The Blue Zones Kitchen: 100 Recipes to Live to 100

Blue Zones: areas of the world where the residents have a long, healthy old age. Okinawa is one of them, and the recipe here for sweet potatoes is one I'm familiar with. In fact, I spent time in Japan, found I lost weight without trying (something normally difficult for me) running my legs off up and down stairs and eating nearly no sugar for the time I was there. The lack of sugar was startling in the Japanese diet, in particular.The one hundred recipes in "Blue Zone Kitchens" are not outlandish and though there are a few unusual ingredients, they are obtainable by mail order if you live in a more remote area; for example goji berries are found in health food stores and Asian groceries but you can mail order them. These are used in a breakfast oatmeal dish and they add a lot of important anti-oxidants.Most of the recipes, however are things you can find anywhere and are not unusual. You can find more recipes such as Pumpkin pancakes. Breakfast burritos with black beans by signing up for the Blue Zone website and newsletter.So not only eating but lifestyle is important; having friends and family in a tight network (a friend who lived in a Thai village said it was UNTHINKABLE to be alone) and plenty of gentle but daily constant exercise and movement. And the Okinawan idea of eating 80 percent full known as "hara hachi bu".I was amused to see Hearts of Palm ceviche (raw "fish" marinated) as I love hearts of palm but here they are only found canned. Still, they are really delicious and you can make a meal out of a salad if you cut them up and put them in. Better than artichokes. The Costa Rican recipes in particular are light and flavorful. Though I love Japanese food, I actually loved the Costa Rica chapter the best.And the ancient foods of Sardinia; you haven't lived until you've tried Fregula, their primitive, rolled pasta, a relative of cous cous. It's really good. There is one recipe for fregula with asparagus but it's versatile and very light. You get pasta, but you don't feel heavy after eating it. There is also a recipe for the Sardinian flatbread, their ancient bread originally made on the floor of woodfired ovens. You can see this being made in one of the episodes of Anthony Bourdain.Lots of delicious recipes. Will you live longer? Not sure this book alone will do it, but good recipes high in fiber and low in saturated fats and full of flavor.

Exactly as described. Just returned from Costa Rica where they were selling this book for 72.00!Very happy with this purchase

Great recipes

Lovely book, great recipes. But really, I just wanted a kitchen book. This is a heavy, photo laden coffee table book.

I’ve enjoyed this collection of recipes from the blue zones.

Lovely book, lovingly put together. A thoughtful and readable cook book that examines all the aspects of the "blue zones" and has recipes from each. A great read.

The book is Beautiful. It is full of pictures, which I always like in cook books. The narratives about blue zone areas are well written and interesting. However, the recipes have issues. There are ingredients that are listed but never used in the recipe. There could be better techniques descriptions. There are ambiguous descriptions like the “dough should be loose but firm”. That tells me nothing. It also says to lightly flour surfaces but with the dough so loose and sticky, these is no way to roll it out without a heavy floured surface and roller. I also question some of the measurements and wonder if they were checked before publication. For the Sardinian Lasagna, it has you make a béchamel. It used 3 cups of soy milk, a bit of olive oil and 3/4 tablespoon of flour to whisk into a creamy sauce. Even with real milk this would still be runny. A standard béchamel using 3 cups of milk, would need 4 tablespoons of flour and 2 tablespoons of butter. The end result was a bland mushroom soup and soaked flat bread. Not impressed at all. There are other books out there for Bluse Zones to try. I will be returning this one and trying another.I expected more from an established author. Perhaps get a chef to co-author it next time and get a better editor. This is amateur hour.

If you’ve ever thought, “I’d love to cook like someone who can blow out 100 birthday candles without needing a nap,” then The Blue Zones Kitchen is your culinary holy grail. This book is essentially the love child of a cookbook and a life coach, showing you how to eat like the world’s longest-living people while keeping things simple, hearty, and delicious.The recipes hail from the fabled “Blue Zones”—places like Sardinia, Okinawa, and Nicoya—where people somehow outsmart death while making meals that are surprisingly low on kale but high on flavor. It’s filled with vibrant, plant-based dishes that make you realize beans are not just a side dish—they’re the main event. And it’s a feast! Chickpeas, black beans, fava beans, beans that probably haven’t even been named yet—they’re all here, ready to make you feel like a champion of longevity.The best part? The recipes aren’t preachy. You’re not required to meditate while stirring the soup or perform yoga poses between courses. It’s all about creating wholesome, satisfying food that nourishes without making you feel like you’ve been banished to a life of quinoa and sadness.And don’t worry, you’re not signing up for a monk-like existence. There’s wine (thank you, Sardinia!), there’s olive oil, there’s bread—because even centenarians know that life without bread isn’t really living.The Blue Zones Kitchen isn’t just a cookbook; it’s a passport to living longer, better, and tastier. It’s filled with mouthwatering photos and storytelling that makes you feel like you’re learning the secrets of life from your wise old Italian grandmother—except she’s also best friends with a Japanese fisherman and a Costa Rican farmer. Highly recommended for anyone wanting to add a dash of longevity to their plate without sacrificing flavor.