Daily Recipes and Longevity Foods from Costa Rica’s Blue Zone

Costa Rica is home to one of the world’s Blue Zones, where people live longer and healthier than average. I come from a small town in the Cartago region called Llano Grande, known for its rich agriculture.

As a cookbook author and cooking teacher born and raised here, I have always believed that our diet and “pura vida” lifestyle is our secret to longevity.

For Costa Ricans, what we eat is just as important as the experience in the kitchen and around the table. We deeply appreciate the community that comes with cooking. Growing up, I always helped my family prepare our meals and even harvested some of the ingredients.

Lunches and dinners always lasted at least an hour, and that was our time to talk about our day. This type of conscious and collective approach to food is something I love sharing with the students who take my cooking classes. It’s not just about the food we eat, but also the connections that form around it.

The best way to describe Costa Rican cuisine is simple and fresh. Our diet relies heavily on staple foods like fresh vegetables, fruits, grains and beans.

Here are some of the foods I cook and eat every day to feel healthier and happier in the long run.

1. Beans

Beans are an excellent source of protein, fiber, complex carbohydrates, prebiotics, vitamins and minerals. They have been linked to a reduced risk of chronic diseases like heart disease and diabetes.

Black and red beans are the most popular, usually served as part of a casado (our traditional dish of rice, beans, vegetables and protein) or as a soup of beans and vegetables.

Chickpeas and lentils are popular here and can be used as a substitute for traditional black beans.

2. Fresh fruits and vegetables

In Costa Rica, fruits and vegetables are generally eaten fresh, not straight from a can or freezer. We usually get our fruits and vegetables from local markets called verdulerias.

Some of the most common fruits in our diet are papaya, mango, banana, watermelon, pineapple and passion fruit, and they are either eaten on their own or made into drinks and juices.

We use a variety of vegetables in Costa Rican cuisine, including potatoes, carrots, tomatoes, avocados, onions, beets, yucca and zucchini. Vegetables are either eaten raw, in simple salads dressed with lime, or prepared in the form of picadillo, chopped and boiled, sometimes with a little animal protein mixed in for added flavor.

Chayote picadillo is probably my favorite. Chayote is a type of squash native to Central and South America and not very common in the United States. It is green and crispy and tastes like jicama.

3. Rice and corn

Grains like rice and corn are present in our diet, but mainly as a complement to the beans and vegetables we eat.

For example, tortillas are used to eat picadillo in what we call “gallos”. Water with pollo is a traditional Costa Rican dish consisting of rice, many chopped vegetables and different pieces of chicken.

This meal is very popular during celebrations such as birthdays, but it is also very popular on a daily basis.

4. Coffee

Costa Rican coffee is known to be rich in antioxidants, which can help reduce inflammation. Sugary drinks generally don’t make up a large part of coffee drinking culture.

Here, coffee is enjoyed black or with a little milk. And like any other meal, it’s best to enjoy a cup slowly – we take our time drinking.

We eat rice and beans, black or red, two to three times a day. For lunch, this meal is called casado. For breakfast, we call it gallo pinto and consists of rice and beans mixed with onions, peppers and cilantro, accompanied by corn tortillas and coffee.

With its combination of whole grains, protein, amino acids and antioxidants, longevity researcher and founder of Blue Zones, Dan Buettner, considers gallo pinto to be the healthiest breakfast in the world. It’s amazing how such a simple dish can have so many health benefits.

Here is my recipe for Gallo Pintoso you can do it at home.

Ingredients:

• 2/3 cup cooked black beans
• 1 1/4 cup cooked rice
• 2 tablespoons chopped onion
• 2 tablespoons chopped pepper
• 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
• 1/2 teaspoon Lizano salsa (optional)
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper

Not:

1. Heat a frying pan over medium-high heat, add the olive oil and let heat through
2. Add onions, peppers, coriander, garlic, cumin, salt and pepper
3. Cook for three to five minutes until the onion is translucent
4. Add the beans, stir and reduce the heat to medium
5. Add lizano sauce, stir and cook for another five minutes
6. Add the rice, stir and cook for a few more minutes to incorporate all the flavors of the rice.

In my opinion, the recipe for why we live longer, healthier and happier in Costa Rica is simple: fresh ingredients prepared with care and meals intentionally enjoyed and shared with our loved ones.

Melissa Guzman East a Costa Rican cookbook author and cooking teacher from Llano Grande, Costa Rica. She is the author of “Living Longer, Healthier and Happier: Recipes from Costa Rica.” Follow Mélissa on Instagram @recipesfromcostarica.

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