Cook at Home

Doing this one thing can make such an enormous difference in your health and the health of your family, and I'm going to show you exactly why.

I'm baking banana bread with my daughter today.

Healthy? Not exactly. Banana bread is full of sugar and high-glycemic carbs, no matter how you make it! Banana bread is not healthy...it's dessert.

But not all banana bread is created equal! Here's why you should swap the store-bought banana bread for a little time in the kitchen.

Ingredients in the store-bought banana bread:

Sugar, Bleached wheat flour, Bananas, Water, Soybean oil, Eggs, Walnuts, Modified corn starch, Salt, Whey leavening, Sodium aluminum phosphate, Aluminum sulfate, Sodium bicarbonate, Monocalcium phosphate, Propylene glycol, Monoesters, Natural and artificial flavor, Caramel color, Mono and Diglycerides, Sodium stearoyl lactylate, Potassium sorbate, Cellulose gum, Tricalcium phosphate, Ascorbic acid, Citric acid, Xanthan gum, Soy flour.

Wow. I count at least 20 ingredients in the store-bought bread that I wouldn't put into my homemade banana bread. I can't pronounce half of them, don't know what they are, and don't know why they're in my bread. But I do know that I don't want those things in my body, or in the body of my precious little girl.

Ingredients in homemade banana bread:

Bananas, Butter, Sugar, Flour, Vanilla, Eggs, Baking soda, Salt.

Double Wow. Just the size of the ingredient lists gives you a pretty good visual as to why the banana bread you make at home is going to be better than anything you buy in a store! You can pronounce all of the ingredients and you know what they are. They are...food.

Four Reasons to Cook More at Home (as if you need more reason!?!)

Whether you are cooking healthy meals or treats like banana bread and pizza, cooking them at home is going to yield much healthier FOOD. Here's why:

You control the ingredients. When you control the ingredients, you control your health and the health of your family.
You skip the food-like substances. Food cooked from scratch at home is devoid of chemicals, preservatives, food dyes, artificial sugars, and modified fats.
It can help you lose weight. Food cooked at home is less calorie dense and we tend to eat less of it. Further, food cooked at home is devoid of processed fats, sugars, and chemicals. These "pseudo-foods" are processed differently by the body. Simply speaking, eating real food causes a positive hormonal response that can result in weight loss and better health.
It brings family together. Food is love. That's why you look forward to a meal cooked by your mother or grandmother. Those home-cooked meals are comfort food and a lot of love went into making them for you. I involve my daughter in the kitchen and she loves it. I'm helping her learn a real skill that she'll carry with her for life...and we're making memories that will last forever.

Bar None Best Banana Bread

3 to 4 ripe bananas, smashed
1/3 cup melted butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda
pinch of sea salt
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour, sifted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 4x8 glass loaf pan.
Melt the butter.
No mixer needed! In a large bowl, mash the bananas.
Mix the butter into the bananas with a wooden spoon.
Mix in sugar, beaten egg, and vanilla.
Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the top and then mix in.
This is my secret: SIFT the flour and then mix into the banana mixture.
Pour mixture into the greased loaf pan.
Bake for 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Cool on a rack. Makes one loaf.

Want to make this banana bread even more healthy? Make a few of the following recipe swaps:

Use 100% whole wheat flour or a sprouted ancient grain flour like Spelt.
Swap the white sugar for raw honey or organic raw cane sugar.
If your bananas are VERY ripe, try omitting or greatly reducing the amount of sugar.
If dairy is a problem for you or someone in your family, use extra virgin coconut oil in place of the butter.
Mix in 1/2 cup of heart-healthy nuts like pecans or walnuts, or unsweetened coconut flakes for added texture and flavor!
For a super treat, add in 3/4 cup of dark chocolate chips.

Banana bread, whether store-bought or homemade, is not healthy by any stretch...but it's much better when prepared at home from ingredients that you recognize as real food! Enjoy!

Remember how much control you have over your health and the health of your loved ones. The health of your family is literally in your hands. You make the choice to eat fast food or cook at home. You do the grocery shopping. You do the cooking. This is an enormous responsibility. so give yourself a pat on the back when you cook a healthy meal at home instead of heading to the drive-thru. You may not get the appreciation you deserve, but just know that by making that choice, you are truly impacting your health and the health of your loved ones in immeasurable ways.

Thank you for reading and I'd love to hear from you! Do you enjoy cooking at home? What healthy swaps and tricks do you use to make your recipes a little more healthy?

Thinner, Happier, Healthier? HOW?