The traditional Japanese diet comes close to the perfect diet - and it's delicious too. Sashimi, prawn tempura, chicken teriyaki, beef yakitori and seafood ramen noodle soup. There's lots to love about Japanese food. It's light, fresh and flavoursome. And here's the best reason of all - it's one of the healthiest cuisines to eat in the world.

I'm a big fan of wok cooking and the stir-fry. They're fast, easy, good for you, infinitely variable and get you eating vegetables – in big quantities. I use my wok at least a couple of times a week. Think fresh, in-no-time, fun and last minute.

Sushi for lunch? Linguine marinara for dinner? Or Thai red curry? In our multi-cultural world, visit any food court and in two minutes, you'll walk by Chinese, Lebanese, Japanese, Mexican, Thai and Italian outlets. They can be good or bad, depending on the chef. But if you're after healthier offerings, there are three cuisines that always get the tick of approval from nutritionists.

Light, delicate yet sophisticated, Vietnamese is one of the most popular South-East Asian cuisines. With its emphasis on freshness, seafood and oil-free cooking, it's also a cuisine that has much to recommend it nutritionally.

Is there any suburb that doesn't have the standard Chinese restaurant and take-away? On the suburban landscape, they're everywhere and open seven days a week. Eat in or take home. With Chinese fare, it pays to be choosey. While restaurants and menus often appear almost identical - they all have sang choy bow, beef chow mein, crispy skin chicken, satay prawns with cashew nuts, and that perennial favourite sweet ‘n' sour pork - you'll discover that one outlet can be as fresh as can be, while another can be just as greasy as fast food.

Do you love a good curry? Do you start salivating at the thought of all that spicy Indian fare? Well, it's not surprising. Indian food is one of the most colourful, spicy and richly flavoured of cuisines.

Spicy and aromatic, Thai food is fast becoming as popular as Chinese food with its fragrant aroma of coriander, chilli, kaffir lime leaves, lemongrass and purple basil. It can be one of the best choices to buy if you're after healthy and light, but it pays to scrutinise the menu list first.