What food do I eat to "Eat Like a Human?"

I have been talking for years about learning to eat like a human. I want to take this opportunity to tell you more about it.

Let me be clear - this is not a diet.

At least not in a traditional sense. Instead, this is an all encompassing approach to connecting with your food and, through that connection, reconnecting with everything it means to be human.

It lays the groundwork to empower you to feed yourself and your families the most nourishing diets possible. When you Eat Like a Human, you focus on HOW you eat, not just what you eat. 

That’s right!  Whether you maintain a ketogenic lifestyle, eat a carnivore diet, intermittently fast or even follow a plant based diet, the Eat Like a Human approach will help you do what you are already doing...but better!

The Eat Like a Human approach relies upon 5 steps:

• Unearth

• Context

• Assess

• Fulfill

• Empower

SPENDING 8 MONTHS LIVING 2.5 MILLION YEARS OF HISTORY

UNEARTH

It all starts with the archaeological record. The foundation of our comprehensive approach is our 3.5 million-year-old dietary past. This insight comes from a combination of my academic and professional training as a prehistoric and experimental archaeologist. This training includes a PhD in Anthropology, 20+ years as a college professor, and my unique experience living 2.5 million years of history as the co-star on National Geographic’s The Great Human Race.

Cooking a yak in Mongolia on the Great Human Race

UNDERSTANDING THE POWER OF TRADITIONAL FOODWAYS

Billy trying blood and milk in Kenya

CONTEXTUALIZE

The anthropological record and our ethnographic fieldwork capture how people today are still carrying on traditional foodways. This ethnographic work often includes my entire family living with and learning from indigenous and traditional groups. From:

• letting blood from the necks of cows in a remote areas of Kenya to

• harvesting Weaver Ant egg in Thailand to

• nixtamalizing maize in the mountains of Oaxaca, and

• detoxifying poisonous heirloom varieties of potatoes in Bolivia,

• this work has allowed us to better understand, first hand, the wide range of possibilities still in use today that people are using to nourish themselves.

The purpose is the same for all of these technologies – to transform the resources in any environment into the safest, most nutrient dense and bioavailable possible.

Ready to enjoy a weaver ant egg feast in Thailand (February 2018)

CONTEXTUALIZING THE MODERN FOODSCAPE

ASSESS

Armed with the knowledge of our deep dietary past and our rich and diverse dietary present, we take an objective look at our modern foodscape to see how different it is from anything resembling how we should be eating as humans. It is only within this context that we can begin to understand how unhealthy our relationship with food really is and take the necessary steps towards a safe and nourishing diet.

MAKING IT THE FOOD MAKE SENSE

FULFILL

Then we identify what else is important for how we eat beyond just nourishment.  The manner in which we eat is uniquely human and our dietary choices consciously and unconsciously take into account more than flavor and nutrition.  Healthy approaches to food also need to fit within your stance on ethics and sustainability and need to be accessible in terms of your resources and time.  These factors are often not a part of most diet plans yet are crucial to their success.

Having three teenagers in our house, we truly understand how important this step is!

100% homemade pizza from sourdough crust to mozz and sausage to Caesar Salad

TYING IT ALL TOGETHER

EMPOWER

We take into account your specific needs and then teach you how to transform the food you eat into the safest, most nutrient dense, and bioavailable form possible in your own kitchen. We empower you to feed yourself and your families the most nourishing diets possible in ways that are relevant, meaningful and accessible to your modern lives!

We can do this through online classes, coaching calls or hands-on workshops like this family butchering class!

Breaking down half a pig for a family class

This is what it means to eat like a human

and truly enjoy a sustainable, ethical and healthy diet.