I was raised by a dietitian. As a child, I was probably more aware of my nutrition than most kids. (Three-year-old me famously told my mother: “Ice cream’s not a dinner!”) The interest in eating nutritious foods has stayed with me through adulthood, and even during times of poor body image, I’ve made an effort to eat intuitively and give my body whatever nutrients it is craving.

While my husband and I avoid processed foods, consume lots of veggies, and eat a variety of lean proteins, we can always do better. I was recently gifted the Blue Zones Kitchen cookbook (thanks, Mom!) since I’m fascinated by the idea of “longevity diets.” Given my affinity for Italian food, I’ve been focusing on the foods from Sardinia’s Blue Zone, which are particularly rich in fiber and complex carbohydrates. Staple foods in Sardinia include legume and veggie-filled minestrone and starch-eating sourdough bread. Side note: did you know sourdough can actually lower the glycemic index of an entire meal?!

I conducted a brief experiment to find out if eating Blue Zone foods not only helps you live longer, but also makes you feel better. My husband would probably kill me if I made beans for dinner every night, so I stuck to breakfast and lunch. Honestly, I usually eat an uber-healthy breakfast of simple peanut butter and whole grains, but my lunches vary. I’ll often eat leftovers, a thrown-together dish of lentil pasta and olive oil, or a sandwich. This week, I ate the same breakfast and lunch, which I meal prepped on Sunday, every day. If you read this and feel inspired to do the same, let me know how it worked!

Breakfast: sourdough bread with peanut butter & a glass of green tea

Components:

• Sourdough bread from our farmer’s market “bread lady”

• Trader Joe’s chunky unsalted peanut butter

• Trader Joe’s bottled plain green tea

Honestly, this breakfast wasn’t much of a shift from my typical morning. The only difference is that I often eat Trader Joe’s Norwegian-style crisp bread or Ezekiel bread with peanut butter, not sourdough. Even as a believer in the benefits of carbs, before reading this cookbook, I didn’t realize how good sourdough is for your gut health. I thought it was more of an indulgence to bring home a warm loaf from the farmer’s market. You’re saying bread lady’s magical creations are good for me? Don’t have to tell me twice!

Note: peanut butter is a very American food. But nuts are a major staple in every Blue Zone, so I’m using it for this experiment. The Sardinian essence of this dish lies in the sourdough. Tea is also commonly found in Blue Zones.

Lunch: barley & fennel minestrone

Components:

• Minestrone from The Blue Zones Kitchen, including lentils, chickpeas, barley, and fennel

There are three recipes for Sardinian minestrone in the Blue Zones Kitchen. I am obsessed with fennel and love the hearty, nutty flavor of barley, so I chose this unbelievably easy soup. If you don’t have the cookbook and want to make it at home, just throw some beans, veggies, and potato in a pot with water. Following a recipe for minestrone is sort of counterintuitive (the whole idea is to eat what you have on hand), but I wanted to follow the Blue Zone philosophy. Before the experiment officially began, I was already on board with the simplicity of this dish. If you can’t handle meal prepping by throwing ingredients in a pot with water, I think you might be a lost cause. Plus, this cheap recipe makes enough for a week’s worth of lunches and then some.

The Takeaways

At the start of this experiment, I was dealing with some serious, albeit temporary, health issues. I was severely bloated, fatigued, and desperate to feel like myself again. Just one day into the experiment, I woke up and found my bloating COMPLETELY cured. I attribute this quick fix to the fiber in both meals. In the middle of the experiment, I felt excited for breakfast and lunch each day. Again, the breakfast wasn’t far from my go-to, but lunch was a pleasant surprise. I found myself shockingly satiated until dinner, not hangrily stomping around the kitchen before dinner each night like I often do. However, by day six, I was desperate for some variety. I added a drizzle of honey (also a Blue Zone staple) to my toast. There wasn’t much that could be done to my minestrone, but I must admit that I’m eager to eat something different tomorrow.

In conclusion, if you’re dealing with GI issues, bloating, or find yourself snacking throughout the day, I suggest you incorporate high-fiber, Blue Zone meals into your routine. The bloating remedy alone was enough to convince me of the Blue Zone magic. While I won’t be eating minestrone every day, I will be eating it regularly. As for the sourdough and peanut butter, you can bet I’ll be eating this for breakfast a month from now.

A few notes:

This was not exactly a serious journalistic experiment. I still ate a variety of dinners, from short rib risotto to farro soup. I also drank wine a few times this week and stuck to my afternoon espresso routine, which typically includes a small treat. I’m sure the benefits of the Blue Zone diet would have been augmented by including traditional Sardinian dinners as well. That said, I find it even more impressive that I felt the positive effects of breakfast and lunch without changing the rest of my routine.