I’ll admit I’ve been guilty of thinking certain celebrities know everything. As if they’re born with an inner knowing of the best way to do things; carrying with them buckets of life-enhancing advice, pouring it out to star-struck interviewers who pass on their golden words to beguiled fans.

But as I was watching Top Chef the other night, I was jolted out of my celebutastic faze when guest judge, vegetarian Natalie Portman, stared at a plate full of vegetables and remarked something along the lines of: “Where’s the protein? As a vegetarian I find it hard to get my protein and this dish doesn’t supply it.”

Say wha? Does the widely adored once-vegan not know that vegetables, especially the raw variety, are packed with enzymes, which are amino acids that contain protein? And that you can actually have too much of the stuff? That it’s just a big ol’ myth that those on a vege-based diet will never be golden protein children like our meat-eating pals? That man made protein powders are über bad for you? That protein is a word that has been over-hyped and over-sold by companies trying to make big bucks from us unsuspecting plant people? Apparently not.

While I still think Nat is a great role model for those considering a plant-based diet, I know that my favourite celebs, vegan, vegetarian or otherwise, aren’t always armed with the right or best info. It’s up to me to do my research, and not whip out to the shops to pick up the latest vegan-tastic product, that’s guaranteed to make me live longer and stronger, just because a movie star told me to.

Natalie searches for her protein