For many working professionals and urban busybodies, lunch is usually a choice between ordering the quickest thing available, reheating last night’s dinner or assembling a slightly dispiriting collection of snacks and calling it a meal.
Eating with inflammation in mind does not require a separate pantry or anti-inflammatory lunch recipes so complex that they’ll lie forgotten in your saved folder. And while there’s no single food that can switch inflammation off, it’s the overall pattern of eating that matters. Harvard Health recommends prioritising largely unprocessed foods such as vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, nuts, seeds and olive oil, many of which are central to a Mediterranean-style diet. Research reviews have also linked greater adherence to this way of eating with improvements in certain markers of inflammation.
In practical terms, that can look like kidney beans spooned over roasted sweet potato, a spinach-packed khichdi or noodles tossed with crunchy vegetables and sesame. These recipes are filling enough to carry you through the afternoon, simple enough for a weekday and most importantly, something you might genuinely look forward to eating.
Read on for seven anti-inflammatory lunch recipes you’ll want to make on repeat.
Turmeric chickpea and vegetable rice bowl
You’ll need:
- ½ cup cooked brown rice
- ½ cup boiled chickpeas
- 1 cup chopped vegetables such as cauliflower, carrot and capsicum
- ¼ tsp turmeric
- ½ tsp cumin powder
- Black pepper
- 1 tsp olive oil
- A squeeze of lemon
- A handful of coriander
- Salt
How to make it:
Toss the vegetables and chickpeas with olive oil, turmeric, cumin, black pepper and salt. Roast or sauté until the vegetables are tender and lightly browned. Spoon them over the rice and finish with lemon and coriander.
Spinach and red lentil khichdi
You’ll need:
- ½ cup rice or millet of your choice
- ½ cup red lentil (masoor dal)
- 1 cup chopped spinach
- 1 small tomato, chopped
- 1 inch ginger, grated
- ¼ tsp turmeric
- ½ tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tsp ghee or oil
- Salt
How to make it:
Add the rice, lentil, tomato, ginger, turmeric, salt and enough water to a pressure cooker or saucepan. Cook until soft. Stir in the spinach and cook for another few minutes. Temper the cumin in ghee or oil and pour it over the khichdi.
Kidney beans and roasted sweet potato chaat
You’ll need:
- ½ cup boiled kidney beans (rajma)
- 1 small sweet potato, cubed
- ½ cucumber, chopped
- ½ tomato, chopped
- ¼ onion, finely sliced
- A handful of coriander
- ½ tsp roasted cumin powder
- A pinch of chaat masala
- Lemon juice
- 1 tsp olive oil
- Salt
How to make it:
Toss the sweet potato with olive oil and roast or air-fry until golden. Combine it with the rajma, cucumber, tomato, onion and coriander. Season with cumin, chaat masala, lemon and salt.
