The Blue Zones are places where people live 90 to 100 years, and are free of disease.
So the recipes from there are valuable. They give us an insight into what people eat there. What they eat is only part of the story. Their way of life is a big key, too.
Living a long, healthy life sounded good to me. So, for a full year I cooked a Blue Zone recipe each week.
I found which ones were tasty and easy to make. And found others that just didn’t work out (cornmeal pancakes 😕) or were not enjoyable.
After all that research I want to share my favorite Blue Zones recipes so you don’t have to go through the same disappointments I did. The recipes I choose are easy to prepare, plant-based and delicious.
These recipes are adaptations from the bluezones.com website or Blue Zones Cookbook.
See my version of the recipes by clicking on the links below. Enjoy!
1. Five-Ingredient Okinawan Bowl
This recipe is made with buckwheat soba noodles. I hadn’t really worked with soba noodles before, but they are amazing. They are whole grain and just take 4 minutes to cook. There’s only a handful of ingredients in this recipe. So, it instantly became a favorite weeknight meal for me.
2. Better than Takeout Lo Mein
Lo mein is another noodle I’ve never cooked before trying this recipe. But, knowing I can make this, I don’t order Chinese food anymore! This is a healthy stir fry with a ton of vegetables and a flavourful sauce. You can feel better eating this version and not the greasy who-knows-whats-in-it take out version.
3. Vegan Gumbo
This recipe takes a few more ingredients and time to prepare but it lasts for days. It makes a ton so it’s a great meal to share, or take to a pot luck. I love that it’s full of veggies. In just one bowl I can get my 5 to 9 veggies for the day! I love eating it with the vegan cornbread recipe from Loma Linda. Recipe here=> Vegan Cornbread
4. 20-Minute Pumpkin Marinara Pasta
Did you know you could add pumpkin purée to pasta sauce? The result is a creamy sauce without any dairy. The pumpkin naturally sweetens acidic tomatoes, too. I love the balance. Pumpkin adds all kinds of healthy vitamins, and increases the fiber in this pasta dish too. It’s hard for me to NOT like a pasta dish, so this healthy version was a quick favorite for me.
5. Pantry-Style Street Noodles
These noodles are an adaption of street noodles you’d find in Indonesia. I love how it’s packed with flavor, but it’s still healthy. It’s definitely one of those addicting kind of noodle bowls because of the spicy-sweet combo of flavors.
6. Warm Curry Bowl with Cauliflower and Chickpeas
I’m a personal chef. And this is one of my clients’ meal prep favorites. I love making this on a Sunday or in the beginning of the week for myself so I can enjoy it in the days to come. It holds up well and one bowl is all I need to get full.
7. Sardinian Walnut Pesto
Did you know tomatoes don’t come from Italy? The first sauces were pestos made from pine nuts or walnuts like this recipe. Grinding up walnuts and sautéing them in olive oil oddly gives them a meaty, filling mouth feel. In other words, you don’t miss meat. This recipe was a surprise because it’s so minimal, but tasty. The only thing is it doesn’t keep well and should be eaten once it’s made.
8. Greek Island Lentil Salad
I love lentils because they only take about 25 minutes to cook from dried, as opposed to hours for beans. Once you have your cooked lentils, it simply goes on top of your greens. I love making this recipe in the warmer months and keeping it in the fridge when I need a quick lunch or a healthy snack. I like to eat it with sourdough bread or crackers. It always fills me up in a healthy way.
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I hope you enjoy these recipes as much as I did. I hope they inspire you to eat more vegetables. And it saves you the time from experimenting and failing (like I did) with some Blue Zones recipes that need more refining.
People in the blue zones eat an impressive variety of garden vegetables when they are in season, and then they pickle or dry the surplus to enjoy during the off-season. The best-of-the-best longevity foods are leafy greens such as spinach, kale, beet and turnip tops, chard, and collards.
People in the blue zones eat an impressive variety of garden vegetables when they are in season, and then they pickle or dry the surplus to enjoy during the off-season. The best-of-the-best longevity foods are leafy greens such as spinach, kale, beet and turnip tops, chard, and collards.
In blue zones regions, the routine is similar. Ideally, breakfast or the first meal of the day consists of protein, complex carbohydrates (beans or veggies) and plant-based fats (nuts, seeds, oils) and a majority of the day's calories are consumed before noon.
Eggs are consumed in all five Blue Zones diets, where people eat them an average of two to four times per week. Cut down your consumption of cow's milk and dairy products such as cheese, cream, and butter. Try unsweetened soy, coconut, or almond milk as a dairy alternative.
When it comes to whole grains, residents of the Blue Zones often choose oatmeal for breakfast. One of the least processed oatmeal forms, steel-cut oatmeal, is an incredibly filling, high-fiber breakfast option.
Avoid dairy when possible. If cheese is a must, try ice-cube size portions of sheep (pecorino) or goat (feta) cheese to flavor foods. If you eat eggs, limit intake to three times a week.
People in Blue Zones areas eat very little bread, but when they do, they predominantly eat sourdough. Unlike other breads made from white flour, sourdough bread doesn't cause spikes in blood sugar. Substitute sourdough or 100% whole-grain bread for white bread, and be mindful of your serving size.
The diet is mostly plant-based. The daily food intake of people living in Blue Zones is about 95% vegetables, fruits, grains, and legumes. They do not eat much meat, dairy, sugary foods or drinks, and processed food.
People in Blue Zones areas eat meat about once a week and typically their servings are no larger than a deck of cards. Their diets do not include processed meats like hot dogs, bacon, and sausages. Instead, they favor free-range chicken and family-farmed pork or lamb.
For Whole Grains: You can include 100% whole grain pasta and bread in this category, but the whole grains (like the ones listed above) are preferable. For Beans: We include all pulses and legumes in this category, including chickpeas, lentils, broad beans, and green beans.
Minimize your consumption of cow's milk and dairy products such as cheese, cream, and butter. Cow's milk does not figure significantly in any Blue Zones diet except that of the Adventists, some of whom eat eggs and dairy products.
A healthy breakfast on the longevity diet might contain whole grains, nuts, and fruit. Longo himself likes to have friselle, a whole-grain bread from Italy, with a nut spread containing almond and cocoa, as well as an apple.
Full-fat, naturally fermented yogurt with no added sugars is especially prominent in the two Mediterranean Blue Zones: Ikaria, Greece and Sardinia, Italy. The 2 Types of Plant-Based Milk That Folks Living in the Planet's...
Avoid processed meats like hot dogs, luncheon meats, or sausages. In most Blue Zones diets people ate small amounts of pork, chicken, or lamb. (Adventists, the one exception, ate no meat at all.)
It's typical for people who follow the Blue Zones diet to eat three meals a day and maybe a snack or two. Focusing on how hungry or full you feel and making healthy food choices is more important than timing your meals and snacks.
Most food people in the blue zones eat is plant-based and chock full of complex carbohydrates, but there is a little wiggle room for animal proteins. Some fish, meat, and cheese are on the menu, albeit rarely.
Introduction: My name is Aracelis Kilback, I am a nice, gentle, agreeable, joyous, attractive, combative, gifted person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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