As someone who values a healthy lifestyle, I have came up with a delicious vegetable stew that I like to call my “longevity meal.” This stew is so good that I have it at least 3-4 times a week. What’s great about this recipe is that it’s not only delicious, but it’s also incredibly healthy.
When most people think about a longevity diet, they often imagine exotic foods and supplements that can be expensive and difficult to obtain. However, my longevity meal is all about simple and old-fashioned beans and veggies. This recipe contains 11 different plant-based ingredients, including beans, tofu, colorful veggies, and a variety of spices that all work together to create a delicious and nutritious stew.
These ingredients are actually consumed by the longest-lived people in the Blue Zones on a daily basis!
Blue zones are regions where people live the longest and healthiest lives. One of the commonalities among these regions is the consumption of a plant-based diet rich in whole foods.
This diet is centred around fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts, and seeds and is low in processed foods and animal products. Adopting a blue zone-inspired diet can provide numerous health benefits, including reduced risk of chronic diseases and increased longevity.
Of course, there are many other factors that influence our health and lifespan, but we know that whole foods support chronic illness prevention, which is a key to living longer and healthier lives.
Additionally, it can also be beneficial for the environment by reducing greenhouse gas emissions and preserving natural resources. Overall, following a plant-based diet can lead to numerous health benefits and contribute to a more sustainable lifestyle.
Our environment may not be as health-promoting as the Blue Zones, but we are fortunate to have access to a wide range of nutritious produce. By incorporating more whole foods into our diets, we can hopefully add some healthy years to our lives. So, why not try making this longevity meal part of your routine and see how it can benefit your health and overall well-being?
Vegetable stew with tofu for longevity
Equipment
- 1 pressure cooker
Ingredients
- 2 carrots chopped
- 4 stalks celery chopped
- 3 potatoes medium, grated
- 2 packs tofu extra firm, cubed
- 1 white onion medium, diced
- 2 cloves garlic diced
- 1 can kidney beans drained and rinsed
- 1 can lentils drained and rinsed
- 2 cans tomatoes
- 1 L vegetable stock
- 1 tbsp cumin powder
- 1 tbsp ginger powder
- 1 tsp coriander seeds
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 2 Bay leaves
- salt to taste
- 1 lemon (juice) to garnish
- fresh herbs to garnish
Instructions
- Chop and dice all the vegetables. While you can chop the potatoes, it's better to grate them. This is because some of them dissolve when cooked, giving the stew a nice thick texture.
- Heat a pan and add olive oil, garlic and onions. Add all the spices and cook for 2-3 minutes. Then add a small amount of liquid stock to deglaze the pan.
- Next, add the spice mixture into a pressure cooker pot, followed by all the vegetables, beans, lentils, canned tomatoes, tomato paste, the remaining stock liquid and tofu. Mix all the ingredients together.
- Once mixed, place Bay leaves on top, close the pressure cooker and set it to stew function.
- Garnish with lemon juice and fresh herbs. This amount of stew can feed my family of three twice. We usually have it for dinner and then for lunch the next day
