I took the week off to hang out with my teens over half term. Of course, I forgot that when they’re on holiday they don’t get up til midday. I envy their ability to sleep in but I would never deny them those amazing lie-ins.

As tempting as it is to blast into their bedrooms with a foghorn at 8am, they legitimately need their sleep. The teen years are an intense time of growth – physically, mentally, emotionally – and they are so much nicer after 12 hours of rest. That just made me think about how nice I would be after 12 hours of rest. Hmmm, maybe I should start going to bed at 6pm! Especially since sleep as I know it is about to change in a big way.

Having made it through pregnancy with surprisingly good sleep so far, I’ve officially arrived at the insomnia stage. Last night I gave up at 1am and went to the kitchen for some pistachios and a banana, only to find the kids there baking a cake. Who bakes a cake at 1am?

I appreciate I have a bun in the oven so I am technically baking all the time but middle-of-the-night baking is not normal behaviour. However, they were on facetime with friends who were doing the same thing so maybe nocturnal baking is a thing.

Fortunately, the pistachio-banana craving combo seemed to settle the little acrobat in my belly and I eventually drifted off.

Miraculously, I woke up to a clean kitchen with mixing bowls washed up and cakes cooling under nets on the counter. Teens are crazy but they are also remarkable and I love them fiercely. Their emerging independence and sense of self is a wonder to watch.

My approach to nutrition has definitely changed as the girls have grown up. Looking back, I probably began in an overzealous way but eventually arrived at a sweet spot where the sugar and treats were there but outweighed with a ton of healthy options.

These days, when we’re in the grocery store or out and about, I see them balancing their intake in a pretty healthy way and I have a much more hands-off approach.

There are coffees and candy and the occasional cake in the middle of the night but I don’t mind at all. I see them filling up on protein, reaching for extra veggies, asking for healthy meals… and all of that feels good.

What feels even better these days is when the teens call ME out for making a less healthy choice. Check them! I’m not going to lie, the pregnancy carb cravings have been major and I’ve found myself doing very odd things like buying sour candy and staring wistfully at soda.

Fortunately, having the teen police around has helped me be pretty accountable. And in addition, there are some amazing soda-alternatives around at the moment.

If you peruse the shelves in the grocery stores, you’ll see a lot of what I would call “functional soda” options. These are sodas that make health claims, persuading you not only that they aren’t bad, but that they are proactively good for you. Is this the case? Often, no. You want to watch out for artificial dyes, artificial sweeteners (eg sucralose, aspartame) and high levels of sugar alcohols (erythritol).

But there are four which have caught my attention recently, that definitely have their merits. We’re just coming out of boat season but these would all be brilliant in the cooler as a non-alcoholic thirst quencher. But through the winter months too, if you have a craving for something sweeter and fizzy, or if you are looking for a healthier mixer than your regular ginger ale or Coke, then here’s a rundown of my favourites for you.

Something & Nothing

I’m going to start with my favourite. These are lightly sparkling and lightly sweet, without any stevia (for those who don’t like the stevia after-taste). They are sweetened with a little juice only and come in under 3g of sugar (that’s less than 1 teaspoon, and in contrast a can of Coke has 39g of sugar.) These are currently exclusively at Miles who have the Cucumber and Yuzu (citrus) options. I can’t stop thinking how delicious the cucumber one would be with gin as a lower sugar option to tonic. I’ll let you know how that goes in about seven week’s time! Serve these very chilled and maybe in a wine glass so it feels like a sippable treat.

Culture Pop

These are at Miles but also prolifically available in grocery stores, gas stations and cafés such as Wild Greens. The sugar is significantly higher than Something & Nothing, coming in at 8g for most flavours. That’s about 2 teaspoons of sugar – 4g equates to approximately 1 teaspoon - and for reference, an adult should really stick to less than 7 teaspoons of sugar a day, from all sources. However, what you get for this is a big punch of gutsy flavour in great combos and a dose of probiotics. My guidance with this one would be to have it after a meal or snack that contains protein, which will help you steady the sugar release. No stevia in this option either, which means the flavours are very “real” tasting.

Olipop

These retro cans look amazing, feel very fun and serve up a mega dose of drinkable fibre via their Olismart complex – a combo of extracts from roots and sources of inulin. Inulin works as a “prebiotic” meaning that it helps to feed the friendly bacteria in your bowel. A good thing for most healthy people! They have super-fun flavours such as Banana Cream, Peaches and Cream and Vintage Cola, but they are sweetened with Stevia. Stevia is a totally acceptable (in my opinion) plant-based sweetener but some people think that it tastes very artificial. My view is that the stevia isn’t overwhelming, so I do like them. The sugars come in at approximately 4g too. Available in many grocery stores.

Poppi

Another stevia-sweetened option but this time cut with some gut-friendly apple cider vinegar! This line includes inulin too, but at a lower dose than Olipop. This may actually work better for those of you with a sensitive gut because some people with digestive imbalance may find that higher doses of inulin trigger bloating. They have a really lovely flavour line up (the strawberry lemonade is so good) and keep the sugars to 5g or less. Available in many grocery stores.

• 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