13 Blue Zone Recipes For Health & Longevity | Elizabeth Rider (2024)

13 Blue Zone Recipes For Health & Longevity | Elizabeth Rider (1)

I love finding simple ways to make healthier choices in everyday life, and these Blue Zones recipes check all of the boxes.

Plus, if these choices help us live to be 100 years old, that sounds pretty great to me!

Blue Zones are areas around the world where people tend to live the longest. They don’t just have longer lifespans, they have longer healthspans, which means they are healthy and able-bodied for much of their lives, even into their elder years.

Introducing these Blue Zone recipes into your kitchen is easier than you may think.

What Are The Blue Zones?

The idea of a longevity diet has intrigued researchers for years as they’ve tried to nail down why people in some parts of the world live longer than others.

Even more, people in these areas do not focus on strict dieting. They focus on whole, regional food and nothing is off limits so long as it doesn’t come from a lab.

The term “Blue Zone” first appeared in a National Geographic story by author Dan Buettner back in 2005 called, “The Secrets of a Long Life.” He coined the term and has done wonderful work to educate people about the benefits of the Blue Zones’ way of eating.

The article highlighted five places around the world with the highest number of centenarians or people who live to be 100+ years old.

The 5 Blue Zones Are:

  • Sardinia, Italy
  • Okinawa, Japan
  • Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica
  • Ikaria, Greece
  • Loma Linda, California (specifically, a group of Seventh-day Adventists)

Food Secrets of Blue Zones

What do people eat in the Blue Zones? Some of the basic food secrets of Blue Zones include:

  • regularly eating legumes like chickpeas, beans, and lentils, up to 1 cup every day
  • eating whole, unprocessed grains; choose sourdough or 100% whole wheat breads
  • eating fresh, local vegetables or greens daily
  • moderately consuming healthy fats from foods like olive oil, fish, unprocessed dairy, and some meats
  • minimizing (but not eliminating) meat & dairy, meat and/or dairy is often consumed as a celebratory food or a small side dish; it’s also used to flavor other dishes
  • walking a lot; natural movement is part of daily life in the Blue Zones with no gyms necessary
  • red wine is consumed in moderation; however, if you don’t drink there’s no reason to start
  • enjoying food and meals with family and friends; community is key and perhaps even more important than some food choices

The Mediterranean Diet is a good representation of foods popular among the longest-lived people. It’s centered around fresh ingredients that are readily available instead of processed foods that are popular in many modern households.

Something I love about the concept of “The Blue Zone Diet” is that nothing is off the table. It has nothing to do with being gluten-free, dairy-free, or vegan. All things are ok in moderation, as long as they didn’t come from a lab and you’re not allergic to it.

Fish is fine. So is alcohol, especially red wine, when consumed in moderation. However, the majority of the diet is plant-based.

What is the best thing about Blue Zone recipes? The best thing about Blue Zone recipes is that they’re easy and full of whole foods. Ingredients are locally sourced with an emphasis on fresh fruits and vegetables.

Top 13 Blue Zone Recipes

Easy Baked Lemon Garlic Salmon Recipe

This easy-baked lemon garlic salmon recipe is melt-in-your-mouth delicious and requires just a few ingredients. Get ready to fall in love with your new favorite (Blue Zone Recipe Approved!) weeknight dinner.

Anti-Inflammatory Turmeric Tea Recipe (Golden Milk)

This turmeric tea, or golden milk for its bright yellow color, is all about healing inflammation and bringing a moment of mindfulness to your day. Reducing stress is a cornerstone of Blue Zone lifestyles.

This tea’s anti-inflammatory properties have proven health benefits going back to ancient India. It’s delicious, too. If you like chai tea lattes, you’ll love golden milk. I go for plant-based milk to cut any bitterness and to keep this one dairy-free.

In the Blue Zones, turmeric is a big part of Okinawan diets, used in everything from their teas to spice in their daily meals. We like to sip a small cup (3-4 ounces) before bed.

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How to Make Chia Pudding

While chia seeds do not originate from one of the 5 Blue Zones, they are still considered Blue Zone approved! Chia seeds are high in protein, full of fiber, and a great source of plant-based omega-3 fatty acids. Plus, chia seed pudding is easy and delicious.

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Pineapple Spinach Smoothie Recipe

This spinach smoothie is not only good for you, but it’s also absolutely delicious! It’s packed with vitamin C, essential minerals, fiber, plant enzymes, and hydration. If you love it please leave a star rating in the comments below to help other readers in our community.

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Easy Rainbow Fruit Salad Recipe

This easy fruit salad recipe is quick to make and full of nutrients and flavor. Plus, it’s beautiful. It’s a Blue Zone recipe that everyone will love.

Healthy Mango, Avocado & Cucumber Salad

I Can’t. Stop. Eating. This. Mango, Avocado & Cucumber Salad. The flavors and textures in this salad are perfectly balanced, which is pretty exciting because it’s as good for you as it is delicious. Not only does it taste great, but this flavor-packed saladis ultra-hydrating, making it perfect to eat all year long.

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Everyone’s Favorite Vegetarian Chili Recipe

This classic vegetarian chili is a cool-weather staple in our house. It’s also super flexible! Add extra chopped carrots or peppers (or veggies), or an extra can of beans if you’d like. Top with your favorite chili toppings and you have a perfect meal (with leftovers for days). Minimize the cheese and sour cream to use this as a Blue Zone Recipe.

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Kale & Sweet Potato Hash Recipe For A 15-Minute Healthy Breakfast

Once you get the hang of how quick and easy this Kale & Sweet Potato Hash recipe is you’llwonder why you haven’t been making it for years. I usually have a smoothie for breakfast, but when I’m craving something warm and savory this is one of my healthy go-to’s.

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Layered Ratatouille Recipe {It’s Easy!}

This gorgeous, good-for-you baked ratatouille dish is super easy to make! I cook it low and slow for the best texture, but the hands-on time is minimal. Serve it warm out of the oven with a crusty baguette on the side – and maybe a sprinkling of fresh Parmaman cheese. Or try it over quinoa or farro. It’s delicious when paired with a cooked protein, like roast chicken.

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Loaded Veggie Hummus Wrap: The Perfect Lunch

This Loaded Veggie Hummus Wrap Recipe makes 2 to 4 (or more) wraps depending on how big your veggies are when you chop them. Be creative and use what you have on hand. Try to combine smooth textures with crunch textures, and don’t forget to dress your greens before adding them.

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Easy, Healthy Minestrone Soup Recipe

It doesn’t get any more Blue Zone Recipe approved than a big bowl of vegetarian minestrone soup! This soup is packed with healthy veggies and beans. Use whole wheat pasta noodles if you prefer to keep it ultra-healthy.

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Easy Red Lentil Soup with Lemon

This traditional red lentil soup recipe with lemon is the best lentil soup we’ve ever tried! It’s full of nutrients, fiber, protein, and hydration. You’ll want to make it over and over again.

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Buddha Bowl Recipe with Spicy Black Beans

We love this spicy black bean Buddha Bowl when we have extra rice or beans in the refrigerator to use up. The ingredients are flexible—add more or less of whatever you have on hand. This recipe is a great way to create your own Blue Zone Recipe and use up any rice, beans, quinoa or veggies that you already have prepared.

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A Final Word On Blue Zone Recipes

The Blue Zone diet is less about a diet overhaul and more about embracing the freshness around you. Eat local, recipe-planning based on what’s in season, and you’ll find yourself in line with those Blue Zone principles almost accidentally.

Personally, I love that it’s about looking at the whole person and reducing stress not only through food but through your mindset. That idea of little changes that connect back to an overall healthier lifestyle is something I explore in my book, The Health Habit.

What are your favorite Blue Zone strategies? Have you tried any of these recipes? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments!

13 Blue Zone Recipes For Health & Longevity | Elizabeth Rider (2024)

FAQs

What are the longevity foods in the Blue Zone? ›

The best-of-the-best longevity foods are leafy greens such as spinach, kale, beet and turnip tops, chard, and collards. Combined with seasonal fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and beans dominate blue zones meals all year long. Many oils derive from plants, and they are all preferable to animal-based fats.

What do Blue Zones eat for breakfast? ›

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.

Do Blue Zones eat eggs? ›

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.

Which foods are considered the 4 pillars of the longevity diet? ›

“The five pillars of every longevity diet, including the blue zone, are whole grains, vegetables in season, tubers, nuts and beans. In fact, I argue the cornerstone of a longevity diet is beans.”

Do Blue Zones eat cheese? ›

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.

Do Blue Zones eat bread? ›

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.

What is the number one food for longevity? ›

In fact, a 2022 research review found that diets with moderate to high levels of carbohydrates were associated with longevity—but only if they were unrefined carbohydrates (think: whole and minimally processed plant foods like vegetables, fruits, legumes, and whole grains).

What are the 5 foods to avoid for a long life? ›

Here are eight foods that you should cut down on (or avoid eating altogether) as you get older, and why:
  • Raw or undercooked eggs, meat and poultry. ...
  • Grapefruit. ...
  • High-sodium foods. ...
  • Caffeine. ...
  • Sodas and sugary drinks. ...
  • “Sugar-free” drinks. ...
  • Alcoholic beverages. ...
  • Foods with empty calories.
Jul 24, 2022

What is the number one healthiest breakfast? ›

10 Best Healthy Breakfast Foods to Eat
  • Quinoa Breakfast Bowl.
  • Savory Oatmeal Bowl.
  • Kefir Smoothie.
  • Avocado Toast.
  • Tofu Scramble.
  • Greek Yogurt Parfait.
  • Whole-Grain Waffles (or Pancakes) with Fruit and Greek Yogurt.
  • The Bottom Line.
Sep 24, 2023

Do Blue Zones drink coffee? ›

In addition to a daily cup of coffee, blue zones centenarians drink water, tea and wine. While coffee is often a hotly-debated health topic, it's shown to carry many health benefits. Most centenarians in blue zones regions drink up to two or three cups of black coffee per day!

Is peanut butter on the Blue Zone diet? ›

Let's take a minute to celebrate peanut butter — if you're looking for the perfect blue zones lunch, this is where it's at. You can just do bread and peanut butter (which I like), or you can add some thinly-sliced banana, or you could add a natural, no-sugar-added jam (in place of typical highly-processed grape jelly).

Do Blue Zones eat pasta? ›

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.

Do Blue Zone people eat tomatoes? ›

Consider roasting them as a side or filling them with other vegetables and grains, like quinoa and tomatoes. The blue zone way of eating is not a strict diet, but a lesson in how combining flavorful, inexpensive whole, plant-based foods can be tasty and contribute to your longevity.

What is the healthiest breakfast for longevity? ›

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.

What are two meals a day for longevity? ›

If you are overweight or tend to gain weight easily, consume two meals a day: breakfast and either lunch or dinner, plus two low-sugar (less than 5 grams) snacks with fewer than 100 calories each.

What fruit is best for longevity? ›

Papaya has a reputation for such a trove of health benefits it's been called the “fruit of long life.” It's listed as one of the “longevity superfoods” eaten in the Blue Zones — places around the world where people live extraordinarily long and healthy lives.

What single food can you survive on the longest? ›

It is argued that the single, most complete food a human needs to survive is human breast milk. Other foods may be nutritious but inevitably lack certain vitamins, minerals, etc.

What food makes you live to 120? ›

The researcher eats a plant-rich diet that includes seafood three times a week. Fish is one source of protein, though his main source comes from legumes, including chickpeas or lentils or black beans. He also recommends lots of whole grains, vegetables and generous amounts of olive oil — 3 tablespoons per day.

What meat do Blue Zones eat? ›

Instead, they favor free-range chicken and family-farmed pork or lamb. Try to reduce portions of meat in each meal so they are more in line with those eaten in Blue Zones areas (the size of a deck of cards), or pick one day each week to go meatless and work on expanding from there.

What dairy do Blue Zones eat? ›

One cup of cooked kale or two-thirds of a cup of tofu, for instance, provides just as much bioavailable calcium as a cup of milk. Small amounts of sheep's milk or goat's milk products—especially full-fat, naturally fermented yogurt with no added sugars—a few times weekly are okay in a Blue Zones diet.

What do Blue Zones eat for dessert? ›

Desserts?
  • Churro Waffle Sticks with Date Caramel Dip.
  • Almond-Spiced Pear Crisp.
  • Cocoa-Avocado Mousse with Strawberries.
  • Pumpkin Oat Cookies.
  • Breakfast Cookies (we like to add chocolate chips & walnuts!)
  • Blueberry Molasses Breakfast Cake.
  • Almost Raw Apple Crisp.
  • Chocolate Coconut Pudding.
Oct 30, 2020

Do Blue Zones eat olive oil? ›

The Blue Zone diet emphasizes plant-based foods, low-calorie foods, and high-fat foods like olive oil and fatty fish.

What foods turn on longevity genes? ›

NutrientFood Source
MethionineSesame seeds, Brazil nuts, fish, peppers, spinach
Folic acidLeafy vegetables, sunflower seeds, baker's yeast, liver
Vitamin B12Meat, milk, shellfish, liver
Vitamin B6Meat, whole grains, vegetables, nuts
7 more rows

What diet has the longest life expectancy? ›

Follow a mostly plant-based diet – Blue Zone centenarians follow a predominantly plant-based diet, eating 95-100% plant-based. They primarily eat a variety of in-season fresh vegetables and fruits, whole grains and beans.

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