The Complete Anti-Inflammatory Diet for Beginners: A No-Stress Meal Plan with Easy Recipes to Heal the Immune System

I purchased this book about a year ago when I was looking to incorporate more anti-inflammatory foods into my diet, and it’s become a go-to resource in my kitchen. What makes this book practical: The recipes are straightforward and don’t require culinary expertise. Calimeris and Cook keep things simple, which is exactly what you need when you’re trying to change your eating habits. I’ve found that I can get dinner on the table without spending hours in the kitchen or stressing over complicated techniques. The biggest selling point for me is that the ingredients are accessible. You won’t find yourself hunting down expensive or obscure specialty items at health food stores. Most of what you need is available at regular grocery stores, which makes actually following through with the recipes much more realistic. This is a huge difference from other “healthy eating” cookbooks I’ve tried where half the ingredients required a special trip to Whole Foods and cost a fortune. The recipes also taste good! Some times transitioning to healthy eating is tough. But this cookbook makes it easy. I found myself craving some of the meals I made. A feature I really appreciate: Each recipe includes tips at the bottom that offer variations and substitution ideas. This is incredibly helpful because it means you’re not locked into one exact version of a recipe. If you don’t have a particular ingredient or want to adjust based on what’s in your fridge or your personal preferences, the authors give you guidance on how to modify the recipe while keeping it anti-inflammatory. It makes the book even more flexible and user-friendly. How I’ve used it: Over the past year, I’ve gone back to this book regularly. It’s not sitting on my shelf collecting dust - I actually cook from it. The recipes are varied enough that I don’t get bored, and they’re practical enough that I can incorporate them into my weekly meal planning. Worth noting: This is geared toward beginners, so if you’re already well-versed in anti-inflammatory eating and have an extensive collection of recipes, this might be too basic for you. But if you’re just starting out or want reliable, simple recipes, it’s perfect. Bottom line: If you want to eat more anti-inflammatory meals without breaking the bank or spending all day in the kitchen, this cookbook delivers. The accessible ingredients, easy-to-follow recipes, and helpful variation tips make it sustainable for everyday cooking, not just occasional healthy meals. A solid investment that I’ve gotten plenty of use from over the past year.

The Complete Anti-Inflammatory Diet for Beginners is an absolute gem for anyone looking to eat healthier without feeling overwhelmed. The book is super approachable—no complicated jargon, no intimidating meal plans, just simple, easy-to-follow guidance. The recipes are delicious, practical, and use ingredients that are easy to find. I especially love that the meal plan is “no-stress”—it gives structure without feeling rigid, so it’s easy to stick with. The tips on anti-inflammatory foods, portioning, and cooking methods are practical and informative, making it a great resource for beginners. Whether you’re new to anti-inflammatory eating or just looking for simple, tasty recipes to support your health, this book is a must-have. Clear, helpful, and genuinely inspiring—highly recommend!

I’ve really enjoyed this cookbook—it’s both informative and inspiring. It starts with a clear explanation of inflammation, how it can be beneficial or harmful, and its links to various health conditions. I appreciated the practical advice on how anti-inflammatory foods can support healing and long-term health. The 2 week meal plan, complete with grocery lists and meal prep tips 🎉, is honestly why I bought the book. I haven’t fully dived in to it yet due to the holiday chaos but so far I’ve tried a few random recipes, and they’ve all been fantastic! My only complaint is the lack of pictures. As a visual learner, I like to see what the food should look like (before I mess it up), but none of the recipes include photos. If I could, I would give it 4.5 stars only for the lack of photos! Overall, it’s a wonderful guide for anyone looking to eat healthier and reduce inflammation. I’m excited to try more recipes when life slows down!

I bought this book to help my husband who has inflammation issues. I myself have a gluten allergy and have been gluten free for many years. This is the first cookbook that I’ve purchased that I really LOVE. As of this writing, I’ve made 18 of theses recipes so far that are delicious. And some that I’ve already repeated. I love the fact that meat recipes are included. It’s not just for vegetarians or vegans. Most of the meat recipes are for fish and chicken, with a few for pork tenderloin, 1 ground beef and 1 steak. Also, almost every recipe is gluten free. And those that are not, have a tip to make them gluten free. For instance, swapping out regular pasta for gluten free, or gluten free toast for whole wheat. Another great feature is that all of these recipes are easy, and except for spices, have only 5 easy to find ingredients. No fancy expensive ingredients to buy. I like that the book gives you a 2week meal plan with a shopping list and an optional weekly prep guide. It’s very well laid out and easy to follow. However, because there are a few recipes with ingredients that I don’t like (beets for instance), I decided not to follow the weekly meal plans at first. Instead I picked out a few recipes I wanted to try, and kept a list of the ones that we really liked as we tried them. For the recipes we didn’t like, which were only a few, we substituted a recipe we did like. This allowed us to make our own meal plan. The beginning of this book explains inflammation and gives you a list of foods to enjoy, foods to consider with care, and foods to avoid. This book focuses on healthy fats, gluten free grains, veggies, low sugar fruits, seeds, legumes and anti-inflamatory spices like turmeric, ginger, rosemary and more. So, has it helped my husband with his inflammation issues? It sure has. He has bad shoulder issues and following this diet has given him a greater range of motion in the shoulder and a lot less pain throughout the day. For me, I’ve discovered that having less dairy (can anyone say cheese please!) has helped me feel less bloated and I’ve lost a little weight. Here are my top pros & cons. Pros: Gluten free Easy recipes that don’t involve a lot of hard to find ingredients and are quick to make The book is well laid out High hit-rate of great tasting recipes Includes both a recipe index and a full index Priced right Cons: Wish it came in a spiral bound version (but mine has held up very well so far) There are some pictures but could have included more A few of the breakfast recipes were bland, so stick to the ones you try that you like

I’m knocking off stars because this book is more of a starvation diet than a healthy lifestyle change. The first part of the book leads you into thinking that you will develop a healthy relationship with food by using mindfulness and choosing more whole foods rather than processed foods to reduce inflammation. It goes on and on about how you will receive some amazing overall health benefits. One of the authors is said to be a dietitian, but even when looking at the first week of planned meals I could tell this book was misleading for healthy lifestyle changes. Most, if not all, of the meals are under 500 calories, which is fine if you’re eating snacks or other things throughout the day, but the book doesn’t include snacks into its meal plans. The calories on the first day are less than 1,200 - it’s well known that eating under 1,200 is not healthy- it’s not enough energy for an adult. For some of the breakfasts you only consume a smoothie that is 120 calories with no protein. 120 calories won’t have me feeling full for 4 hours until lunch, or energetic like the book claims. On the weekends you’re again starving yourself for an unknown reason, you get a small breakfast, a snack of veggies for lunch, and dinner. Saturday week 1 adds up to 910 calories… I get it, most people eat more calories than they need but starving yourself isn’t the way to decrease inflammation or form healthy eating habits. The recipes are fine and can be used as a guide to increase more whole foods in a diet and maybe reduce inflammation, but it leaves the reader needing to find alternatives to appropriate macros and calorie consumption. I’m not an expert, but I’ve learned enough over the years to know that starving yourself isn’t the answer.

Has great applicable information right at the start. Easy to follow -easy to read -really great book for learning about the subject without it being too .scientific and dense.

Good ideas for beginners, several simple recipes, good flavors. Love it!

There is so much useful information in here if you’re just getting started. Love that there are meal prep plans by the week. This has been such a great tool.