FRC: Enjoying "Blue Zones Kitchen: with 100 recipes for longevity" - just released

C

colleenmomof2

Well-known member
and picked up from library. Interviews/recipes from the 5 worldwide Blue Zones - Sardinia (Italy), Ikaria (Greece), Nicola Peninsula (Costa Rica), Loma Linda (CA) and Okinawa (Japan) - "the concept of Blue Zones: the set of characteristics that have produced the world's longest lived people."

I'm only on page 55 but am enjoying this book very much - the pictures are magnificent and recipes very fun/easy. My favorite quote so far is: "As it happens, minestrone possesses all the characteristics of world-class longevity food." Our family eats a lot of minestrone smileys/wink.gif Colleen

From my notes:

"Here are a few cooking tips for eating to 100;

Use fewer ingredients (~20 total) - Dietary monotony may help to prevent overeating and keep the immune system strong

Add cruciferous vegetables for heart and thyroid health

Make beans tasty

Finish dishes w/olive oil

Supplement with fresh herbs and spices

Fiber is more important than we thought

Enjoy your meals with red wine"

Guidelines

Eat 90-100% of your food as plant based "because fruits, vegetables, tubers, nuts, beans and whole grains are cheap and accessible."

Retreat from meat (2oz @5x/month)

Fish (less than 3oz@3x/week - sardines, anchovies, cod)

Reduce (cow) dairy - eat goat/sheep yogurt and cheese

Less eggs 1@2-4x/wk free range, hormone free

Beans @1/2cup each day

Slash sugar to less than 7tsp/day

Nuts @2 handfuls/day - almonds, brazil, cashews, walnuts, peanuts

Eat sourdough bread (it's close to gluten-free) or 100%whole wheat bread

Eat whole foods, cook slowly, pickle

Drink mostly water

https://www.bluezones.com

https://www.bluezones.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/BZ-Kitchen-cover-thumbnail-380x480.jpg

 
I totaled up the heritage plants, pots, soil, netting, gridwork & insect repellant and ended up

spending $105 trying to grow tomatoes in Florida. Six plants resulted in 3 edible tomatoes about the size of a golfball.

I'd definitely be dead if life depended on me growing food for me.

 
I went to the Mediterranean eating regime-hate the word diet- and love it

I haven't had red meat, butter, soft cheeses or cream in over 5 months. We eat fish, some chicken, lots of beans, whole grains, veggies, fruit, olive oil, as many leafy greens as I can stuff in (I hate Kale so Swiss Chard, Mustard Greens, etc). Because I know quite a bit about cooking after 50+ years of doing it, I can make food taste good. DH is on board too and we are truly enjoying this way of eating.

After just 3 months I had my doc order blood tests and my cholesterol, which was high but not quite in a danger zone, plummeted like a fall from a cliff. The bad cholesterol was way down, the good cholesterol way up and the balance between them as perfect as can be.

 
I find tomatoes do much better in the ground...

I think it’s because they have such a deep taproot, but they just don’t get very big and luscious when you put them in a pot. I’ve tried them in a pot the last couple of years and I mean a huge pot and they’re still not as happy as when I put them in the ground. When I put them in the ground all I give them is water, maybe compost when I plant, then I do go out and check on a regular basis for bugs like the super camouflage horn worm.

You should stick some in the ground this year. smileys/smile.gif

 
FRC: I understand that any gluten is bad for those people sensitive to gluten

- must be completely gluten-free with not even a trace amount - and believe that the comment was more about describing the special Ikarian sourdough process. From the website section "Sour on Dough":
"Some traditional blue zones breads are made with naturally occurring bacteria called lactobacilli, which “digest” the starches and glutens while making the bread rise. The process also creates an acid—the “sour” in sourdough. The result is bread with less gluten even than breads labeled “gluten free,” with a longer shelf life and a pleasantly sour taste that most people like. Traditional sourdough breads actually lower the glycemic load of meals, making your entire meal healthier, slower burning, easier on your pancreas, and more likely to make calories available as energy than stored as fat."

https://www.bluezones.com/recipes/food-guidelines/

 
I don't think so. People with celiac cannot have ANY gluten. Going "gluten free" has

become a little "stylish" rather than a medical necessity and that bread could be fine for them.
The result is bread with less gluten even than breads labeled “gluten free,”
I think that is just an impossibility when dealing with wheat type flours.
For celiacs, gluten content is like being a little pregnant.
There are innumerable sites that repeat the information in this one.
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/is-sourdough-bread-gluten-free#fermentation

 
Found this discussion on Wild Yeast site

about Blue Zone sourdough:
"This is a sound assertion; scientific research on sourdough offers several reasons why sourdough can be health-enhancing. These benefits are probably primarily derived from the acids produced by the lactobacillus bacteria that are an integral component of a sourdough starter and give the bread its sour flavor:

*Sourdough bread has a lower glycemic index — a measure of how high and how quickly blood sugar spikes after eating a food — than bread made with commercial yeast. This makes it a better choice for people with, or at risk for, diabetes.
*Sourdough makes certain minerals (iron, zinc, magnesium, and others) in whole grains more available for absorption by our bodies by facilitating the breakdown of phytic acid, a compound in grain bran that inhibits mineral absorption.
*Sourdough shows promise for people with celiac disease, which renders people intolerant to gluten. Not only can sourdough improve the taste, texture, and overall sensory quality of breads made with gluten-free flours, but it may also act to degrade or deactivate proteins in gluten that adversely affect gluten-sensitive people.
*Sourdough makes people happy, thereby diminishing stress, which is good for all-around wellness. (Okay, this one is anecdotal, but I completely believe it, don’t you?)"

http://www.wildyeastblog.com/sourdough-for-health/

 
There are many truisms in this--better tasting, lower glycemic index, diabetes.

These are not celiac, which is caused by gluten poking holes in the gut. Gluten intolerant is not the same as celiac
Sourdough made from gluten containing flours (wheat, rye, barley) is not safe for celiac persons.

 
Our home in FL was 7 feet above sea level and the Master Gardeners recommended pots

because of all the pesticides and crap in the aqua filter.

I now get wonderful tomatoes grown by my neighbors here in NC (elevation 3,000 ft) and they are all grown in the ground (20 different varieties). I return the gift by making them food with their tomatoes, okra, Japanese eggplant and green beans.

 
Yanno, there is also a truth that tomatoes grow best in soil rather than sand!

which is why they probably recommended pots--you could get the soil right.
My DH has a wonderful green thumb and we would dutifully plant tomatoes every year but for me, unless we could have planted an acre it would provide me with enough tomatoes in summer when I WANT tomatoes. LOL

 
Good for you, I have been eating the Mediterranean way for a long time

however, I do believe all things in moderation, even moderation, I do eat red meat now and then as evidenced by my love of braising. We have a great fish market here even though we are inland, and they get just about anything I love and want. I do crave cheese, especially in the morning, so I have a slice along with what ever fruits are in season. We eat high plant based and have at least three different veggies a day. Roasting a huge sheet pan of three to four veggies is a must every week. I love a big bowl of roasted veggies for lunch or add them to my salads. My diet is not perfect, but I will be 80 this year, and am still active and healthy. Hubby, on the other hand will be 87 in May, he goes through gallons of ice cream, eats whatever sweets are brought into the house by guests or a treat for me now and then. Goes through boxes of cereal every month, is still under weight and other than dementia if very healthy....go figure? Must be genes related too.

 
Yes I hear you Karen

I am lucky because my DH loves whatever I cook but still will creep to the freezer once in a while for ice cream. I also believe in moderation and balance. I cannot believe how much better I feel eating this way and what it has done to my test results! I really do not crave red meat, do eat organic chicken maybe twice a week, fish when I can find good fish. Working on bringing more whole grains into our diet. Love beans of all kinds. It is an adventure and bravo to you for doing what you do for yourself.

 
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