20+ Blue Zone Soup Recipes (2024)

FAQs

Do blue zones eat chicken? ›

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.

Dan Buettner is the author of The Blue Zones series, and says minestrone is a 'bountiful dish that is eaten every day for lunch by some of the world's longest-lived families in Sardinia'. The Italian soup has many variations and has no set recipe, but tends to contain a slew of vegetables and pasta.

Upon his research, it was found that people there eat Sardinian minestrone soup everyday, with garden vegetables. I mean it does make sense, its a complete balanced nutritious meal in a bowl. I've spent a year in Sardinia, and I have seen how fresh local produce is a key element in their lifestyle.

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.

Pasta: Pasta gets a bad rap, but centenarians from the blue zones, particularly in Ikaria and Sardinia, eat pasta frequently. Look for pasta made with just a few high-quality ingredients. Gluten-free varieties are available in many stores and are often made with quinoa and brown rice.

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!

According to the Taste Atlas Awards, the international food database, the Filipino favorite, Sinigang, is hailed as the best soup in the world.

Can you live off soup for a month? ›

As the soup diet usually only lasts for 7-14 days, it's not recommended in the long term. The NHS also highlights how very low-calorie diets like this often lead to short term weight loss, but it's likely that you'll put some or all of the weight back on once you go back to eating normally.

One stand-out recipe that has been around for centuries and is said to be the secret to a long and healthy life is minestrone soup. This soup has been enjoyed for years by the Melis family who have the Guinness World Record title for the highest combined age for nine living siblings.

Sodium in canned soup

Sodium overload may make you feel bloated because your body retains excess fluid. That's uncomfortable, but there may also be more serious consequences: your kidneys may retain water, which can result in increased blood pressure, a greater likelihood of strokes, and a higher risk of heart disease.

The great news is that if you are intentional about what you put in your soup, you can ensure that you're getting tons of nutrients for fewer calories than most other meals. Studies have even shown that soup is a contributing factor in losing weight, maintaining weight goals, and lowering the risk of obesity.

In most Blue Zones diets people ate small amounts of pork, chicken, or lamb. (Adventists, the one exception, ate no meat at all.)

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. Food is not the only reason that people in Blue Zones live long, healthy lives.

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.

For protein, many Blue Zone cuisines rely on carb-rich staples like legumes and whole grains. Nuts, with some fish, dairy, and eggs, round out the moderate protein intake in Blue Zones diets.