Facebook is awash with back-to-school photos and it’s hard not to feel the love. There’s so much pride and affection tallied on there, it almost drowns out the collective sigh of relief: to all our amazing teachers, tag, you’re it!

My girls are literally leaping out of the car to discover what’s new in their day. They equally gleefully jump back in to tell me all about it. And because we car pool, the stories are told at deafening volume, with everyone shouting and chattering and laughing and fighting and playing at the same time. I love it all. Almost.

The bits I don’t love fall neatly into two categories: clutch control and bladder control. The little kids pick-up is on an extremely steep and busy hill. So as I make my way up at one mile an hour, there are 99 episodes of rolling back and inching forward. I have actually rolled over someone’s car bonnet before. Minor incident, maximum embarrassment — it was a client (only in Bermuda).

As for the bladder control, here’s the thing. Unless you are ten minutes early (which is rare for me as I am always trying to get that last bit of work done), the pick-up line takes a while. Then I have to zoom over to the upper school for pick-up two, with another line and lots of speed bumps. I am so good at drinking my water, but all that seems to come back and bite me at approximately 3.05pm. It’s not as bad as bouncing on a trampoline with a full bladder (one of my French escapades that almost ended in disaster) but it comes pretty close. Those babies of mine have a lot to answer for.

Anyway, with a couple (or more) of overexcited kids in the car on a daily basis, I’ve been trying to find more and more sugar-free snacks. We all know that excess sugar is bad for us but many of us find it hard to quantify. How much is ‘too much’? As Jamie Oliver suggests, (he is heading up the new anti-sugar crusade in the UK along with a team of research assistants, dietitians and nutritionists), the best place to start is with a division of sugars into two simple categories: free sugars and naturally occurring sugars. Free sugars are the ones we need to limit and include all added sugars and syrups (eg maple and agave), fruit juice and fruit juice concentrates. Naturally occurring sugars are found in whole fruit and milk and we can be less worried about those. (Obviously, if you are diabetic you need to follow your specific guidelines from your doctor or dietitian)

When it comes to the free sugars, the UK’s Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition suggests the following:

• Free sugars should form less than 5 per cent of your total energy intake, specifically:

Four to six years — 19 grams sugars or 5tsps sugar, maximum

Seven to ten years — 24g sugars or 6tsps sugar, maximum

11+ (including adults) — 30g sugars or 7tsps, maximum

Given that one small sweet drink can contain 35g sugars or 9tsps sugar, and that many sodas contain more than 20tsps of sugar, you can see how easy it is to go wrong. Add in a sweetened yoghurt, a granola bar and a bowl of children’s cereal and the total is frightening.

Many children consume more than five times their recommended intake of sugar every single day. And we wonder why our obesity, type 2 diabetes and heart disease rates are so high.

So, if you’re motivated to try and introduce more sugar-free snacks for your kids, here’s a list for you.

Some are car-worthy, others less so! They are all free of “free sugars” as well as artificial sweeteners. I have a great naturally sugar-free muffin recipe to share with you too, but that’s coming up next week! Oh and guess what? Nutrifit (our six-week nutrition and fitness intensive) starts next week as well. We have some exciting new fitness options and would be overjoyed to work with you! All details at www.natural.bm and preregistration is essential.

Sugar-free after-school snacks

• Annie’s wholewheat bunnies and cheese

• Veggie sticks and hummus

• Fresh whole fruit (not pouches or smoothies)

• Corn chips and guacamole

• Home-popped popcorn

• Pistachios

• Almonds

• Toast with almond butter and banana slices

• Olives, baby tomatoes and mozzarella balls

• Mediterranean Company Sea Salt Lentil chips or Popchips veggie chips (see Facebook for visuals)

Do you have any other ideas that work well with your kids? If so, please share in the comments below.

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 the managing director of Natural Ltd and a fully qualified nutritional therapist trained by the Institute for Optimum Nutrition in the UK. Please note that she is not a registered dietitian. For details, please go to www.natural.bm or call 236-7511. Join Catherine on Facebook: www.facebook.com/nutrifitandnaturalnutritionbermuda