I reluctantly crawled out of bed extra-early this morning, so that I could tidy the house before the maid arrived. The pre-maid frenzy was something I absolutely never understood as a teenager. My mum would threaten me with all sorts of horrible punishments (no chocolate biscuits or telly) if I didn't make sure my room was spic and span every Wednesday morning.

Now of course I did tidy my room — my mum's wrath and the prospect of life without Kit Kats was enough to spur me on. This inevitably meant a whirl of activity 3 minutes before I left for school, as I stuffed everything on the floor under my bed.

I presumed all this palaver was down to just another bit of ridiculous parental logic.

I mean, why would you bother tidying literally moments before someone came in to do it for you?

I completely missed the point however.

The point was that the maid couldn't clean the surfaces or vacuum the floors unless she could actually see them.

Of course when you're an adult, there's the extra motivation of not wanting the maid to realise that for 95% of the time, you do still actually live like a teenager.

In fact, the only time our house is perfectly tidy is for about 3 hours after the maid has been, and before I have had a chance to distribute my belongings far and wide again.

I am slowly getting better, but I'm definitely missing the gene for Putting Things Away.

This brings me on — albeit very tenuously — to the fact that if you're trying to influence or change a teenager's behaviour, then the logic has to be framed in a way that they can actually understand or relate to.

This is especially true when you are trying to encourage teenagers to eat healthy food!

Question of the week: How can I stop my teenage sons eating potato chips? — Concerned Parent, Paget

Firstly, there's no way you can actually stop them from ever eating another potato chip.

By the time they are teenage, they spend so much time out of your sight, that you'll have little or no control over what they eat at school or at friend's houses.

What I suggest you do, is aim to reduce the quantity of potato chips your children eat. Teenagers love nothing more than doing something they have been banned from doing after all.

There are two main tactics to employ here.

The first is to avoid condemning chips simply because "they're bad for you". Unless your kids are unlucky enough to have had a near-death experience already, then they won't really understand the implications of heart disease, diabetes, cancer and other cheery threats that we, the food police, hang over the heads of adult offenders.

Instead, try to frame the information in ways that teenagers can relate to.

Explain that eating too much salt and saturated fat can lead to congested, oily and spotty skin.

I don't know any teenagers that are not completely mortified at the first sign of a spot brewing.

You can also of course point out the obvious — that saturated fat intake is directly linked to weight gain, if this is relevant. And, if your teenagers are older and already or considering becoming sexually active, then you may want to point out this little gem¿

Saturated fat intake does not only clog up veins and arteries of the heart, but elsewhere in the body too.

This is why atherosclerotic build up (now affecting some men in their 20s) can also restrict blood flow to other areas and lead to erectile dysfunction. There is a possibility though that your sons will never forgive you if you mention the words erectile dysfunction in their presence, so this will depend on your relationship and your own capacity for embarrassment.

The second tactic is simply not to have many chips in the house. Replace the chips with plenty of other healthy munchies — such as home-popped pop corn, whole-grain crackers (the Kashi TLC brand are fantastic), fresh fruit and granola bars. However again, I emphasise that banning something is not usually the path to compliance, and so you may want to accommodate their love of chips occasionally.

When you do go down the chip & dip route at home, I suggest you put out some potato chips, but also lay out lots of vegetable crudités (peppers, carrots, cucumber and celery all work well) and whole-grain crackers.

Then make a dip that is so delicious, that when the chips run out, they don't mind using the crackers and veges.

Try not to go for a cheesy option here as you run the danger of racking up the saturated fat content via the cheese instead. As an alternative, try out the guacamole recipe below. It's delicious and rich in good fat rather than bad!

Guacamole:

2 large ripe avocados (should be tender when pressed gently)

2 limes

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

½ small onion, finely chopped

1 medium sized tomato

1 clove garlic, minced or finely chopped

¼ tsp ground cayenne pepper

low sodium salt — 1 pinch

black pepper

1. Chop the tomato into tiny chunks and set to one side

2. Put the olive oil in a mixing bowl and add the minced or finely chopped clove of garlic

3. Add ¾ of the chopped onion

4. Cut the avocados in half, remove the stone, scoop out the insides with a spoon (removing any bruised bits) and add to the mixture

5. Squeeze the limes and add ¾ of the juice

6. Add the low sodium salt, black pepper and cayenne pepper

7. Blend with a hand-held blender, or process, until the mixture is smooth

8. Stir in the chopped tomato and remaining onion

9. Test! Add more lime/pepper to taste.

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 is a fully qualified Nutritional Therapist. She can be contacted at 291-4725 or clinicalnutrition@gmail.com.