17 Blue Zone Diet Recipes That Make Meals Healthier In 2024 (2024)

FAQs

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.

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.

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.

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.

You can use any type of pasta shape, but to make it totally blue zones, be sure to use pasta made of 100 percent whole wheat. If you are sticking to a gluten-free diet, you can also find pasta made from brown rice or quinoa. You can adjust recipe serving sizes for leftovers (and company!) in your menu.

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.

Blue Zones centenarians typically drink coffee at breakfast, tea in the afternoon, wine at 5pm, and water all day. To live to be 100, keep your beverages simple and avoid sugary beverages like soda and fruit juices.

Grains including oats, barley, brown rice, and ground corn (not so much wheat) play a key role in the world's blue zone diets.

Oatmeal + fruit + nut butter.

The best breakfasts have carbohydrates, protein, healthy fats, and fiber. In this combo, the oatmeal gives you complex carbs and fiber, keeps your blood sugar under control, and helps maintain an ideal balance of bacteria in your gut.

Do Blue Zones eat bread? ›

Whole Grain Bread Made From Whole Wheat, Rye, and/or Barley. In addition to sourdough, many people living in the Blue Zones tend to eat whole grain bread.

Favor beans, greens, yams and sweet potatoes, fruits, nuts, and seeds. Whole grains are okay too. While people in four of the five blue zones consume meat, they do so sparingly, using it as a celebratory food, a small side, or a way to flavor dishes.

Whole, plant-based foods like leafy veggies, fruits, beans, and grains are pervasive in Blue Zones. In contrast, the regional diets tend to avoid processed foods, refined grains, sweet drinks, and added sugar, and incorporate red meat and animal fats like butter sparingly, if at all.

People in Blue Zones areas typically eat an egg every other day, or 3 per week. Favor eggs from cage-free, pastured chickens just like the Blue Zones centenarians. Beans are an important source of protein in the Blue Zones areas with centenarians eating at least one cup of cooked beans daily.

People in most Blue Zones countries do not eat a lot of dairy products. Dairy is high in fat and sugar and is best avoided. Some Blue Zones countries do include sheep or goat dairy, but it is usually eaten in fermented products such as yogurt or cheese.

Turns out, this is similar to the high-protein diet Blue Zone residents follow. They mostly eat beans, legumes, nuts, seeds, and whole grains, incorporating fish, cheese, and eggs on occasion, but not often.