'This basket looks really healthy but I'll tell you, I eat like a pig. When I'm not shoving food in my mouth, I'm shoving it on my body. For instance I love yoghurt, I'm obsessed with it and wish to God that we made skincare products out of it. When I travel, especially around Bangladesh and northern India, yoghurt is the most used ingredient for the body because it's rich in fats and it's a real soother on the skin. I eat it in the morning and the evening with fruit, like a skinned plum chopped up in a nice old ceramic bowl and topped with liquid honey. If I take my honey, mix it with rock salt and an organic olive oil I've got the best bodyscrub on the planet.

I drink coffee once a day and I'm obsessed with fair-traded products because I know the obscenity around the coffee industry. I eat organic everything. I discovered coriander on my first trip to India in my forties. There is something so incredible about that herb. I've watched rituals of the body around death, marriages and birth, where people covered their bodies with basil and coriander to lessen the impact of putrification. So I thought, "My God, you can go through the wisdom of the past" so I tried to make deodorants out of it. It didn't work but I love it, I love it, I love it. I can tell you, caramelised onions are addictive, especially with goat's cheese on olive and walnut bread. I could shove that into my mouth all day. There is no place in my life without tomatoes. I'm Italian and we have rituals about tomatoes. I make a great tomato sauce which I like to eat with a good Pinot Noir. Italian diets are usually healthy, but it all breaks down when I eat chocolate - I have been known to steal my grandkid's chocolates. I adore it, I'm obsessed with it, though I don't actually like Green and Black's chocolate very much. I like Cadbury's Caramel with the squashy bits. I'm not a vegetarian because I eat fish; meat is an uncomfortable thing for me to eat as I'm not happy to eat things with pretty faces.'

Olive and walnut bread
Olives maintain a healthy blood-lipid profile by increasing the level of high-density lipoprotein (HDL or 'good' cholesterol) within the blood, while walnuts are high in zinc, the nutrient that is hostile to colds. The overwhelming nutritional benefit of this item comes from the bread itself, however, which, being a starchy food, gives you energy. Wholegrain types of bread retain the health-giving nutrients, including fibre and B vitamins, of the wheat grain, but although white bread is lacking in this respect, it isn't unhealthy. Indeed, it is better digested by people who suffer from irritable-bowel syndrome or who struggle to put on weight (whereas fibre fills them up too quickly, causing them to eat less).

Onions
These possess prebiotic qualities that encourage 'good' bacteria, such as acidophilus and bifidus, to thrive within the bowel, although you'll need to eat them regularly to derive this benefit. Note that sensitive digestions tolerate cooked onions better than raw ones.

Red wine
High in antioxidants, such as anthocyanin, resveratrol and quercetin, red wines, especially Pinot Noir (also a favourite of mine), can deter heart disease from taking hold, but only if drunk in moderation. As long as you stick to the recommended limits (21 units of alcohol a week for women and 28 for men), the only health problem that you're likely to incur is a slight headache.

Tomatoes
Tomatoes are packed with lycopene, an antioxidant that has been linked to the reduction of cancer of the prostate in men, as well as potassium, a mineral that helps to relieve fluid retention. Some people, however, find that the acidity of tomatoes - especially if eaten raw - can upset their digestion, and in any case I'd recommend that you regard tomatoes as part of a healthy diet, not as a wonder food (no food's a miracle cure - staying healthy's all about having a balanced diet).

Organic plums
Nearly all fruits are rich in vitamin C, the powerful antioxidant that helps to reduce the incidence of colds, infections, heart disease and many more diseases. What I love about plums, especially cooked ones (although cooking reduces their vitamin-C content), is that they're gentler on the digestion than acidic citrus fruits. Ripe plums make excellent snacks, and because they're also high in fibre, teaming them with a slice of cheese will limit the amount of saturated fat that your body absorbs.

Coriander
As well as tasting great, coriander has been used throughout Asia, northern Africa and Europe for over 2,000 years to treat 'spreading sores, burns, carbuncles, sore ears, fluxes of the eyes', as Pliny (23-79 AD) recorded. Nowadays an infusion of coriander is recommended for relieving flatulence, bloating and griping pains, as well as for suppressing the lingering smell of garlic.

Cadbury's Caramel
I'm glad to see Anita's treating herself because treats, as part of a balanced diet, can give you a welcome boost. But because too much chocolate can be bad for the teeth, particularly when combined with sticky caramel, I hope that Anita either eats a small chunk of cheese or chews some chewing gum after eating it to lessen the risk of tooth decay. A sweet treat on an empty stomach may trigger blood-sugar changes and energy swings, so it's best to enjoy it after a meal containing fibre.

Organic yoghurt
After a couple of months of reviewing some alarmingly devil-may-care shopping baskets, Anita's organic yoghurt is a sight for sore eyes. Yoghurt is incredibly good for you, being low in fat, easily digested and rich in calcium, the nutrient that both builds and maintains strong bones and teeth and reduces blood pressure and the risk of succumbing to heart disease. We should all get into the habit of including yoghurt in our diet, especially organic yoghurt, and ideally also containing acidophilus, bifidus or lactobacillus bacteria to help keep your gut's bacterial balance in top form.

Organic honey
Magical healing qualities are attributed to some types of honey, but not all of them contain the necessary active ingredients. All, however, provide energy and a more natural form of sweetness than sugar. More natural it may be, but excessive amounts of honey can have a similarly negative effect on blood-sugar levels, teeth and the waistline as regular sugar. It's therefore best to limit your intake to the occasional couple of spoonfuls and to make sure that children clean their teeth after eating it.

Café Direct coffee
Although I approve of supporting independent coffee growers by buying Café Direct coffee, you'll probably have guessed that I don't advocate downing lots of it because it unsettles both energy levels and moods and inhibits the body's absorption of essential nutrients (something to bear in mind if you're in the habit of taking vitamin and mineral supplements with a slug of coffee in the morning). If limited to three cups a day, however, coffee can fire you up for action and relieve constipation by stimulating your gut to get moving.