Description ★★★ Simple recipes with 5 steps or fewer ★★★ ★★★ Free from ultra-processed ingredients, gluten, refined sugar, and dairy ★★★ ★★★ A complete collection from Wholesome, a home-cooking expert who made over 1,000 home-cooked meals a year ★★★ "Can't we eat healthy home-cooked meals every day?" Carefully chosen ingredients, simple cooking methods—Wholesome's special recipes that redefine what healthy home cooking can be. Home-cooked meals are delicious. They're also healthy. But somehow, it's hard to get started. That's why so many people turn to easy alternatives instead—frozen foods, meal kits, and instant packaged foods. Just pop it in the microwave, or boil the contents of a packet in a pot, and a meal is done. But by settling for these quick fixes meal after meal, we lose more than we realize. And the biggest loss, without question, is our health. Insufficient nutrition and harmful substances in processed foods weaken our immune systems, and can even affect our mental health, contributing to anxiety and sleep problems. We don't notice it while we're still healthy—but this slow, quiet damage builds up over time, wearing down both body and mind. That's why the author encourages us to pay a little more attention to the meals we eat at home. To stop relying on supplements to make up for a diet full of harmful additives. To stop chasing fad diets with fancy names like one-meal-a-day, low-carb-high-fat, or paleo. Instead, the author hopes we'll return to healthy home cooking—even if it takes a little more effort—and reclaim a healthier life for ourselves and our families. "Home-cooked meals made with heart, every day, can change your life." An approachable, appealing guide to home cooking from Wholesome, who has made more than 1,000 home-cooked meals a year. When the world came to a standstill during COVID-19, the author cooked more than 1,000 home meals in a single year—exactly 1,081 meals in 2020, followed by 1,052 the next year, and 1,033 the year after that. Through this daily practice, meal after meal, the author realized that these small daily choices had added up to shape the direction of an entire life. The first change was in the quality of sleep, which in turn sparked the motivation to build strength through exercise. As the body grew healthier, positive thinking followed naturally, along with a deeper desire to become an even healthier, better version of oneself. Building on this realization—along with health knowledge gained from academic research, books, and lectures, as well as personal everyday experience—the author developed and continues to practice a collection of recipes. Avoiding processed foods as much as possible, using everyday ingredients you likely already have in your fridge, and leaving out dairy, gluten, and refined sugar, these approachable recipes are easy for anyone to follow. All of them are gathered together in Wholesome's Praise For Home-Cooked Meals. There's no need for hard-to-find, complicated seasonings—just additive-free soy sauce, salt, and soybean paste will do. If prepping ingredients from scratch feels unfamiliar or difficult, using pre-prepped ingredients is perfectly fine too. Wash and portion out vegetables that take extra effort ahead of time, and store seasonal ingredients the way you would for kimchi-making, so you can use them year-round. Even baking, which usually requires precise measurements and special tools, becomes simple with Wholesome's touch—just mix the ingredients in a single stainless steel bowl and bake. The results may look a little rustic, but the taste and nutrition rival any artisan bakery. Most of the recipes in this book take five steps or fewer, so anyone can follow along without feeling overwhelmed. This is the true strength of Wholesome's healthy recipes: they let the natural flavor and charm of each ingredient truly shine. We all began with home-cooked meals—the gentle bubbling of a simmering stew, the steady rhythm of a knife on a cutting board, the warm steam and comforting smell of freshly cooked rice. When we look back on our childhood memories, home-cooked meals are always there. Even if it's just one meal, let yourself fall in love with the lasting appeal of home cooking, guided by Wholesome's healthy and delicious recipes.