Costa Rica is home to one of the world's Blue Zones, where people live longer and healthier lives than average. I am 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've always felt that our “Pura Vida” diet and lifestyle is the 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 value 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 this was a good time to talk about our day. This kind of collective, conscious approach to food is something I love to share with the students who take my cooking classes. It's not just about the food we eat, but the connections that happen around it.
What Costa Ricans eat to live longer, happier lives
The best way to describe Costa Rican cuisine is simple and fresh. Our diet relies heavily on staple foods such as 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 a great source of protein, fibre, complex carbohydrates, prebiotics, vitamins and minerals. They have been linked to a lower risk of chronic diseases such as heart disease and diabetes.
Black and red beans are the most popular, and are usually served as part of a casado (our traditional dish of rice, beans, vegetables and protein) or as a soup consisting of beans and vegetables.
Chickpeas and lentils are very popular here and can be used as an alternative to traditional black beans.
2. Fresh fruits and vegetables
Fruits and vegetables in Costa Rica are generally eaten fresh, not from a can or refrigerator. We usually get fruits and vegetables from local markets called verdulerias.
The most common foods in our diet are papaya, mango, banana, watermelon, pineapple and passion fruit, and they are either eaten alone or made into drinks and juices.
We use a variety of vegetables in Costa Rican cooking, including potatoes, carrots, tomatoes, avocados, onions, beets, yuca, and zucchini. Vegetables are either eaten raw, in simple salads topped with lemon, or prepared as picadillo, chopped and boiled, sometimes with some animal protein mixed in for flavor.
Picadillo de chayote is probably my favorite. Chayote is a type of squash native to Central and South America, and is not very common in the United States. It's green and crisp, and tastes like jicama.
3. Rice and corn
Grains such as rice and corn are present in our diet, but mainly as a supplement to the beans and vegetables we eat.
For example, tortillas are used to eat picadillos in what we call “gallos.” Arroz con pollo is a traditional Costa Rican dish consisting of rice, lots of chopped vegetables, and various pieces of chicken.
This meal is very popular at celebrations such as birthdays, but it is also very common on an everyday basis.
4. Coffee
Costa Rican coffee is known to be high in antioxidants, which can help reduce inflammation. Sugary drinks are generally not a big part of coffee drinking culture.
Coffee here is enjoyed black or with a little milk. As with any other meal, a cup of coffee is best enjoyed slowly – we take our time drinking.
My favorite recipe for longevity in Costa Rica
We eat rice and beans, whether black or red, two to three times a day. For lunch this meal is called casado. For breakfast, it is called gallo pinto and consists of rice and beans mixed with onions, peppers and cilantro, with corn tortillas and coffee.
With its combination of whole grains, protein, amino acids and antioxidants, Dan Buettner, longevity researcher and founder of Blue Zones, considers gallo pinto the healthiest breakfast in the world. It's amazing how this simple dish can be packed with so many health benefits.
Here's my recipe for Gallo Pinto, so you can make it at home.
Here's an example of my favorite Costa Rican breakfast food, gallo pinto.
Photo: Melissa Guzman
ingredients:
2/3 cup cooked black beans 1 1/4 cup cooked rice 2 tablespoons chopped onion 2 tablespoons chopped pepper 2 tablespoons chopped coriander 1/2 teaspoon Lizano sauce (optional) 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon Cumin 1/4 teaspoon pepper
steps:
Heat a frying pan over medium to high heat. Add the olive oil and allow it to get hot. Add the onions, peppers, coriander, garlic, cumin, salt and pepper, and cook for three to five minutes until the onions become translucent. Add the beans and stir. Reduce the heat to medium. Add the Lizano sauce, stir and cook for an additional five minutes. Add the rice, stir and cook for a few more minutes until all the flavors are incorporated into the rice.
In my opinion, the recipe for living longer, healthier, happier lives in Costa Rica is simple: fresh ingredients prepared with care and meals that are intentionally enjoyed and shared with loved ones.
Melissa Guzman is 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 Melissa on Instagram @recipesfromcostarica.
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