We started with the question, “how should humans eat?” The more we studied and experimented, the more we came to understand that we are primitive bodies living in modern times, that getting back to a pre-industrial way of eating was the best thing we could do for our health. But we knew we wouldn’t be satisfied until we figured out how to make our food not just nutritionally superior but also genuinely delicious.
We created The Hu Pillars to distill what we learned and explain how we do things at Hu. We believe it is the simplest way to cut through the confusion and get back to a more human way of eating without sacrificing the sensual experience of eating delicious food.
Before industry, food was minimally processed and nourishing. Demand ingredients with that same pre-industrial standard. Humans evolved to eat whole foods that exist in nature, not ingredients made in labs. If you don’t recognize an ingredient, there’s a good chance your body won’t either.
The quality of your calories is far more important than the quantity. Don’t count calories; make ingredients count. Make the ingredients list the first thing you check out when you encounter a new food. If you commit to eating foods with minimal, wholesome ingredients, we will commit to making them delicious for you.
Flip the conventional wisdom. Pull vegetables and fruits to the center of the plate; push animal protein to the edges. We don’t want to push animal protein off the plate altogether, but we’re making plants the main event again.
Grains aren’t all they’re cracked up to be. Vegetables are carbs too, and they are almost always a better choice. Look for grain-free alternatives whenever you can. When you do eat grains, ensure that they are whole. We also think humans should minimize gluten whenever possible. At Hu, all of our food is gluten-free.
It’s not fat that is making us sick – it’s the wrong fat. Revel in the good fats and keep out the bad. We embrace healthy olive and coconut oils, nuts, avocados, and animal fats from animals that ate their natural diets.
If you are going to eat animals, demand they ate what animals are meant to eat. Animals aren’t meant to eat industrial, GMO food pellets, hormones, and antibiotics. Cows and fish aren’t meant to eat grains. We source only grass-fed, pastured meats and dairy, organic poultry and eggs, and wild seafood.
We think sugar in any form isn’t great for you, but we also love sweets, so our approach is to be smart about how we use sweeteners at Hu. There are a thousand names for cane sugar, corn sugar, and artificial sweeteners. We think they’re all bad for you. Instead, we use organic coconut sugar, unfiltered honey, and maple syrup. You’ll never find any form of corn syrup, cane sugar, or artificial sweeteners within our walls.
Ensure that your food is as free as possible from foreign, toxic chemicals and genetically-modified ingredients. Be smart about what needs to be organic. Demand the organic seal or verification of organic practices on food items where you feel susceptible to ingesting an unhealthy amount of toxic chemicals. Our lettuces, thin-skinned fruits, coffee, wines, beers, poultry, and eggs are 100% organic and everything at Hu is non-GMO and always will be.