Ghee is a lactose-free ancient superfood. It is made by slow cooking and clarifying butter to remove the milk solids and lactose, it's pure butter fat. You can get the flavour of butter in your cooking without the dairy (please don't consume if you have an allergy to ghee). My favourite brands are Organic Valley Purity Farms or Puresoul grass-fed. It is also very easy to make yourself. Ghee has a high smoke point 485F/250C.

Brussel sprouts are of the same species as cabbage and in the same family as collard greens, broccoli and kale.The leafy green vegetables look like miniature cabbages, typically 3 - 4cm in diameter. They are packed full of vitamins, minerals and sulforaphane a phytochemical known for its potential anticancer properties (boiling can reduce the level of sulforaphane, steaming and stir frying do not result in significant loss).

Red onions are sometimes called purple onions and have a mild to sweet flavour. They are normally eaten raw or lightly cooked. Raw they add colour to salads, when lightly cooked some colour is lost. Red onions are packed with quercetin, aside from its antioxidant properties, quercetin has been found to possess cancer fighting, ani-fungal, aniti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory properties.

Mushrooms are classified as fungi. Edible mushrooms are very low in kilojoules, rich in minerals and B complex vitamins, when exposed to UV light they contain large amounts of vitamin D2. Mushrooms are also used for medicinal purposes.

Parsley would be the most widely used herb worldwide. The two main varieties of this herb are curly parsley with ruffled leaves and Italian parsley with flat leaves. In general flat-leaf parsley has a more robust flavour than the curly leave parsley. Its fresh green flavour and colour can be much more than just a garnish. Both kinds of parsley may be used in cooking. Fresh parsley contains useful amounts of vitamin C, calcium, iron and potassium. Parsley is also high in bioflavonoids and other anticancer compounds.

Raw pink Himalayan salt crystals is unlike common table salt which can be a highly refined industrial byproduct, otherwise know as sodium chloride. Himalayan salt is completely pure and may naturally balance the body's alkaline/acidity and regulate water content. In addition Himalayan salt helps in the absorption of nutrients from food and contains many trace minerals for healthy cell structure. I purchase fine pink Himalayan crystal salt so I can use it in my shaker and for cooking.

Black and white pepper both come from the fruit of a tropical vine. Black pepper is the cooked and dried unripe fruit, known as a peppercorn and white pepper is from the ripe fruit seed. Pepper is usually coupled with salt, sprinkled over or added to food.