These are a few of my favourite foods.....

I decided to revisit my healthy eating phase having visited my sister-in-law in Cornwall and eaten my weight in Pasties, Chips and Cream Teas!  Nice as it was to let go for a week, my body did not thank me upon my return…  My tongue was sore and cracked and I felt tired and sapped of all energy. 

Being vegetarian, I’ve always loved vegetables (which comes in handy!) and I love fruit, seeds, nuts, pulses and other weird and wonderful things that some people find strange.  However, it has to taste good.  Having cut down on refined carbohydrates, especially sugar, I feel much better and have more energy.

Try this sundried tomato pesto http://allrecipes.com/recipe/sun-dried-tomato-pesto/ - fabby and really easy to make once you gather the ingredients.

Sourcing ingredients doesn't have to be expensive.  Aldi and Lidl offer a fantastic selection of fresh fruit and vegetables, upon which they pride themselves.  Their meat and fish is Irish, and allows people to eat Free Range/Organic/Line Caught produce rather than the cheaper, farmed alternatives that are detrimental to animal and human health.  Lidl have a staff policy of taking offsale anything ‘that you would not buy yourself’.  This gives a very high standard of quality produce available to consumers, at a very reasonable price.  
Cooking from scratch is now easier than ever - I find online programmes/apps and books fantastic for quick and easy meals.  Jamie Oliver’s recipes are excellent – they’re simple, tasty and they always work!

http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/category/books/jamie-s-15-minute-meals

Give batch cooking a go at the weekend (or when the kids are napping) and freeze in single portions for use when time is sparse.  This means that there's always a healthy home-cooked meal available.  

My all-time favourite recipe books are from the Avoca kitchen.  Real food that tastes amazing - try the broccoli salad with feta,cherry tomatoes and hazelnuts.....Their books are available here - http://avoca.ie/home/products/?mid=17&__pg_pg=1&__pg_ps=12. 

Although I like healthy foods, I LOVE desserts and like to make sure that I bake as often as possible to make sure I know what's going into the treats we eat.  Try to use the best possible ingredients when baking.  It doesn’t have to be expensive, however, as Aldi and Lidl carry baking ranges that provide lots of store cupboard elements to create fantastic home baked goods.  The only problem is that sometimes availability is an issue so the same products aren't always available.  More specialised ingredients are often on special offer in healthfood stores, such as Nature’s Way or Holland and Barrett.  

My favourite cake to back is Red Velvet - light and airy, it gives just the right amount of chocolate without being too rich.  The best Red Velvet Cake recipe is available from JoyofBaking.com, but I generally cut the sugar down by about half - http://www.joyofbaking.com/RedVelvetCake.html.
The icing here is delicious and colours easily if necessary, but I find that the kids don’t like it as much as grownups, so I use Betty Crocker (readymade) Vanilla Icing 450g – covers & fills an 8” cake or 32 cupcakes, also available in Chocolate and Chocolate Fudge.  The Chocolate Fudge is a little heavy, so it’s only for diehard chocolate fans :)

Apologies for the lack of photos, hopefully I can update with photos later....
Would love your suggestions and comments on your favourite foods :)