30-Day Anti-Inflammatory Meal Plan, Created by a Dietitian

Follow this 30-day meal plan for a month of healthy and delicious anti-inflammatory recipes.

Emily Lachtrupp is a registered dietitian experienced in nutritional counseling, recipe analysis and meal plans. She's worked with clients who struggle with diabetes, weight loss, digestive issues and more. In her spare time, you can find her enjoying all that Vermont has to offer with her family and her dog, Winston.

Elizabeth Ward is a registered dietitian and award-winning nutrition communicator and writer. She has authored or co-authored 10 books for consumers about nutrition at all stages of life.

Growing research, like the 2019 review in Nature Medicine, is linking long-term, chronic inflammation to numerous health conditions, including diabetes, heart disease and arthritis. While genetics plays a role in many of these conditions, increasing foods shown to reduce inflammation and living a healthy lifestyle—like not smoking, getting plenty of quality sleep, reducing stress and exercising regularly—all play a role in reducing inflammation.

How We Create Meal Plans

Registered dietitians thoughtfully create EatingWell’s meal plans to be easy-to-follow and delicious. Each meal plan meets specific parameters depending on the health condition and/or lifestyle goal it is targeting and is analyzed for accuracy using the nutrition database, ESHA Food Processor. As nutritional needs differ from person to person, we encourage you to use these plans as inspiration and adjust as you see fit.

Why This Meal Plan Is Great for You

In this 30-day meal plan, we map out a month of delicious meals and snacks with natural anti-inflammatory foods to help your body. We capped the calories at 1,500 calories a day, which is a level most people will lose weight, about 1 to 2 pounds per week. If 1,500 calories leaves you feeling hungry, try increasing to the 2,000-calorie modification. If you are aiming to gain weight and find the 2,000-calorie modification insufficient, try increasing your intake of the healthy foods in the meal plan until you find a balance that allows for steady progress toward your goals.

This 1,500-calorie meal plan has modifications for 2,000 calories to support those with different calorie needs. While we previously included meal plans and modifications for 1,200 calories, we no longer do. The 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans suggests that limiting your calories to 1,200 per day is too low for most people to meet their nutritional needs, plus it’s unsustainable for long-term health and well-being.

Frequently Asked Questions

We no longer provide modifications for 1,200-calorie days in our meal plans. The 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans suggests that limiting calories to 1,200 per day is too low for most people to meet their nutritional needs, plus it’s unsustainable for long-term health and well-being.

What Is the Anti-Inflammatory Diet?

The anti-inflammatory diet is very similar to the Mediterranean diet, which consistently ranks as one of the healthiest eating patterns due to its numerous health benefits. Both the anti-inflammatory diet and the Mediterranean diet emphasize large amounts of antioxidant-rich produce, like berries and dark leafy greens, plus a relatively high intake of healthy fats and seafood, such as salmon and nuts.

The diet limits refined grains, like white bread and white pasta, high amounts of added sugar and highly processed foods. You won't see a lot of meat, particularly red meat, like beef and pork, but you can expect to see plenty of fish and plant protein, like legumes, nuts and seeds. All of which are ingredients that may be helpful in removing inflammatory triggers, according to a 2023 review by StatPearls.

A 2021 review in Biomedicines also highlighted that the compounds in an anti-inflammatory diet could help reduce chronic inflammation, which can lead to conditions such as cardiovascular disease, autoimmune disease and cancer. It's also a generally healthy way of eating that can benefit everyone due to its high amounts of fresh produce, healthy fats and fiber-rich foods such as whole grains and legumes.

Anti-Inflammatory Foods List

• Fruits: While all fruit is good, be sure to eat plenty of fruits rich in anthocyanins, which are found in dark blue, purple and red produce, like cherries, berries, plums and pomegranate. Fiber-rich fruits, like pears and apples, are great as well!
• Vegetables: The more vegetables the better! Give special attention to dark leafy greens, like spinach and kale, which are particularly rich in nutrients, such as vitamins C and K.
• Whole Grains: Packed with fiber, whole grains like oatmeal, quinoa, whole-wheat pasta and whole-grain bread are included in the anti-inflammatory diet.
• Nuts, Seeds and Healthy Fats: Natural peanut butter and other nut butters, nuts, olive oil, avocado and seeds—including chia and flaxseeds—are staples in this healthy eating plan.
• Fish: Fish, especially salmon, are rich in omega-3 fats, which make them an ideal anti-inflammatory food to focus on.
• Legumes: Legumes, like beans and lentils, are high in fiber and protein, so they help keep you full plus regulate your digestive system.

How to Follow This Meal Plan for 30 Days

To make this plan more manageable, we break it down week-by-week and include meal-prep tips at the start of each week that we encourage you to follow, as it makes each day a bit easier. With that said, don't be afraid to make swaps. If a recipe calls for peanut butter but you have almond butter in the pantry, feel free to make that swap. The same goes for milk—use the milk of your choice but be aware that with the exception of soy milk, plant milks are much lower in protein than dairy milk.

Feel free to change the meals for specific days based on what you prefer or have in the house. We choose an array of meal options to show some different choices that fit within the anti-inflammatory diet, but if you're someone who finds it easier to have the same breakfast for an entire week, then by all means, please do. In our meal plans, we aim to have a similar calorie range for each meal, which means that you can swap recipes for each meal without changing the calorie levels drastically.

And last but not least, don't feel like you have to follow this meal plan for a full 30 days in order to get the anti-inflammatory effects. Use it as healthy eating inspiration and do what feels good to you—whether it's for one meal or one week!

How to Meal-Prep Your Week of Meals:

1. Prepare Chopped Veggie Grain Bowls with Turmeric Dressing to have for lunch on Days 2 through 5.

Day 1

Breakfast (310 calories)

• 1 serving Raspberry-Kefir Power Smoothie
• 1 medium orange