The oldest family in Earth’s history is believed to eat the same meal every day, and experts consider it one of the secrets to their long lives. And the dish is incredibly easy to make with many ingredients you’ll already have at home.

In 2012, the Melis family made history after being placed in the Guinness World Records to have the oldest siblings recorded in human history.

After 861 years of existence, the Italian family, which lives in the highlands of Sardinia, has anchored itself in the history of our species. A total of nine living siblings made up the years, with an average age of 95 years each.

The eldest of the group was Consolata Melis, who was 108 when she died in 2015. And when speaking about her long life three years earlier, Consolata praised one thing for her many years: the same old lunch she had every day of her adult life.

What did the Melis family eat?

Last year, the Melis siblings appeared on a Netflix Documentary series titled Live to 100: the secrets of the blue zones, following the American writer Dan Buettner during his visit to the five “blue zones” of the world.

A blue zone is a region of the world where there are people claimed to live longer than average. And one of those blue zones is Sardinia, where the Melis clan resides.

In Sardinia, Buettner prepared the exact same meal that Consolata praised for her long life. We’re talking three-bean minestrone soup with sourdough bread.

“Every day of their lives, they had the same meal for lunch,” he said.

“A sourdough bread, a three-bean minestrone soup – a chunky minestrone with vegetables from the garden. There were always three beans: a chickpea, a pinto and a white bean. And then they had a little glass of red wine. I’m talking about a two to three ounce glass. It wasn’t because “my diet requires me to do it.”

The Melis family at the time of its registration in Guinness World Records (ETTORE LOI / AFP via Getty Images)

Minestrone soup recipe with melis

Melis Family Minestrone Soup is an incredibly easy dish to prepare and one that you may enjoy now that we are entering the cold winter months where a solid, hearty meal is in the right place.

Buettner said, “Minestrone is simply a soup made from garden vegetables, beans and available grains (usually a type of pasta).

“The combination makes for a delicious meal in a bowl, rich in protein and, most importantly, a potpourri of fiber and fuels your microbiome.”

Ingredients include:

• 1/3 lb dried chickpeas
• 1/3 lb dried white beans
• 1/3 lb dry or red pinto beans
• 1.5 cups cubed potatoes
• Six to eight cups of water or vegetable broth if you like it richer in flavor
• One medium onion, chopped
• Five stalks of celery, chopped
• Five chopped carrots
• Eight cloves of garlic, chopped
• A bay leaf
• A teaspoon of oregano
• Two tablespoons of olive oil
• A teaspoon of red or black pepper (red makes it hotter)
• One 14 oz can chopped tomatoes or 5 Roma tomatoes
• Salt to taste

Buettner’s minestrone soup being prepared (Netflix)

How to cook

Buettner recommends soaking beans overnight. Instead, you can use ready-made canned beans.

He then sautés all the vegetables in olive oil over low heat until the onions are clear. After that, he will add the beans and a can of tomatoes, as well as the potatoes, oregano and bay leaf. Cook slowly until the beans are tender.

Buettner will leave his stew on low heat all day, monitoring the water level so it doesn’t become too thick or too watery.

Samantha Cassetty, a New York City dietitian, previously told Today.com that the longest-living people on Earth “tend to eat half a cup of beans a day.”

It seems easy to integrate into our diet.