Bryan Johnson's Blueprint Meals: A Sweet Potato Curry, a Green Smoothie, and a Roasted Vegetable Lentil Bowl
Bryan Johnson
Bryan Johnson opens the video by saying that "we are the first generation who won't die," and that he and his team have searched the scientific literature for evidence on how to build the best nutrition protocol. His governing rule is that "every calorie has to fight for its life." Johnson eats three meals a day. The dishes change from day to day, but they share a core set of foods his team considers the best available. In this video, his personal chef prepares three of those meals: a sweet potato curry, a green smoothie, and a roasted vegetable, chickpea, and lentil bowl. The narration gives step-by-step instructions and explains why each ingredient or technique was chosen.
The Criteria Every Meal Must Meet
Before the recipes, Johnson lists the rules each meal has to satisfy, even as the specific dishes rotate:
- The ingredients must be the most elite available for longevity.
- The meal must keep him within his daily macronutrient targets of 25% protein, 35% carbohydrates, and 40% fat.
- The ingredients must appear in the Don't Die Food Guide.
- The meal cannot contain "bad things" such as sugars and fried foods. Johnson adds that people might be surprised how often these show up hidden in food.
The meals are also designed for batch preparation. The chef cooks on one day and makes enough food to last three days.
Sweet Potato Curry: Cookware, Oil, and Aromatics
The video says the curry qualifies because it uses foods from the Don't Die Food Guide, including macadamia nuts, cauliflower, and turmeric. It also notes that the dish takes under 30 minutes to make.
The first step is to dice a whole onion finely. The narration then makes a point about cookware. It says pots must be stainless steel or ceramic, because non-stick cookware releases "forever chemicals" (PFAS) into food. According to the video, these compounds persist for decades and interfere with metabolism, hormones, and fertility. The recipe uses a medium stainless steel pot over medium-high heat.
The cooking fat is half a tablespoon of avocado oil. The stated reason is avocado oil's higher smoke point, which the video says produces fewer toxic carcinogens during cooking than other oils. The heat is kept at medium so the oil stays below 375°F (190°C). Once the oil starts to shimmer, the onion goes in and cooks for about five minutes, until translucent.
While the onion cooks, the ginger is peeled with a spoon. The video calls this faster than a knife or peeler and less wasteful, because it leaves the flesh just under the skin. A couple of garlic cloves are peeled and minced finely together with the ginger, then cooked with the onion for a few minutes.
Sweet Potatoes, Carrots, and Resting the Crucifers
Next, sweet potatoes are peeled and cubed. The narration says sweet potatoes have more fiber than regular potatoes, so their natural sugars are absorbed more slowly. It says this reduces blood sugar spikes and keeps you full longer. Carrots are peeled, cut into rounds, and added.
The broccoli and cauliflower come with two instructions. First, use both the stalks and the florets. The video says the stalk adds an earthy flavor and contains more iron, calcium, vitamin C, and fiber. Second, which the narration itself calls "an odd one," let the chopped broccoli and cauliflower sit for 40 minutes before cooking. The video explains that chopping activates an enzyme called myrosinase, which unlocks sulforaphane. It describes sulforaphane as one of the strongest anti-cancer compounds found in food, with possible sugar-lowering and detoxifying properties. Heat stops this process, so the advice is to chop these vegetables at the start of the session and let them rest to reach maximum sulforaphane levels. When the vegetables go into the pot later, the narration says they can be added "rested or unrested," so the rest is treated as an optimization rather than a requirement.
Turmeric, Black Pepper, and the Simmer
With ginger, garlic, and onion in the pot, which the video calls the base of every good curry, the recipe adds black pepper and a teaspoon of turmeric. The narration says the pepper boosts the turmeric. A compound in pepper, piperine, slows the breakdown of curcumin in the gut and liver. According to the video, this keeps curcumin more stable in the body and makes its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and metabolic benefits last longer.
Then the broccoli and cauliflower go in, along with enough water to cover everything. The pot is brought to a boil, covered, and simmered gently for 15 minutes.
The quinoa is made alongside. Two cups of vegetable stock and one cup of quinoa go into a medium pot, are brought to a boil, and then simmer on lower heat for 15 minutes. When it finishes, the heat is turned off and the pot stays covered.
Two limes are juiced, and the juice is held until the end. The narration's reasoning is that lemon or lime juice added too early to a stew or curry loses the citrus flavor. Trimmed green beans are cut into bite-sized pieces, and cilantro is chopped.
Finishing and Plating the Curry
The final additions are peas, green beans, cilantro, and the citrus juice, followed by macadamia nut milk, which the video says gives the curry a creamy flavor and color. The narration describes macadamia as rich in monounsaturated fats and says it can lower blood sugar and bad cholesterol. The curry is brought briefly to a boil, then taken off the heat.
Johnson treats plating as just as important as cooking. His reasoning is that precise, intentional arrangements stimulate the appetite and encourage slower, more mindful eating, which he says improves digestion and nutrient absorption. The quinoa is fluffed with a fork and used as the base. The curry goes on top with plenty of broth, "because that's where all the flavor is." The garnish is black sesame seeds, cilantro, and microgreens, with edible flowers optional "if you're feeling extra bougie." A lime wedge finishes the plate. For meal prep, the curry and quinoa are stored in separate containers, then reheated and combined when it's time to eat.
Green Smoothie: Why Blending Isn't Juicing
The second dish is a green smoothie, described as a summertime palate cleanser that tastes delicious. Before the recipe, the video addresses a common objection: fruit shouldn't be consumed as juice, because juicing strips out the fiber and lets the body absorb sugar unnaturally fast. The narration agrees this is true but says it doesn't apply to smoothies. Blending keeps the solid parts of the fruits and vegetables, so the natural fiber remains. The video says that fiber regulates sugar absorption, feeds the gut microbiota, and prevents inflammation. It adds that the vegetables, nuts, and fats in the smoothie dilute the fruit's sugar, which slows absorption further and keeps you full longer.
Building and Blending the Smoothie
The liquid goes in first, macadamia nut milk, so the other ingredients don't stall the blender. Next comes one banana, frozen if possible, to thicken the texture. The rest of the ingredients follow:
- macadamia nuts
- three frozen cherries
- pomegranate seeds
- hemp seeds
- wheatgrass
- vanilla extract
- chia seeds
- juice of half a lemon
- one celery stalk
The narration says each ingredient was chosen for a reason and explains three of them. Pomegranates contain distinctive polyphenols that protect cholesterol from oxidation, which it says improves blood flow. Dark cherries contain another type of elite polyphenol that supports cardiovascular health, and they are rich in melatonin, which helps with sleep. Hemp seeds are a source of essential omega-3 and omega-6 fats, with protein content given as 32%.
Everything blends for 30 seconds. Then one or two handfuls of washed spinach go in, and the mixture blends again until smooth. The video notes that the result is thick, and suggests adding filtered water or a nut milk to thin it. It is topped with a little strawberry and mint. As meal prep, a large batch can be kept in an airtight container in the fridge for three to four days, as long as it is stirred or shaken before drinking.
Roasted Vegetable, Chickpea, and Lentil Bowl
The last dish is a bowl of roasted vegetables, black lentils, shiitake mushrooms, and a creamy chickpea dressing. Johnson says he has "learned to absolutely love vegetables and legumes." He says roasting makes the vegetables sweet and juicy, the lentils are packed with protein, and the dressing delivers a strong dose of high-polyphenol olive oil. Of the three recipes, he calls this one possibly the most satisfying to eat.
The oven is preheated to 400°. Half a cauliflower is cut into bite-sized pieces. The other half can be saved for later, or the recipe can be doubled for more portions. A zucchini is chopped. For the red bell pepper, the top and bottom are cut off, the pepper is split in the middle, and the bitter white membrane is removed before chopping. About a teaspoon of macadamia nut oil, or another high-smoke-point oil such as avocado, is measured out. A small amount greases the baking sheet so the vegetables don't stick, and the rest is tossed with the vegetables. They are spread evenly on the sheet and roasted at 400° for about 15 minutes.
Black Lentils and the Legume Fiber Claim
While the vegetables roast, the black lentils cook. The narration says lentils are 18% protein and 16% fiber, and that the fiber slows absorption, keeps you full longer, and reduces blood sugar spikes. It also cites research: studies suggest that eating 10 grams of legume fiber a day lowers colon cancer risk by 32%, compared with 10% for the same amount of other dietary fiber.
The method is about 1½ cups of cold water and ¾ cup of black lentils, brought to a boil. The pot is then partly covered, the heat lowered to medium-low, and the lentils simmered for about 15 minutes.
Shiitake Mushrooms and Making Stainless Steel Non-Stick
Shiitake mushrooms were chosen, according to the video, because they contain three especially healthy compounds: ergothioneine, lentinan, and eritadenine.
This step returns to the cookware theme. The stainless steel pan is heated over very high heat for a few minutes until it becomes non-stick. The test is to splash a teaspoon of water onto the hot pan. If the water forms beads, the pan is "officially non-stick" and ready. The mushrooms cook in the preheated pan with a teaspoon of avocado oil or another high-smoke-point oil for about five minutes, stirred occasionally, and are then set aside.
The Chickpea Dressing and the Olive Oil Rationale
The dressing is made by blending these ingredients for 30 seconds:
- one cup of cooked chickpeas
- 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- one garlic clove
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 4 tablespoons filtered water
- a handful of chives
The narration calls high-polyphenol olive oil the most powerful ingredient in the dressing. It says the oil raises HDL ("good" cholesterol) and lowers several key markers of cardiovascular disease. The team uses Blueprint olive oil, which the video describes as very high in polyphenols. Garlic, it adds, has been shown to lower blood pressure and support the immune system.
Assembling the Bowl
Once the lentils and vegetables are done, everything comes off the heat to cool. The lentils go into a shallow bowl first. The roasted vegetables, sautéed mushrooms, and one or two handfuls of kale are tossed with the dressing in a mixing bowl, and a large portion of this mixture goes on top of the lentils. The bowl is finished with a large pinch of hemp seeds and a lemon wedge. The video calls it an easy, nutritious meal that takes less than 30 minutes.
The video ends there, with a pointer to a separate video on another of Johnson's favorite dishes, "super veggie."
Do not die.
Hi friends. Given that we are the first generation who won't die, my team and I have scoured the scientific literature looking for the evidence on how to build the best nutrition protocol. The rule is every calorie has to fight for its life.
Round one, fight. Every day I consume three meals and the meals vary day to day, but what they do have in common is a set of foods that we have deemed to be the superfoods of all things that I could put into my body. Today, I'm going to share with you how my personal chef prepares three of these dishes.
While the recipes change, each meal must meet the following criteria. They have to be the most elite ingredients for longevity. It needs to keep me within my daily macros of 25% protein, 35% carbohydrates, and 40% fat. The ingredients need to be included in the Don't Die Food Guide. And obviously, it can't include the bad things such as sugars, fried foods, etc. You would be surprised, and maybe you're not, of how frequently you find these things hiding in your food. My chef also prepares the food in a way where we can make it one day and have enough food for 3 days.
All right, let's get started with sweet potato curry. This dish meets the criteria of foods from the Don't Die Food Guide, including macadamia nuts, cauliflower, turmeric. It's also great because you can make it in under 30 minutes.
First, chop one whole onion. There's no correct way of doing this, but I aim for a fine dice. Once done, take a medium stainless steel pot and put it on medium-high heat. It's crucial that your pots are stainless steel or ceramic, as non-stick cookware releases forever chemicals known as PFAS into your food. These can stick around for decades, messing with your metabolism, hormones, and fertility.
Once your pot is heated up, add in half a tablespoon of avocado oil. Use avocado oil when cooking because it has a higher smoke point. This will form fewer toxic carcinogens than other oils during cooking. Keep it on medium heat to make sure the oil does not exceed 375° F or 190° C.
Once the oil starts to simmer, add in your onion. Stir and carry on cooking until it's nice and translucent. It's going to be about 5 minutes.
As the onion cooks, use a spoon to peel your ginger. This is faster than using a knife or peeler and way more efficient because you don't remove any of the juicy flesh underneath.
Next, peel a couple of cloves of garlic and chop them with the ginger into a fine mince. Let it cook with your onion for a few minutes. There should be an amazing smell in your kitchen right now.
While the aromatics are cooking, peel your sweet potatoes and chop into cubes. Sweet potatoes have more fiber than regular potatoes, so you absorb their natural sugars slower. This reduces blood sugar spikes and keeps you feeling fuller for longer. Add to your pot. Then, peel and chop your carrots into rounds. Add them to the pot as well, giving everything a nice stir.
Okay, more vegetables. Time to chop your broccoli and cauliflower. There are two things to keep in mind here. First, use the stalk and the florets because the stalk adds a nice earthy taste and has more iron, calcium, vitamin C, and fiber.
Second, and this is an odd one, for the best health results, let the broccoli and cauliflower sit for 40 minutes after chopping before you cook it. This is because chopping activates a natural enzyme in broccoli and cauliflower called myrosinase, which then unlocks sulforaphane, one of the strongest anti-cancer compounds you can find in food. It also has potential sugar-lowering detoxifying properties. But heat from cooking stops this process. So chop at the start of your cooking session and wait a bit to let your vegetable reach maximum sulforaphane levels.
So we have all our aromatics in the pot, including ginger, garlic, and onion, which are the base of every good curry. Now we'll add in the black pepper and a teaspoon of turmeric. We're adding black pepper because it boosts the power of the turmeric. A compound in pepper called piperine slows the breakdown of curcumin in your gut and liver. This makes it more stable inside your body and makes its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and metabolic benefits last longer. Give everything a good stir to incorporate all the flavors.
Next, add in your broccoli, rested or unrested, and cauliflower, and pour in enough water to cover everything, giving it a nice stir. Now bring up to a boil and then cover the pot and let it gently simmer for 15 minutes.
While that's coming to a boil, we'll make our quinoa. Heat up a medium-sized pot. Add in two cups of vegetable stock and 1 cup of quinoa. Once that comes up to a boil, lower the heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
Now juice two limes and reserve the juice until you finish cooking. You always want to add lemon or lime juice at the end of your stews or curries because if you do it too early, it loses the citrus flavors you want in your dish.
Now, we're going to chop our trimmed green beans into bite-sized pieces. Place to the side and chop your cilantro.
Now that the quinoa is finished cooking after 15 minutes, turn off the heat and let it sit aside covered. Next, we'll add in the rest of our ingredients to the curry: peas, green beans, cilantro, citrus juice.
Finally, macadamia nut milk will give your curry a really nice creamy flavor and color. Macadamia is rich in monounsaturated fats and can lower blood sugar and bad cholesterol. Bring that up to a quick boil and then turn off the heat and set aside.
Now it's time for plating. I think the plating is just as important as the cooking. Precise, intentional arrangements stimulate the appetite and encourage you to eat slower and more mindfully, which all improves digestion and nutrition absorption.
To plate, give the quinoa a nice little fluff with your fork. Add to the plate as a base. Top with the curry and add plenty of curry broth because that's where all the flavor is. Garnish with black sesame seeds, cilantro, and microgreens. And if you're feeling extra bougie, you can add in some edible flowers. Finish with a wedge of lime and enjoy. Bon appétit.
If you're meal prepping, keep the curry and quinoa in separate containers. Then reheat and combine when you're ready to eat.
Next up is the green smoothie. I love this dish because it's like a summertime palate cleanser. It's loaded with healthy ingredients and tastes absolutely delicious.
You might have heard that you shouldn't consume fruit in juice form because it strips away all the fiber and lets your body absorb sugar unnaturally fast. This is all true, but it doesn't apply to smoothies. The key difference is that for smoothies, you don't remove the solid parts of the fruits and vegetables. You just blend them all together. This means you still get their natural fiber content, which regulates sugar absorption, feeds your gut microbiota, and prevents inflammation. In fact, adding vegetables, nuts, and fats to your smoothie dilutes the sugar content of the fruit, slowing down absorption even more and keeping you full for longer.
All right, let's get going. First, add in your macadamia nut milk. Adding the liquid first stops your ingredients from stalling the blender. Next, add in one banana, frozen if possible, to thicken the consistency of the smoothie. Then add in the rest of your ingredients: mac nuts, three frozen cherries, pomegranate seeds, hemp seeds, wheatgrass, vanilla extract, chia seeds, juice of half of a lemon, and one celery stalk.
These were all chosen for a reason. Pomegranates have unique polyphenols that protect your cholesterol from oxidation, which all improves your blood flow. Dark cherries have another distinct type of elite polyphenols that help with cardiovascular health and are rich in melatonin, which helps with sleep. Hemp seeds are a great source of essential omega-3 and omega-6 fat with a remarkable 32% protein content.
Close the lid and give everything a good blend for 30 seconds. Next, add in a handful or two of washed spinach and blend again until all your ingredients are thoroughly mixed.
Take your glass and serve your smoothie. Note that this will be a thicker smoothie. If you want to make it less thick, you can always add in more filtered water or your choice of nut milk. Top off with a little strawberry and mint and you're ready to go. This is a great meal prep smoothie. You can make a big batch and store in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 3 to 4 days. Just make sure to give it a quick stir or shake before enjoying.
Finally, we have the roasted vegetable, chickpea, and lentil bowl. I love this dish because I have learned to absolutely love vegetables and legumes. Roasting makes the vegetables sweet and juicy. The lentils are packed with protein, and the creamy chickpea dressing has a great hit of high polyphenol olive oil. Of our three recipes, this might be the most satisfying to eat.
Preheat your oven to 400° and start chopping the vegetables. We'll start with half of a cauliflower and cut into bite-sized pieces. Keep the other half in your fridge for later, or you can double the recipe to make more portions. Set this aside in a mixing bowl and chop up one zucchini.
Now, take your red bell pepper, cut the top and bottom like this. Cut in the middle and slice out the bitter white membrane before chopping into bite-sized pieces.
Once you're done chopping vegetables, measure about 1 teaspoon of macadamia nut oil or any kind of oil with a high smoke point like avocado. Take a tiny bit of this oil and spread onto your baking sheet to prevent sticking when the vegetables are in the oven. Then add the rest of your oil to your bowl of mixed vegetables. Give everything a good toss and add to your baking sheet. Spread evenly and place in the oven at 400° for about 15 minutes.
Now that the vegetables are in the oven, we'll start cooking our black lentils. Lentils are 18% protein, but also 16% fiber, which again slows down food absorption, making you fuller for longer and reducing blood sugar spikes. Studies suggest that eating 10 g of legume fibers every day lowers colon cancer risk by 32% versus just 10% for the same amount of other dietary fibers.
Add about 1 and 1/2 cups of cold water and 3/4 of a cup of black lentils. Bring up to a boil, then partially cover with a pot lid and turn down to a medium low temp. We're going to let this simmer for about 15 minutes.
Next, we're going to sauté our shiitake mushrooms. We're using shiitake because they have three particularly healthy compounds: ergothioneine, lentinan, and eritadenine.
Bring your stainless steel pan up to a really high heat for a few minutes so that the pan becomes non-stick. I like to take a teaspoon of water and splash it onto the heated stainless steel pan. If the water forms beads, that means that your pan is officially non-stick and ready for cooking.
Place the shiitake mushrooms in the preheated pan with a teaspoon of avocado oil or any type of high smoke point oil. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Once cooked, take your mushrooms off the heat and set aside.
Now, let's make our dressing. Take a cup of cooked chickpeas, 1 tbsp of nutritional yeast, 1 tbsp of olive oil, one garlic clove, a tablespoon of lemon juice, 4 tbsp of filtered water, and a handful of chives. Put everything in the blender and blend for 30 seconds.
High polyphenol olive oil is the most powerful ingredient in this dressing. It increases HDL or good cholesterol and reduces several key markers of cardiovascular disease. We use Blueprint olive oil as it has a very high polyphenol count. Garlic has also been shown to lower blood pressure and help the immune system.
Once your lentils and vegetables have been cooked, take everything off the heat and set to cool. Plate up by placing your lentils in a shallow bowl. Next, take your roasted vegetables, sautéed mushrooms, and a handful or two of kale. Add our dressing to the mixing bowl and give everything a nice toss. Put a big helping of vegetable mix on your lentils. Add in a large pinch of hemp seeds and a wedge of lemon. And that's it. You now have an easy and nutritious meal that you can make in less than 30 minutes. Enjoy.
If you want to learn how to make one of my favorite dishes, Super Veggie, watch this video here.
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