Salads serve as great appetizers before full-course fancy meals, good options to boost digestion after eating, and quick, nutritious lunch ideas for when you’re super busy. Paired with all these amazing benefits, a salad can also offer incredible anti-inflammatory properties. With an anti-inflammatory salad, your body can detoxify and fight inflammation naturally — all while incorporating fresh and clean ingredients into your diet.
So, without further ado, let’s learn an easy anti-inflammatory salad recipe to give your body a much-needed immunity boost.
What Is An Anti-Inflammatory Diet?
An anti-inflammatory diet focuses on unprocessed and antioxidant-rich foods. You won’t see much of refined grains or added sugars. Fruits, vegetables, fish, poultry, whole grains, etc., are all part of this diet. “No one food reduces inflammation, but building a healthy dietary pattern can help lower your risk of inflammatory disease and transform your health,” says Lara Snead, clinical dietitian at Suburban Hospital.
Benefits of An Anti-Inflammatory Diet
- Lowers blood pressure
- Boosts mental health
- Reduces chronic inflammation
- Slows down ageing
- Aids in weight loss
Types of Anti-Inflammatory Foods
An anti-inflammatory diet offers enough options to provide a balanced diet without boring your meals.
- Nuts – almonds and other nuts.
- Spices – turmeric, cinnamon, etc.
- Healthy fats – avocado oil, olive oil.
- Vegetables – broccoli, kale, cabbage, cauliflower.
- Fatty fish – herring, salmon, mackerel.
- Peppers – chili and bell peppers.
- Chocolate – dark chocolate.
Inflammatory Foods To Avoid
- Red meat – steaks
- Processed meats – hot dogs and bacon
- Sweet baked goods
- Foods made of white bread or white flour
- Sodas
- Ready-to-eat meals
For the full anti-inflammatory foods list check out our full article and the anti-inflammatory foods list.
Anti-Inflammatory Salad Ingredients
The ingredient list of the anti-inflammatory salad recipe keeps your diet on the right line while giving your taste buds a delicious treat.
Ingredients For The Body
- Curly kale (chopped and stems removed)
- Purple cabbage (shredded)
- Carrots (shredded)
- Red bell pepper (diced)
- Walnuts
- Fresh cilantro (chopped)
Ingredients For The Dressing
- Olive oil
- Apple cider vinegar
- Agave nectar or maple syrup
- Ground turmeric
- Ground ginger
- Sea salt
How To Make This Anti-Inflammatory Salad
Simple ingredients, easy steps, and mouthwatering results: Our anti-inflammatory salad recipe proves an anti-inflammatory diet doesn’t have to be bland or boring.
- Prepare the dressing. Combine olive oil, agave or maple syrup, apple cider vinegar, a pinch of salt, turmeric and ground ginger. Shake until emulsified.
- Prepare the body. Toss in the chopped kale, shredded purple cabbage, shredded carrots, diced red bell pepper, walnuts, and cilantro in a large bowl.
- Mix, mix, mix. Pour the dressing over the salad body and thoroughly stir to combine the ingredients.
- Serve & enjoy. Refrigerate the salad for about 30 minutes. Serve and enjoy.
FAQs
Let’s answer a few frequently asked questions to transform your anti-inflammatory salad into a heaven of bliss and benefits.
Which vegetables are anti-inflammatory?
To make the anti-inflammatory salad more appropriate for the particular diet you’re following, playing around with different anti-inflammatory vegetables in the recipe is a great idea.
- Tomatoes
- Mushrooms
- Garlic
- Carrots
- Spinach
- Arugula
How many people does the anti-inflammatory salad recipe serve?
The anti-inflammatory salad recipe serves 4 people. You can share it at lunch with your family or at work with friends.
How do you store the anti-inflammatory salad?
In case you don’t have enough time to prepare a fresh anti-inflammatory salad bowl from scratch daily, batch preparing is a simple solution. Store the dressing and the body separately and mix them together before consuming. You can also store the fully prepared salad in an airtight container. It will stay crispy for up to 5 days.
Alternative Ingredients
The anti-inflammatory salad recipe is customizable to suit your liking. You can swap out:
- Cabbage for spinach
- Walnuts for almonds
- Apple cedar vinegar for white vinegar
- Ground turmeric for saffron
Being a wholesome and fulfilling meal, the anti-inflammatory salad is set to delight your appetite and nourish your body — whether you’re following a strict anti-inflammatory diet or just looking to introduce more greens to your diet for a healthier lifestyle!
Anti Inflammatory Salad with turmeric dressing
Ingredients
- 3 cups curly kale, stems removed
- 2 cups shredded purple cabbage
- 1 cup shredded carrots
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 1/2 cup crushed walnuts
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
For the dressing
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tbsp agave nectar or maple syrup
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
- 1/4 tsp ground ginger
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine extra virgin olive oil, apple cider vinegar , agave or maple syrup a pinch of salt, turmeric and ground ginger.
- Add the chopped kale, shredded purple cabbage, shredded carrots, diced red bell pepper, walnuts and cilantro to a large bowl.
- Pour the dressing over the salad and stir well to combine.
