The Traditional Japanese Diet is known for being largely fresh and unprocessed with no refined ingredients or added sugar. The diet promotes seafood, rice, noodles, seaweed, fermented soy, fruit, and vegetables. Japan has been known as a country of longevity and studies indicate the reason why health is maintained is from this nutritionally balanced traditional home-cooked food.

A-O (phonetically Eiyō) means nutrition in Japanese! All of our ingredients are non-refined and minimally processed. In addition, we do not use any added or refined sugar whatsoever in any of our dishes. While this cuisine may not seem familiar to those that typically think of processed Japanese food with Western and Chinese influences, the food we are bringing you is closer to a true authentic home-cooked meal, albeit in a modern bowl concept.

Our Oil - We use small amounts of an organic, virgin, raw, non-refined sesame oil to cook certain dishes with. One of the reaosns this oil is touted as one of the healthiest and most resilient oils is because of its sesamol, an antioxidant with antidepressant, aniti-inflammatory, and neuroprotective properties. We don’t ever fry food and no oil is ever heated above its smoke point which could produce toxic fumes and hazardous substances called free radicals. While the oil in your food is a huge deal, most restaurants won’t focus on that. We will never compromise for processed or refined seed oils. Our high-quality oil is one of the main reasons you won’t feel heavy or groggy after eating. Look at the ingredients of other restaurants, even those that masquerade as healthy.  You’ll usually find all sorts of refined highly refined oils: grapeseed, canola, and sunflower oil, which are toxic to your body.

Refined Ingredients - We have taken the unique approach of our commitment to eliminate refined ingredients from our foods.  All our dishes have no added or refined sugars and no refined carbs.  Our ingredients are either unprocessed or minimally processed. While some of our food contain sugar naturally, we do not add refined sugar (or even sugar substitutes) into any dish whatsoever. Despite nearly every nutritional expert agreeing that refined carbs should be limited, as it increases the risk of heart disease and diabetes, it’s the main source of carbs in the US, even at restaurants that masquerade as healthy.

Fiber - Our dishes are also high in fiber, which is needed to help regulate the body’s use of sugar and keep hunger and blood sugar in check. In turn, combined with there being no refined ingredients, our bowls naturally have a low glycemic index and glycemic load, which means a slower rise of blood sugar and longer lasting energy. If you aren’t used to a healthy diet containing fiber, we recommend you increase your fiber diet gradually over the course of several weeks (not doing so may mean intestinal gas, abdominal bloating and cramping).

Nutrients - Our chef-curated meals are specially designed to give you all the essential micro and macronutrients (including amino acids). In line with the traditional Japanese diet, every dish also includes fermented products which are full of probiotics and provide numerous health benefits such as antioxidant and anticarcinogenic effects and many of our dishes are derived from fermented soy products. Although we aren’t modeled after the macrobiotic diet, because that diet focuses on whole grain cereals, legumes, vegetables, seaweed, fish, and fermented products, most of our dishes are compatible.