A basic egg mayonnaise can be used as a base to make sauces and dressing. Use a mild flavoured healthy oil when making mayonnaise. My Egg Mayonnaise recipe can be found here or on page 207 of 'The JOYful Table' cookbook.

Tomato paste is a thick paste that is made by cooking tomatoes for several hours to reduce moisture, straining them to remove the seeds and skin, and cooking them again to reduce them to a thick, rich concentrate. Purchase an organic brand with no sugar or additives - 100% tomatoes, and it's best to choose a brand in glass.

My choice in Worcestershire sauce is an organic brand ‘Melrose’. This sauce adds a delicious savoury flavour to meat dishes. Regular brands contain gluten and most have MSG, colours and flavours.

Use freshly squeezed lemon juice. Most store bought lemon juice containers preservatives.

Maple syrup is an earthy, sweet tasting amber liquid that is produced by boiling down the sap of maple trees. Use organic 100% maple syrup which is a natural food sweetener, not a flavoured maple syrup. Pure maple syrup contains a decent amount of some minerals, especially manganese and zinc, some traces of potassium and calcium but it does contain a whole bunch of sugar. I try to reduced the amount of sweetness in each recipe to the lowest possible without compromising taste. Feel free to adjust to your liking. I use maple syrup in place of raw honey when I don't want the strong honey flavour coming through in a recipe. I have paleo cookies and desserts in my cookbook made from whole food ingredients with natural sugars but please don’t overindulge. Use as a treat only for special occasions.

Paprika is a relative of the chili pepper. Smoked paprika is used to add a sweet mildly spicy flavour to dishes and it adds a warm natural colour. Use organic smoked paprika, my favourite brands are Simply Organic or Frontier (I purchase online at iherb).

Garlic powder is ground, dehydrated garlic. Where possible purchase an organic brand that doesn't contain anti-caking agents or fillers. I use the 'Simply Organics' brand.

Organic unbleached, unrefined organic Celtic sea salt or pink Himalayan salt is my salt of choice as these contain healthy minerals and trace elements that our body needs. Regular table salt has been bleached, refined and processed leaving minimal health benefits. If you choose to use regular table salt in my recipes you will need to reduce the quantity or the end result will be to salty.