We sat down with Abby Coleman, the Chief Operating Officer and mastermind behind Blue Zones Kitchen’s meals, to talk more about the latest release of steel cut oatmeal bowls. Here’s what she had to say: 

Q: Tell me about your role at Blue Zones Kitchen! 

A: I am the Chief Operating Officer, which means that I design our meals, source ingredients, oversee production and delivery to our retail partners. 

Q: Can you share a bit about the inspiration behind Blueberry and Peach Pecan Steel Cut Oatmeal? 

A: As a company, we ask “How do we make eating the blue zones way easier for everyone?”, which prompted our original meals. When we wanted to start the day like they do in a blue zone, we looked to the US-based blue zone in California, Loma Linda. It was no surprise that breakfast is a foundational meal in Loma Linda: like the other blue zones, starting the day with a filling and nutritious meal was key.  

Q: Can you tell me more about how the blue zone in Loma Linda influenced the product concept and ingredients? 

A: Loma Linda’s diet is aligned with blue zones eating in general: they eat a lot of tubers, greens, beans, nuts and whole grains. But they particularly love steel cut oats, nuts, and fruit. Those 3 foods are in their top 10 favorite ingredients. We took this as inspiration for our steel cut oatmeal bowl.  

Q: What sets this frozen steel cut oatmeal apart from other oatmeal products on the market? What about other frozen breakfast items? 

A: This product doesn’t exist in the market today. When people think of a quick bowl of oatmeal, they naturally think about boxed instant oatmeal. When people think of steel cut oatmeal, they think about slow-cooking a big pot on the stove for 30 minutes. What we’ve created is a bowl of slow-cooked steel cut oatmeal that you can have instantly. 

Our steel cut oats are what set these products apart. Did you know there’s a huge nutritional difference between instant oats and steel cut oats? Steel cut oats are the unprocessed whole grain that’s been chopped with steel blades. Instant oats are further processed - they are cut, rolled, steamed, until the grain is barely held together. This means it’s faster to cook but it also means the body can turn these processed oats into glucose very fast – which gives you a sugar rush and crash.  

Steel cut oats are the whole grain. They take longer to cook, and the body takes longer to convert to glucose. It creates a slow energy release. You can eat steel cut oats and feel satiated for very long periods of time, versus the sugar crash feeling you get with instant oatmeal.  

We’re making it easy to enjoy a hearty breakfast of organic steel cut oats, juicy fruits, and chopped nuts in minutes. The whole grains, nuts, fruit and flax deliver a great source of fiber and plant-based protein while cinnamon, artisan maple syrup, and vanilla provide the craveable flavor.  

Q: Can you tell me about some of the suppliers you source ingredients from? 

A: We source every ingredient in all our dishes individually, which means we have to take our time making new dishes, but it is so worth it in the end when it comes to the flavor and nutritional value of our meals. The drizzle of maple syrup in each bowl is a fantastic example: it comes from an upstate New York company called Sterling Valley Maple! It’s organic and all natural – tapped from trees in Croghan, NY and boiled in their own ‘sugar shanties' you can visit during maple season.  

Q: Blue Zones Kitchen co-founder Dan Buettner prefers his oatmeal with extra oat milk – what about you? How do you customize your oatmeal? 

A: Oatmeal is very personal. There is creamy camp and there is the ‘spoon stands up straight in the bowl’ camp.  Personally, I’m somewhere in the middle of those. I do love toppings though! They are the best part. There should be a bite of fruit and nuts in every spoonful, which is how I designed our oatmeal bowls.  

To try our new oatmeal bowls, visit our store locator to find them near you. To keep up to date on all things Blue Zones Kitchen, follow us on Instagram and subscribe to our newsletter.