- Many residents of Loma Linda, the US' only Blue Zone, don't eat meat or drink alcohol.
- On Thanksgiving, they have alternatives to classic dishes such as turkey.
A dietitian from Loma Linda, where people live on average 10 years longer than the rest of the US, told Business Insider how a Thanksgiving in the Californian city differs from the traditional celebrations we might be used to.
Loma Linda, the only Blue Zone in the US, is home to an unusual number of superagers — the longest-living people in the world. Most of the community are Seventh Day Adventists, and so follow a lifestyle that adheres to their denomination, but also happens to share a lot of features with other Blue Zone communities around the world. SDAs don't eat meat, don't drink alcohol, prioritize family and community, and do regular exercise.
In contrast, Thanksgiving can involve quite a bit of meat and alcohol for many Americans.
But that doesn't mean Loma Lindans don't know how to feast, as shown by the tasty meals shared by chef Cory Gheen, a SDA, registered dietitian nutritionist, and assistant professor of nutrition and dietetics at Loma Linda University.
Turkey alternatives
No meat obviously means no Thanksgiving turkey. So, Loma Lindans have alternatives to the traditional holiday bird.
Gheen said that vegetarian roasts made of meat alternatives, such as the Worthington Dinner Roast, have a "place on many tables." BI previously reported on the four best vegan "turkey" roast products, if you're looking for a Thanksgiving meat substitute with a similar texture and flavor to turkey.
Vegetarian roast products such as nut roasts, which don't necessarily resemble meat, are a "close second" in popularity in Loma Linda, Gheen said. If you can't eat nuts, try Gheen's tasty meatless "meatloaf" recipe that BI tried recently.
"I've also seen many people go completely outside the classic dishes and do more unusual alternatives like black bean tamales, or a shepherd's pie made with mushrooms," he said.
Veggies take center stage
Gheen said that in the absence of a turkey, a Thanksgiving meal can be more about the "totality of the entire table," rather than just focusing on a main meat dish.
He recommended making classic stuffing vegetarian by substituting vegetable stock into any baked stuffing recipe, and the same with gravy.
SDAs also often have mashed potatoes with milk and butter, large green salads, cranberry sauce, olive trays, sweet potatoes or other root vegetables such as rutabaga, and dinner rolls as tasty vegetarian sides, Gheen said.
He also likes to modify the classic green bean casserole. While the classic casserole was made with cream of mushroom soup and topped with crispy onions, he said he's glad that "most people have moved away from this and are serving the beans more simply these days: boiled and topped with toasted sliced almonds in browned butter."
Sparkling apple and grape drinks instead of wine
SDAs don't drink alcohol, unlike people in other Blue Zone communities such as Sardinia, where wine is enjoyed with friends.
Gheen said: "We feel that God has given us guidance on how to keep our bodies as healthy as possible through our lifestyle choices to better connect us with God's teachings."
So, rather than drinking throughout the day on Thanksgiving, many Loma Lindans substitute alcoholic drinks with sparkling apple or grape drinks, Gheen said.