that reduces inflammation while enhancing energy, mental clarity, and overall vitality.

What sets Meals That Heal Inflammation apart from other books is its focus on combining science with flavour. These aren’t health-focused recipes that are bland and boring – they are dishes you’ll crave, made with simple, wholesome ingredients that are easy to find and prepare. This approach empowers you to take control of your health while still enjoying the pleasures of food, something Julie affectionately calls a ‘Live-it’ instead of a ‘diet’.

Imagine waking up without stiffness, breezing through your day with clear focus and energy, and sitting down to meals that feel indulgent yet actively heal your body. This is the reality for those who embrace the anti-inflammatory lifestyle outlined in Meals That Heal Inflammation. It’s not just about eating—it’s about thriving.

NEW RECIPES (from 2nd edition of Meals that Heal Inflammation)

Ginger Butternut Soup

This is a wonderful soup when you’re feeling under the weather because the beta-carotene helps to protect the lungs when fighting a cold or flu. Squash is one of the first foods offered to babies, as it is easy to digest. Ginger root is a great reliever of nausea and is a warming herb.  (Makes 6 servings)

 1 Tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil or avocado oil

2 cups finely chopped yellow onions

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon peeled and minced fresh ginger root OR ½ teaspoon ground ginger

10 cups filtered water or vegetable or chicken stock

7 cups peeled and diced butternut squash (see Tip 1)

1 cup dried red split lentils (If you need to speed up this dish, you can use canned lentils and shave 15 minutes off the cooking time. Use only 8 cups of cooking liquid if you choose to use canned lentils. (See Tip 2 if intolerant to lentils.)

¼ cup tahini or sunflower seed butter

1 teaspoon ground turmeric

1 teaspoon cinnamon

¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg

1½ teaspoons unrefined grey sea or pink salt (or to taste)

Optional Additions

1 cup Coconut Whipping Cream (page 247)

¼ cup pumpkin or squash seeds, roasted

½ cup minced fresh parsley or watercress

1. Heat the oil in a large soup pot over medium-low Add the onions, garlic and ginger and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are soft and translucent, 2 to 3 minutes.
2. Stir in the water or Add the squash and lentils. Cover with a lid and bring to a boil over high heat. Uncover and skim off the lentil foam with a spoon. Reduce the heat, cover with the lid and simmer until the squash and lentils are tender, about 40 minutes.
3. Allow to cool enough for safe handling. Using a blender or immersion blender, purée the squash mixture along with the tahini, turmeric, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. (If you omitted the lentils, add the 1 cup hemp hearts at this stage to preserve the oil from oxidation.)
4. Serve hot, garnished with coconut whipping cream, roasted pumpkin or squash seeds and parsley or watercress, if desired.

Tips:

1. You can substitute the squash with peeled carrots, if you prefer.
2. For those intolerant to lentils, swap them out for 1 cup of hemp hearts and reduce the water or stock by 2 cups. Add the hemp hearts in step 3 when blending.

Pomegranate-Poached Halibut

When life finds me blindingly busy, I pull out this five-minute prep-time recipe to save my sanity. Halibut is a popular white fish choice, but you can use any kind of white fish, fresh or frozen, such as haddock or sustainable cod. Halibut is rich in both anti-inflammatory omega-3s and magnesium. (Makes 4 servings)

8 (3 ounce/85 g each) fresh or frozen halibut fillets (2 per person)

¾ cup pomegranate juice

2 cups thinly sliced red onion

Unrefined grey sea or pink salt, to taste

Sauce

½ cup sugar-free mayonnaise

¼ cup Dijon or yellow mustard

1 teaspoon nutritional yeast

3 drops monk fruit extract (optional if using sugar-free Dijon)

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).
2. Place the fish fillets in a large heat-proof glass or stainless-steel dish. Pour the pomegranate juice over the fish. Sprinkle the red onions over the fish and season with salt. Bake for 8 minutes for fresh fish or 12 minutes for frozen fish.
3. Meanwhile, whisk together the sauce ingredients in a small bowl.
4. Remove the baking dish from the oven. Turn on the broiler to low with an oven rack positioned 9 inches under it. Portion a liberal amount of sauce on each piece of fish and return to the oven. If you have sauce left over, it tastes great as a salad dressing.
5. Broil until the sauce begins to thicken, 3 to 5 minutes. Serve the fish hot on dinner plates with the onions and some of the pomegranate juice.

Dijon Chicken

This is a fast, healthy meal that tastes great as leftovers the next day. My family makes this recipe more than any other main dish in the book, so give it a try! The coconut milk contains lauric acid, which helps to boost the immune system. The mustard seeds in the Dijon mustard are a good source of selenium, a nutrient shown to help reduce the severity of asthma, decrease some of the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis, and help prevent cancer. Turmeric has been shown to have powerful anti-inflammatory effects. (Makes 4 servings)

8 skinless, boneless chicken thighs (2 pounds/900 g total)

2 Tablespoons avocado oil

1 teaspoon ground turmeric

½ teaspoon unrefined grey sea or pink salt

2 cups sliced red onion

¼ cup Dijon mustard

¼ cup vegetable or chicken broth

½ cup canned full-fat coconut milk

¼ teaspoon monk fruit extract OR 2 tablespoons unpasteurized liquid honey

1 Tablespoon Italian seasoning blend (dried basil, marjoram, oregano, rosemary, sage, savory, thyme) or herbes de Provence (dried basil, fennel, lavender, savory, thyme)

1. Place the chicken thighs in a large cast-iron or stainless-steel skillet and sprinkle with the oil, turmeric and salt. Cook over medium heat for 5 to 7 minutes, turning every couple of minutes until golden on all sides.
2. Add the red onions and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, for 3 to 5 minutes, until the onion has softened.
3. Using a spoon or brush, spread the mustard evenly over the chicken thighs.
4. Add the broth and cook for 15 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through and no longer pink in the centre. Remove the chicken from the skillet and set aside in a shallow serving dish or platter.
5. Pour the coconut milk and sweetener into the skillet and stir for 2 to 3 minutes, until the sauce has thickened slightly.
6. Pour the sauce over and around the chicken. Adjust the salt and seasonings to taste.
7. Garnish with the herb blend and serve immediately.

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ADDITIONAL RECIPES

Spaghetti Squash and Turkey “Pasta”

Turkey is a great source of the amino acid tryptophan, which is a precursor to the relaxing neurotransmitter serotonin. It is also high in the amino acid tyrosine, which is a precursor to other neurotransmitters and hormones, including epinephrine, norepinephrine, and dopamine. Supplying your adrenal glands with the nutrients they need to function will help prevent adrenal exhaustion.

Tomatoes are bursting with vitamin C, the antioxidant that not only protects your adrenals from free radical damage but also plays a role in the production of adrenal hormones and in the adrenals’ stress response. Healing vitamin A from the pumpkin and spaghetti squash will boost cellular energy production and support your tissues during and after stressful periods. Cilantro is a delicious topper to this nutrient-dense dish and is a powerful, detoxifying, medicinal herb that helps to cleanse the body of adrenal-poisoning heavy metals. (Makes 6 servings)

1 large spaghetti squash

2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

Pink sea salt (to taste)

½ lb green beans, blanched

2 cups cherry tomatoes

1 medium zucchini, julienned

1 cup fresh basil

2 cups cilantro, finely chopped

1) Preheat oven to 375°F.  Cut squash in half horizontally and scoop out the seeds. Drizzle with 1 Tbsp olive oil and season with sea salt.

2) Place squash on a baking sheet and roast cut-side down for approximately 1 hour.

3) Separate stems and leaves from basil. Set stems aside for use in turkey sauce and place leaves in a small bowl to use as garnish for final dish.

4) When squash is cooked, use a fork to pull strands away from the sides. Place “spaghetti” strands in a large serving bowl.

5) Fill a pot with 1” filtered water and bring to a gentle boil. Turn off heat, add green beans, and toss gently for 1 minute. Drain and rinse under cool water.

6) Add blanched green beans, cherry tomatoes, and zucchini to the squash. Drizzle with 1 Tbsp of extra-virgin olive oil and season with sea salt.

7) Top with turkey sauce, stir in cilantro, and garnish with coarsely chopped basil leaves.

Turkey Sauce

1 large onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

Pink rock and grey sea salt (to taste)

1 lb ground (organic or free range) turkey

1 bottle whole peeled tomatoes

1 cup fresh basil stems

½ cup pumpkin puree

1) In a saucepan, gently warm onions and garlic with extra-virgin olive oil. Sprinkle with sea salt to taste.

2) Add ground turkey and brown.

3) Crush tomatoes using your hands and add to pan with browned turkey.

4) Simmer for 30 minutes on low heat with basil stems (save basil leaves for garnish or for another dish).

5) Add pumpkin puree and stir until blended.

Available for purchase wherever books are sold, be sure to visit www.mealthatheal.ca to download the free resources I provide to help you start your healing journey with ease. These include the anti-inflammatory food pyramid, a portions guide, and my food journal template. These tools, combined with the book’s recipes, provide everything you need to tame the fire of inflammation and reclaim your health, one delicious bite at a time.

Recipes excerpted from Meals That Heal Inflammation, Completely Updated and Revised Edition by Julie Daniluk. Copyright © 2024 Julie Daniluk. Cover and interior photography by Nat Caron and Walker Jordan.Published by Penguin, an imprint of Penguin Canada, a division of Penguin Random House Canada Limited. Reproduced by arrangement with the Publisher. All rights reserved.