“Do I need to soak lentils?” My friend and I were in the lentil aisle at ‘About Life’ – our local health food shop in Rozelle. After the past few weeks of visitors I was ready to detox with a hearty pot of lentil and vegetable soup. It’s one of the easiest and most effective ways to lose weight without feeling hungry. And it is so healthy.

I found a pack of soup mix which contained yellow split peas, green split peas, red lentils, green lentils, chick peas, white beans, pinto beans, red beans and blackeye beans. Just 100 grams of this mix, which is about a cup, provides 18 grams of fibre. That’s about the same kilojoules but three times more fibre than 100 grams of my healthy soy and linseed bread. No wonder a bowl of this soup is filling.

Legumes provide protein which keeps you feeling full for longer. And they are an important source of iron for vegetarians. If you are relying on legumes for iron make sure you eat some vitamin C

If you find honey, eat just enough – too much of it, and you will vomit (Proverbs 25:16) This proverb was written around 3000 years ago but applies just as well today. The author knew honey was good: in Proverbs 24:13 he says, Eat honey… for it is good. But he also knew that we can get too much of a good thing.

Today most of us don’t eat enough honey to make ourselves sick but what if we swap the word honey for sugar? That makes it a pretty modern observation. Sugar is good but eat too much of it and you’ll get sick.

Why is honey or sugar good? It is the number one energy source for our brain. It’s quick energy and it tastes good. But notice the beginning of the proverb. It says ‘If you find honey…’ Those blokes 3000 years ago had to search for their sweet treat. They weren’t bombarded with supermarket aisle after aisle of sugar laden foods. They didn’t walk down the street past shop after shop selling sugar – think ice-cream, fizzy drinks, muffins, cakes, lollies, thickshakes. When they ate roast chicken, it didn’t come topped it with a ‘finger-lickin’ sugar sauce.

The whole sugar issue has a lot of people asking a lot of questions. Is natural sugar better than added? No. Is brown sugar better than white? No. If a banana has more sugar that a chocolate biscuit, is the biscuit healthier? What about a fruit smoothie that has more sugar than a can of soft drink? Is the soft drink healthier?

Hmm – shall I buy more of that unpasteurised Italian cheese, some smoked trout or perhaps a small piece of nougat? I was in the Gourmet Grocer yet again, so entranced by the range of food available that I was barely aware of the man who entered the shop and headed straight for the counter. With a few friendly words Andy, one of the owners, handed him a mysterious brown paper bag and watched the man leave the shop. He turned to me and in a confiding tone said, “He’s from Rockpool.” I was obviously meant to know what Rockpool was. Thank goodness it only took a few seconds of pretending to be impressed before I remembered. Rockpool is one of the top restaurants in Sydney. “What was he doing here?” I asked. “Buying black garlic.”

Black garlic? I had never heard of the stuff. But there it was – a basketful of burnt looking garlic bulbs – sitting at the counter. If you want black garlic in Sydney, you have to go to the Gourmet Grocer in Balmain. No doubt if I hung around the store long enough I would see all sorts of famous chefs wander in to secure some of this latest trendy food.

“Mummy, please can we have tacos tonight?” Obviously tired of the gourmet meals we have been eating lately my son was hanging out for some basic kids food. As I dropped him off at his new school I struggled with his simple request. “Perhaps we’ll have chicken wraps instead,” I suggested in my bright nutritionist voice while the nutritionist/food snob brain was thinking: I hate those supermarket Mexican taco sachets and sauces. I’d much rather do some healthy wholemeal wraps with hummus, beetroot, grated carrot and avocado with some lovely lean chicken breast strips.