It's no secret that I'm not particularly domestically gifted. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love things to be clean and tidy, but I'm just not great at keeping them that way. This seems a little unfair as my own mother would give Mary Poppins a run for her money. She has an incredible talent for creating order out of chaos and spends the first few days of every visit doing things that wouldn't even occur to me like dusting the fire extinguisher, cleaning underneath the cutlery tray and organising my husband's socks into pairs (that's if she can find a pair in the first place.)

She also seems to spend a great deal of time opening cupboards, raising her eyebrows and then rearranging the contents noisily. We seem to have skipped any form of subtle hints regarding her expectations as last time she arrived bearing gifts books for Chloe, whiskey for the lovely husband… and freezer bags, tea towels and rubber bands (seriously) for me. I'm still not exactly sure what the rubber bands are for. If you have any idea, please let me know.

Still, these days I don't get so daunted before Mum's arrival. We have a new rule which is that she is only allowed to arrive on a Thursday. Why? Because the cleaner comes on a Wednesday. This means I only have to maintain order for 24 hours, which is just about feasible, even for me. And of course, much as I fret over the cleaning, having Mum to stay is really an incredible stress reliever. It's amazing to come home to the shopping, chores and cooking already done! Bliss, in fact.

Yet despite the polarity between our domestic capabilities, Mum and I do tend to cook the same way. There's a lot of "a little bit of this, a little bit of that" going on in our kitchens, which makes it easy to be spontaneous yet very hard to give someone an actual recipe. However, after your interest in last week's column, I have been trying to write down the home-made granola bar recipe (with hidden pumpkin seeds)… it seems there are a lot of devious Mums out there!

So, after dusting off my cup measurements, here is the recipe that works for me at home. Just remember, although we're including pumpkin seeds here, this recipe tends to fall onto the naughty side of nutrition. It's fairly high calorie and very sweet however, the fibre from the oats and the protein from the pumpkin seeds will help to slow the release of the sugar into your bloodstream, resulting in a fairly well sustained energy boost. Also, I use a dairy-free margarine so the recipe is cholesterol free. Further, I use sucanet rather than brown sugar, which is considered to be more of a "wholefood" although don't be deceived, it's still very sweet! The upshot? This should be served as a treat, but one you can feel good about!

One quick tip before I sign off. If you overcook this by accident (this has happened to me so many times), it will go pretty hard and be difficult to get out of the pan. However, chip it all out in lumps and you then have delicious granola to add to yoghurt or a wholegrain cereal.

Granola bars with hidden pumpkin seeds (makes 15)

Ingredients:

* ½ cup Earth Balance organic vegan margarine (most grocery stores, Down to Earth)

* 1½ cups Sucanet (Down to Earth) or brown sugar

* 1 cup organic raisins

* 3½ cups quick-cooking oats (preferably organic e.g. Bobs Red Mill quick oats from Lindos DV)

* 1 cup raw pumpkin seeds (Miles)

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 375F and grease a 7 x 11 (approx) baking tray well

2. Melt the margarine and sucanet over a low heat in a large saucepan. The sucanet doesn't quite melt like normal sugar, but wait until the crystals have liquefied.

3. Add the raisins, stir through and take off the heat

4. Finely grind the pumpkin seeds in a magic bullet type blender or coffee bean grinder.

5. Add the oats, ground pumpkin seeds and one desert spoon water to the saucepan. Mix thoroughly until all the oats are evenly coated.

6. Press the mixture into the baking tray and bake for ten minutes at 375F.

7. Allow to cool, cut into squares and enjoy. Store extra in the fridge in an airtight container.

l The advice given in this article is not intended to replace medical advice, but to complement it. Always consult your GP if you have any health concerns. Catherine Burns BA Hons, Dip ION is a fully qualified Nutritional Therapist trained by the Institute for Optimum Nutrition in the U.K. Please note that she is not a Registered Dietitian. She can be contacted at nourishbda@gmail.com