Summer Anti-Inflammatory Charcuterie Board

The thing I love about charcuterie boards is that they’re like edible works of art. I’m a very visual person, so even if food tastes good, if the presentation is beautiful, it makes it that much better– kinda like how the same gift feels so much more if it’s beautifully wrapped vs presented in a paper bag. 

Presentation goes a long way.

Now to go one step further and get that perfect trifecta for food– it also needs to be healthy. And since we’re all about an anti-inflammatory diet that’s sugar-free and gluten-free, I’m gonna show you how to create a gorgeous summer charcuterie board that’s also anti-inflammatory. 

What is a Charcuterie Board?

We really need to start this conversation out with defining what qualifies a board as “charcuterie”, and how you can make your board anti-inflammatory.

So the word ‘charcuterie’ is actually French and it means “cured meat”. 

And if you know anything about an anti-inflammatory diet, you know that cured and processed meats are a big no-no because they’re usually highly inflammatory.

This obviously poses a challenge when you want to make an anti-inflammatory version of a charcuterie board.

So when you’re making an anti-inflammatory charcuterie board, you have two options:

1-You can find meats that would be great on a board that are NOT cured and don’t have nitrates, OR- you can skip the meats, but just know that this will technically not be a charcuterie board at that point. 

Instead, it would technically be like a veggie or veggie, fruit, and cheese board or any combination of those. 

You can also include any of the meats and then just not partake in those meats in sticking to an anti-inflammatory way of eating.

Or you can purposely decide you’re gonna have a little cheat/treat meal.

You’re a grown adult and I leave it to you to make that decision on your own 😁, but choosing the CORRECT meats per the guidelines I just gave are what will keep the meat-part anti-inflammatory.

2- If you’ve found that you need to be dairy-free to reduce inflammation as well, you can either skip the cheeses, or go for any of the same options I gave for meats. 

Per anti-inflammatory guidelines, choose organic cheese if at all possible, because the fats in the cheese will have better omega 3 to 6 ratios. 

If you want the FULL How to video on creating charcuterie boards, check that out by clicking here: 👇

Summer Anti-Inflammatory Charcuterie Board

Ingredients for a summer anti-inflammatory charcuterie board

Ok, so let’s get to the summer board I made and what summer produce and ingredients I included to make it look like THIS– 

The summer veggies I used were:

• Zucchini
• Summer squash
• Asparagus
• Green onions
• Bell peppers in all different colors

For the cheeses and dips:

• I added 2 different types of cubed cheese
• And I put our homemade ranch dip in the middle to dip veggies in

The summer fruits I used were:

• Cherries
• Blueberries
• Strawberries
• Kiwi
• Mango
• Pineapple
• And watermelon

And then for garnish I used sprigs of:

• Mint and basil

Click the image below to grab the Summer Anti-Inflammatory Meal Prep Guide! 👇

Placing ingredients on the summer anti-inflammatory charcuterie board

So for this board I started out with putting my containers on the board, and I placed the dip right in the middle.

Then I added in the asparagus in a sort of ‘X’ pattern to create some delineation on the board. 

Sometimes just placing little groupings of stuff randomly all over the board can be really pretty, and sometimes creating a pattern or sections can also be really pretty.

So from there, I started with the vegetables and sort of spread them in different sections, trying to balance out the colors all over the board. 

Next, I just flanked the ranch dip with the containers of cheese cubes. You want to get containers on the board first and then work around them.

Next, I added grain-free crackers, and then zucchini, which I rolled from really thin slices, and added some summer squash sticks. 

Next, I put part of the topper of a pineapple in to beef up the decor factor, 

And then added in little watermelon triangles that I cut from three different colors of watermelon. (If you’ve never tried yellow or orange watermelon, I highly recommend it! We were leary because they weren’t the bright pink of traditional watermelon, but they were absolutely delicious!)

Then I added in all three colors of bell peppers, some strawberries, cherries, and tomatoes. These were carefully spread throughout the board to make sure the colors were dispersed enough to make the eye move around. 

I placed the kiwi and mango, which were cut into these cute patterns, then placed the green onions to give a bit more wow factor on the corners.

Next, I added a few little pineapple spears and then filled in all the blank spots with blueberries. 

You don’t want the board showing anywhere if possible. 

And then the very last thing that really gives it a wow factor is to add in sprigs of herbs, so I added my mint on the fruit and the basil in the ranch dip. 

And lastly, I had a bouquet of summer flowers I got from the grocery store and I snipped off a few of the flowers to give the final perfect touches. 

What’s so great about this board is that it’s perfect whether you’re entertaining or just want an easy summer dinner.

Grab the Summer Anti-Inflammatory Meal Prep Guide {click the image below!} 👇

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