Want to live to be 100? Or maybe beyond?

It might be worth taking a look at the folks who are doing just that. Are you familiar with the Blue Zones?

The people who live in the Blue Zones — five regions in Europe, Latin America, Asia and the U.S. researchers have identified as having the highest concentrations of centenarians in the world – are essentially the healthiest people on the planet.

Where are the Blue Zones? Well, they are Ikaria, Greece; Okinawa, Japan; Ogliastra Region, Sardinia; Loma Linda, California; and Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica.

In addition to moving every day, a strong sense of community and family, not to mention a less-stress lifestyle, these centenarians also have a healthy appetite. 

What I appreciate most about these zones is that they stick to a very traditional way of eating, you know, before everything was overly processed, sugar-filled and laden with fat. 

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Here’s “a taste” of what these Blue Zones have in common when it comes to healthy eating:

• They don’t stuff themselves but instead, they stop eating when they feel 80% full
• They eat the heaviest meal early in the day and the last meal of the day is a light meal
• They eat mostly plants, and beans and legumes especially.
• They don’t eat a lot of eat meat. When they do eat meat, it’s a handful of days in the month and in small portions (think 3-4oz). 
• They have a moderate glass (or 2) of alcohol regularly

Eating just like the Blue Zoners might not guarantee you live to 100, but they must be doing something right, right?

Give this Golden Bread a try (Blue Zone approved). Enjoy it with a smashed avocado or a hummus spread and a little hot sauce.

 

Golden Lentil Bread

Ingredients

• 1 cup red lentils
• 2 cups water for soaking
• 1 cup water (post soaking to make the batter)
• 2 Tablespoons lemon juice
• 4 Tablespoons nutritional yeast
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 teaspoon pink himalayan salt

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Directions

Soak lentils overnight in 2 cups water. When you’re ready to bake, rinse and drain lentils.

Preheat the oven to 325°F and line an 8×8 pan with parchment or lightly greased aluminum foil.

Place lentils in a blender with remaining ingredients and blend until smooth. [the batter is a bit runny]. Pour your batter into a loaf pan and bake for 45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. If it’s getting too dark on top, throw a sheet of aluminum foil over top.