3 Awesome Anti-Inflammatory Breakfast Recipes
Inflammation is more than just a buzzword. It’s a chronic problem when it comes to health and many people suffer from inflammation in the body on a day-to-day basis. Everything from joint paint and ongoing headaches, to more pronounced conditions like heart disease, type 2 diabetes, autoimmune disorders and more can be signs of inflammation in the body.
Breakfast is a key element to immune system support, blood sugar stabilization and fueling up your body for the day. Processed sugars trigger the release of inflammatory messengers called cytokines, and foods high in sugar and saturated fat can spur inflammation. A cup of coffee and a bagel or skipping breakfast isn’t going to energize, empower or heal the inflammation that you may be dealing with (or that you may not yet see!), or help strengthen your immune system.
Skipping breakfast or poor eating habits deprive your body of the fuel it needs to function properly. When we don’t fill our stomach with foods that contain protein, good fats, vitamin and minerals that support health, our body has nothing to run on and that can lead to trouble. We typically wake up with low blood sugar. If we don’t choose foods that raise it gently (protein, fat, fibre) and instead select foods that spike it (bagel, sugary cereal, muffins), it will lead to increased stress and inflammation due to cortisol spikes, greater hunger and increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes and heart disease.
Reducing inflammation in the body starts with a nourishing breakfast. Here are three delicious anti-inflammatory breakfast recipes to start your day.
1.Energizing Pineapple Anti-Inflammatory Smoothie
Image: iStock/boyarkinamarina
Why it’s good for inflammation: Pineapple contains bromelain, a type of proteolytic enzyme which helps the body fight inflammation. Turmeric and ginger are anti-inflammatory as well, while the chia seeds contain important omega 3 fatty acids. Omega 3s are essential fats the body cannot produce on its own and must get from food. They are an important part of cell membranes and are involved with the action of hormones that regulate inflammation. Immune supportive, blood sugar stabilizing protein powder rounds out this smoothie to offer you a powerhouse morning start.
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Energizing Pineapple Anti-Inflammatory Smoothie
- Total Time: 10 mins
- Yield: 1 1x
Ingredients
- 1 cup brewed and cooled green tea
- 2 cups spinach or kale
- 1 cup frozen pineapple chunks
- 2/3 cup cucumber, peeled and cut into large chunks)
- ½ cup frozen mango chunks
- ½ of a medium banana, peeled
- 1/2” fresh ginger – peeled and cut from stalk (about ½ tsp)
- ¼ tsp ground turmeric
- 3 mint leaves – rough chopped
- 1 scoop protein powder
- 1 Tbsp chia seeds
- 4–5 ice cubes (or more or less to personal desired consistency)
Instructions
- Combine all the ingredients, except the chia seeds, in a high speed blender.
- Add chia seeds at the end of the blending process so they don’t stick to the blender container.
- If you like your smoothie thicker, add ice cubes and blend until desired consistency is met.
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Category: Beverage
2. Avocado Toast with Egg
Image: iStock/Vladislav Nosick
Why it’s good for inflammation: Eggs sometimes get a bad rap, but when you buy pastured (not pasteurized) eggs they are a great source of protein that provides vitamin B12, selenium and healthy omega-3 fats. Protein helps to stabilize blood sugar, B12 keeps your nerves and red blood cells healthy and selenium is an antioxidant that protects cells from damage caused by inflammation.
Ghee is wonderful for our digestive tract, a major part of our immune system. Digestive problems are linked to allergies, arthritis, autoimmune disease, dementia, cancer and more. A healthy gut is better at nutrient absorption and fighting toxins, both of which are good for reducing inflammation. Avocados contain healthy fats that protect against inflammation, while the addition of dark leafy greens provide a wide range of health-supportive phytonutrients.
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Avocado Toast with Egg
- Total Time: 13 mins
- Yield: 1 1x
Ingredients
- 1 slice of gluten-free bread, toasted
- 1 1/2 tsp ghee
- 1/2 an avocado
- Handful of spinach
- 1 egg, poached or scrambled
- Red pepper flakes
- This combination is simple to create.
Instructions
- Toast the gluten-free bread and top with ghee.
- Spread the avocado onto the toast. Place fresh spinach leaves on top of the avocado and then top all with a poached or scrambled egg and finish it off with a sprinkle of red pepper flakes.
- Enjoy open faced with a fork and knife, or add a second piece of toast to make it a sandwich.
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Cook Time: 8 mins
- Category: Breakfast
3. Quinoa Chia Porridge
Image: iStock/VeselovaElena
Why it’s good for inflammation: This recipe is a bowlful of warm goodness! Quinoa and nuts offer anti-inflammatory and blood-sugar stabilizing protein, the cashews offer creaminess and cinnamon also helps to blood sugar and reduce our inflammatory load. Add in some antioxidants and chia seeds to complete the wow factor for this breakfast. What better way to start your morning?
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Chia Quinoa Porridge
- Total Time: 7 mins
- Yield: 2 1x
Ingredients
- 1 cup thick cashew milk
- 2 cups cooked quinoa
- 1 cup fresh organic blueberries (or frozen)
- ¼ cup toasted walnuts
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- 2 tsp raw honey
- 1 Tbsp chia seeds
Instructions
- Combine the quinoa and cashew milk in a saucepan and slowly warm over medium low heat.
- Stir in blueberries, cinnamon and walnuts until all are evenly warmed. Remove from heat and stir in raw honey. Top with chia seeds.
- Serve in bowls and top with raw cacao nibs for an added pop of antioxidants.
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Cook Time: 2 mins
- Category: Breakfast
These are just a few of the many ways you can start your day with nutrition that fights inflammation. What is your favorite breakfast food? I’d love to hear from you in the comments below. Wishing you a day full of happy, healthy eating!
Header image: iStock/tvirbickis
Wonderful! Thank-you for this…I am finding breakfast the most challenging meal to make anti-inflammatory.
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Lovely Sunday breakfast :) <3
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Not on only healing but flavoursome! Yum! Thank you for sharing.
Hard to find a good breakfast….Love all of these
Easy and delicious! Thank you 😊
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Struggling what to have for breakfast on my toast
The avocado + egg toast recipe above is great. You could add hummus + greens, mashed sweet potato + hemp seeds, or this chocolate spread: https://www.culinarynutrition.com/hemp-chocolate-spread-recipe/. There are also a ton of great recipes in this post: https://www.culinarynutrition.com/12-vegan-breakfast-ideas-that-arent-cereal-or-toast/
Can not thank you enough for this posting ! Who knew making breakfast without all that sugar could actually be good ???? What a blessing this is and my family LIKES it ! Husbands gout GONE wooooohoooooo ✋️
Excellent tasting and very healthy. Enjoying these breakfasts regularly
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I am interested because I have change my diet, thank you for your delicious recipes!
Hello,
Thank you for these suggestions! Cannot wait to try. I was just wondering if you could recommend healthy gluten free bread options. Thank you so much!
Hi Meagan! Yes, we have a bunch of awesome gluten-free bread recipes in this post: https://www.culinarynutrition.com/20-best-gluten-free-bread-recipes/
But I don’t eat bread or toast because if the carb that cause inflammation. Is there a bread/ toast substitute?
Hi Virginia! Yes, there are a bunch of bread alternatives here: https://www.culinarynutrition.com/6-awesome-bread-alternatives/
Love the breakfast suggestions, especially the smoothie. But without providing nutritional info, ie. amount of carbs, I consider these too high for my husband who is Type 2 diabetic.
I wanted to ask what protein powder do you recommend to add to smoothie?
Thank you & by the way luv your easy breakfast recipes. 😋
Collagen powder is flavourless and very easy to blend, so that’s a good option (unless you are a vegan). For more comprehensive protein powder formulas, one of our instructors Josh Gitalis has a full guide to protein powders (vegan and non-vegan) here: https://www.joshgitalis.com/your-definitive-guide-to-protein-powders/. There are many flavours and textures of protein powders, so a lot of it has to do with personal taste preferences too.
I’m gather ingredients to make this. Do you recommend refrigerated cashew milk or is there a different product that you used?
We like to make nut milk at home, as it’s simple, tasty and there is less packaging waste (you can learn how to do that here: https://www.culinarynutrition.com/make-nut-milk/). However, it’s up to you what nut/seed milk you use! If you already have cashew milk or another carton in your fridge, then use what you have first.
Already tried 2 of this recipes and loved them so delicious and satisfying. Question about the CHIA QUINOA PORRIDGE is this recipe 1 or 2 servings?
Hello Marsh! We’re thrilled that you are loving these recipes. The quinoa porridge recipe is for 2 servings.