It’s no secret that healthy dietary choices can pave the way to a long and healthy life. In fact, there are some staples that centenarians, people who reach the age of 100 or more, swear by.
For example, findings by Eden’s Gate found that Jeanne Louise Calment, reportedly the oldest person in the world who lived up to 122 years old, rated olive oil, port wine and chocolate.
While these foods won’t really fill you up, the “world’s longest-living” family’s soup might. The family’s secret to longevity has been enjoyed for years by the Melis family, who earned the title for the highest combined age for nine living siblings.
In 2012, when the record was awarded to them, their total age was 861 years and the oldest sibling reached age 109.
The family ate minestrone soup, bread, and a glass of red wine for lunch every day.
What’s more, even a doctor backed the health benefits hidden in the popular soup. Dr Tim Tiutan took to TikTok to share that the soup can lower cholesterol, improve gut health, support weight management, and lower an individual’s cancer risk.
If you are wondering whether this vitamin-, mineral- and fibre-packed recipe is worth adding to your weekly menu, a Mirror reporter, Lucy Marshall, has put it to a test.
She decided to use Jamie Oliver’s recipe that will have the bowl of hot minestrone in front of you in just 30 minutes.
As the nutritional value of the meal might suggest, you need quite a few ingredients, including: plum tomatoes, celery, butter beans, dried pasta, bay leaves, kale, vegetable stock cube, olive oil, extra virgin olive oil, parmesan cheese, salt, pepper, garlic, chopped tomatoes, two small onions, and crusty bread.
Marshall, who already had a few ingredients patiently waiting in her kitchen, spent £28.90 at Tesco when gathering the remaining groceries for the dish.
After dicing and cooking all her veggies, seasoning the soup, and adding the final ingredients like pasta, she found the first spoonful of the longevity dish “delicious”.
Marshall penned for The Mirror: “Often healthy meals can leave you wanting something else to eat afterwards, but within a few mouthfuls, I was feeling full and satisfied.
“With so many ingredients included this can be a costly dish but I think you can manipulate the recipe to suit what you have at home – any spare pasta or vegetables lying around would work. However, the recipe I followed meant that there was plenty of leftovers to enjoy the next day and serve up for others.
“I really enjoyed this healthy soup and will be preparing it again in the future. Overall, I would give the dish an 8/10. With a bit of extra spice, it would get a 10 from me.”