COOKING BLUE ZONES STYLE

Written by: Taryn Nakamura, Hawaiian Telcom
Hawaiian Telcom is a Blue Zones Project participating organization.

Our Blue Zones Communications Committee (Joy Ibarra, Josephine Ines, Fiona Mai, Taryn Nakamura and Ann Nishida Fry) decided we needed to walk the talk and try out a Blue Zones recipe for ourselves. Team member Taryn Nakamura tested out the Kabocha Squash Noodle Bowl recipe and shares her experience in this blog post.

For my first Blue Zones culinary experience, I tried out a Kabocha Squash Soba Noodle Bowl. Click here for the full recipe.

I'm not a creative cook, and I needed an easy starting point, so I checked out the Blue Zones recipe collection for some inspiration. More adventurous cooks can whip up their own recipes following the Blue Zones guidelines.

This was my first time prepping kabocha squash, and I was a little intimidated at the thought of cutting into it. Luckily, google came to the rescue with this tip: wash and microwave the squash before slicing. Read more and watch a video tutorial from Just One Cookbook.

The rest of the preparation was pretty simple. Just boiling the soba noodles, washing and chopping vegetables and whisking together the dressing.  

Substitutions and modifications:

• I didn't have tahini, so I substituted extra sesame oil and peanut butter
• Doubled the recipe so I could pack lunches for the week
• Added Japanese cucumbers for some crunch
• Added lime to the dressing because I had limes from my parents' tree
• Added tofu for more protein (forgot to add it in before I took the photos!)
• Used mixed greens instead of spinach

How'd it taste? Flavorful, refreshing and great for weekday lunches. I liked the range of textures and the way this recipe dresses up a simple bowl of noodles. The dressing was sweet and tangy from the citrus with added depth from the sesame and peanut flavors.

I stored the ingredients separately to keep them fresh and assembled the bowls for lunch throughout the week.

My takeaway – I noticed that with this recipe as well as many of the other recipes in the Blue Zones recipe collection, there's a lot of flexibility, and you can modify according to your tastes and what's already in your fridge or pantry.

Next on my list? This spanakopita recipe.

Have you found a Blue Zones-friendly recipe that you'd like to share? Email us at livinglokahi@hawaiiantel.com.  

Join the Well-Being Movement!

Email our team to learn more about partnering with us to make healthy choices easier at your worksite, school, grocery store, restaurant, or faith-based organization.
Check out all participating organizations.

Sign up to receive community updates!
Learn more at hawaii.bluezonesproject.com