20+ Blue Zone Soup Recipes (2024)

FAQs

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.

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.

People in Blue Zones areas eat whole foods. Whole foods are not processed in factories—they're made with ingredients that are recognizable as coming from the earth, like rice, corn, soy, fruits, and vegetables, or prepared food like tofu or manna bread.

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.

The only food which comes close to being something you could survive on long term as a sole ingredient is the potato. The fact that the potato has Vitamin C means that scurvy is not a risk like it would be with almost any other food source lacking in this nutrient.

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. People in Blue Zones areas typically eat an egg every other day, or 3 per 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.

Still, you can remain optimistic if the idea of nixing cheese from your diet is too much to bear. It turns out that grass-fed goat cheese and sheep cheese figure into the diets of two Blue Zones—aka regions of the world where people live the longest.

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.

What kind of bread do they eat in Blue Zones? ›

People in Sardinia's Blue Zones eat Sourdough everyday. Low in gluten it also lowers glycemic load of your entire meal by up to 25%. That means, your calories are more likely to be used for energy than belly fat.

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.

The best of the best longevity foods in the Blue Zones diet are leafy greens such as spinach, kale, beet and turnip tops, chard, and collards. In Ikaria more than 75 varieties of edible greens grow like weeds; many contain ten times the polyphenols found in red wine.

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.

Still, you can remain optimistic if the idea of nixing cheese from your diet is too much to bear. It turns out that grass-fed goat cheese and sheep cheese figure into the diets of two Blue Zones—aka regions of the world where people live the longest.

Eat four to six servings of vegetables a day – blue zone diets typically include two servings per meal. Eat more beans, which are a powerhouse source of nutrition and protein in the blue zones areas. Try making tofu — not meat — the focus of your lunches and dinners.