Darina Allen’s top tips

● Cook potatoes (pictured left) rather than pasta, as they are much more nutritious and you need less of them. If you eat a few potatoes then you know that you are fed.

● Every family should ban sugary drinks at home. Yes, there may be murder in the house initially, but September is a good time for new year resolutions. You can let children have the occasional sugary drink when they are out; at home it should be milk or water. We drink a lot of water kefir here at Ballymaloe — it sounds like an awful faff but once you get into it it’s easy. For years I’ve battled for butter and now I’m battling against sugar. It’s to blame for so many of our problems — we have to wean ourselves off it.

● I’d also ban sliced pan. Lots of sliced pan is full of processing agents that the manufacturers don’t have to identify on the label and they are affecting our guts. If making your own bread sounds like a lot of hassle, find the ‘stir and pour’ soda bread recipe online. It’s brilliant.

● When I wake up early these bright mornings, I listen to the ‘Wise Traditions’ podcast from the Weston A Price Foundation and it’s life-changing. I’d recommend it to anyone who wants to understand more about food and the way that it affects our bodies.

● I’m interested in the work of Ted Dinan from UCC on the gut microbiome. I think that a lot of anxiety in kids is down to eating a restricted diet of only seven or eight things.