100 longevity recipes from five different regions of the world where people live the longest. The Blue Zones Diet starts each section with an intro about the region and then dives into some tried and true recipes from that region, and tips on cooking and making use of ordinary foods sprinkled throughout the book.
Such an interesting and inspiring concept, and easy recipes to follow – easily one of my favorite, and most used cookbooks 🙂
The Blue Zones Kitchen by Dan Buettner
I first learned about the Blue Zones when a video about Ikaria, Greece came up while scrolling on YouTube. It was a video of Dan Buettner talking about the large amount of centenarians living in this small region of the world, and diving into practices and foods that had contributed to their prolonged wellness.
Along with their active lifestyles (sheepherding at 100 years old!), and a strong sense of community (all generations together dancing and singing while sipping on some good Ikarian wine), the recipes that they used truly fascinated me. Simple, easy, yet so good for you.
After watching that video, I went on a bit of a Dan Buettner deep dive and ended up coming across his debut cookbook, The Blue Zones Kitchen. Immediately I ordered it, and have named it my favorite cookbook since.
Along with Ikaria, Greece, Dan explores Sardinia, Italy, Okinawa, Japan, Nicoya, Costa Rica, and Loma Linda, California. Each chapter begins with an overview of the region, painting a story so personal and detailed of his time in each place that it feels like you’ve traveled there yourself!
It then proceeds with the recipes that each region has highlighted as one of their staples. There is anywhere from fresh Sourdough bread, Mushroom Dashi, Sardinian Lasagna all the way to a 4-ingredient Chocolate Mousse Pie and Homemade Cashew Cream.
At the end, he has some great resources such as “Hot to Cook Beans” as well as a list of the top 5 longevity foods from each region.
Overall, this cookbook is a wealth of knowledge and inspiration – I have incorporated a number of recipes into weekly meals at my house 🙂
Let me know what your takes on The Blue Zones Kitchen are! Had you heard of it before? Comment below, message me on IG or email me! I’d love to hear what you think 🙂
Until next time,
Cristina Marie
