A Gift for All Seasons

We’ve just completed the most extravagant gifting season of the year. I hope you fared well. It’s interesting to me how easily we forget what we unwrapped only a few weeks ago. I was blessed this year with a gift that has staying power.

My older daughter gifted all our families (potentially 15 adults and 7 or so kids) with the Blue Zones Kitchen Cookbook. We determined a date when each family will prepare one of the recipes from the cookbook then gather and share family time and good food. We just experienced our first Blue Zone family gathering and have our next 4 months scheduled for fabulous food and fellowship.

If you are not familiar with the Blue Zones, they are geographic areas in which people exhibit lower rates of chronic disease, lower rate of middle-age mortality and the highest numbers of centenarians than other geographic areas. Five areas have been identified as Blue Zones by Dan Buettner, an Emmy winning filmmaker, a National Geographic fellow and New York Times best selling author. They include: Sardinia, Italy; Okinawa, Japan; Nicoya, Costa Rica; Ikaria, Greece and Loma Linda, California (Seventh-day-Adventist community). Most of these locations are remote areas that are not daily influenced by the fast-pace of more congested, metropolitan areas.

The evidence is clear that once the Standard American Diet infiltrates these once “clean diet” areas, the health of those citizens plummets greatly. The life expectancy of their younger generations is not so optimistic.

One factor that impresses me most is the mindset of the Blue Zone population. They focus on a purpose filled life––from early childhood to 100. Contrary to the American way of “slowing down as we age,” the intention of the Blue Zone population is to live a long and full life of vitality and vigor.

For example, the Okinawans do not have a word for retirement. A phrase the Costa Rican community expresses frequently is plan de vida, or life plan. On the island of Sardinia (Italy), people greet one another with the phrase, Akentannos, which means “May you live to 100!” The response greeting is, “And may the people sitting around your table be there to count every year.”

For several years my Wellness Coaching focus has been on Aging-With-Vitality. The current research and publicity of these Blue Zone communities inspires me as a coach and a woman enjoying her sixth-decade of life. What are your 2020 New Year aspirations for your health? I would love to hear your thoughts and plans to live a healthy, happy and long life!

Please try this Sardinia Minestrone recipe. It was a hit (as were all the recipes) at our first Blue Zone family gathering. I found it on the BlueZone.com.

WFAS Blue Zone Minestrone.jpg

Sardinia Minestrone

INGREDIENTS

  • 1⁄2 cup dried peeled fava beans

  • 1⁄2 cup dried cranberry beans

  • 1⁄3 cup dried chickpeas

  • 7 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

  • 1 medium yellow or white onion, chopped (about 1 cup)

  • 2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped (about 2⁄3 cup)

  • 2 medium celery stalks, chopped (about 1⁄2 cup)

  • 2 teaspoons minced garlic

  • 1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes (about 31⁄2 cups)

  • 3 medium yellow potatoes, peeled and diced (about 11⁄2 cups)

  • 1 1⁄2 cups chopped fennel

  • 1⁄4 cup loosely packed fresh Italian flat-leaf parsley leaves, chopped

  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil leaves

  • 2⁄3 cup of Sardinian fregula, Israeli couscous, or acini di pepe pasta

  • 1⁄2 teaspoon salt

  • 1⁄2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

  • 1⁄4 cup finely grated pecorino Romano (about 2 ounces)

DIRECTIONS:

• Soak the fava beans, cranberry beans, and chickpeas in a large bowl of water for at least 8 hours or up to 16 hours (that is, overnight). Drain in a colander set in the sink. Rinse well.

• Warm 3 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large soup pot or Dutch oven set over medium-high heat. Add the onion, carrots, and celery; cook, stirring often, until soft but not browned, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 20 seconds.

• Stir in the tomatoes, potatoes, fennel, parsley, and basil, as well as the drained beans and chickpeas. Add enough water (6 to 8 cups) so that everything is submerged by 1 inch.

• Raise the heat to high and bring to a full boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer slowly, uncovered, until the beans are tender, adding more water as necessary if the mixture gets too thick, about 1 1⁄2 hours.

• Stir in the pasta, salt, and pepper. Add up to 2 cups water if the soup seems too dry. Continue simmering, uncovered, until the pasta is tender, about 10 minutes.

• Pour 1 tablespoon of olive oil into each off our serving bowls. Divide the soup among them and top each with 1 tablespoon of the grated cheese.

• Tip: You can vary the beans in the minestrone: pinto beans make a good substitute for cranberry beans; great northern or cannellini beans, for the favas.

• Tip: Use the stalks and fronds that come off a fennel bulb for the most intense flavor. No feathery fronds on the bulb? Add a teaspoon of fennel seeds to the aromatic vegetables you sauté to begin the dish.

• Tip: Add other fresh vegetables from the garden or market, such as zucchini, cabbage, green beans, and cauliflower or broccoli florets.

• Tip: Want a stronger tomato taste? Stir in a tablespoon or two of tomato paste. You get the idea!

Connie PshigodaComment