I don’t want to tempt fate but the tantrums from the little Irishman have been few and far between lately. I guess the routine of everyday life is working in our favour. He’s napping and sleeping like a little champion too. We put him to bed with a dozen pacifiers and that seems to work like a charm. My goal is to enjoy this spell of tranquility for the next five weeks… until we do another transatlantic flight. This time we’re headed to Ireland so perhaps the prospect of his homeland will sweeten the deal. Maybe he’ll sleep the whole way, maybe he won’t, but it can’t really be worse than last time, can it?!

I guess the good thing about a horrendous flight is that it teaches you a lot for the next time. Over the years, I have figured out that a steady supply of books, stickers, spinning toys and – most importantly – snacks, is a huge help. Of all these, the snacks seem most important. There’s nothing worse than a hangry baby. And if I am honest, the same applies to me and the big Irishman too – we’re both pretty awful when we’re starving!

We bonded very early on over our mutual love of snacks. It makes sense then that we have produced another little snack-lover too. He is forever stealing our chips like a mischievous thief but that’s okay. With two teens in the house, I am used to losing my snacks to the kids!

The question I’m asked a lot is whether or not snacking is actually healthy. My answer is generally “yes!” I’m a big fan of eating little and often – trickling nutrients into the body as and when you need them. I find that it helps keep energy and mood nice and consistent, whilst also helping to prevent an accumulation of visceral fat. However, it’s important to remember the “little” part of “little and often” otherwise the whole thing backfires. For most people, including myself, I tend to recommend a routine of breakfast, snack, lunch, snack and the dinner.

There are so many variables that influence this – how much you are exercising, the experience of pregnancy and post-partum, muscle gain goals and whether someone wants to incorporate fasting. I have a few hard and fast rules though, one being not to eat carbs in isolation – to always look for carbs that include fibre, and then ideally to pair them with protein.

Generally this is easy. Some simple examples include: fresh, whole fruit (carbs, fibre) with nuts (fibre, protein) or carrot sticks (carbs, fibre) with hummus (fibre, protein). However, those that love a crispy, crunchy snack, sometimes have a harder time.

To help with that, this week I have brought back a column concept from the very early years (I started writing for The Royal Gazette in 2005, so this makes me feel fairly ancient, ha!) It’s called “Try this, not that!” I’ll share a favourite option, follow by a next best option, and compare it to something that I wouldn’t recommend.

This week, we’re taking a peek at “healthy”, crunchy, chip-like snacks. They are a go-to for many people, but it’s easy to fall for misleading marketing hype. There are some good ones out there though and my absolute favourite are the Hippeas. I picked these up at Miles (which has tons of fun flavours) but you will find them in other stores too.

If you check the chart, you’ll see that the protein and fibre in the Hippeas is far superior to the other two brands. Although they have a teeny bit of sugar in the flavouring, I actually prefer this to the maltodextrin used in the Captain Bootyhead. However, the Bootyhead still just about passes. It has half the saturated fat of regular chips, but the spinach and kale sprinkle still does well on the flavour! The ones I really don’t like are the veggie straw type options. These are extremely mediocre when it comes to any nutritional value and with barely any protein or fibre present, they are not so hot on the blood sugar. If this is crushing news, fear not! Although fresh veggies would be much healthier, you could improve the nutrition profile of your veggie chips by dipping them in hummus (fibre rich and include some great veggie protein).

Hopefully you find that helpful! If you have a category you’d like me to explore next week, please do let me know. Oh and very quickly, in case you didn’t know, it’s the Waterfront Wellness 5k run and walk on Sunday. We’re raising money for the wonderful PALS so come out and join us in all the fun. The Beat the Couch Season 26 crew will be running their final 5k at this event, so if you have ever wanted to watch them, or casually race a couch on wheels around a pretty challenging route, now is the time! All info here: https://www.waterfrontwellness.bm/5k-run-and-walk (oh and did I mention that the raffle prizes are incredible too?!) We would absolutely love for you to join us.

• 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, BNTA is a fully qualified Nutritional Therapist trained by the Institute for Optimum Nutrition in Britain. Join Catherine on Facebook: www.facebook.com/nutrifitandnaturalnutritionbermuda or instagram @naturalbda.