There's nothing worse than being stuck in traffic with a slowly-dissolving fish oil capsule wedged in your throat.

I'd popped back home for a quick lunch and hastily swallowed a few supplements on my way out of the door.

With no water or hope of immediate relief, I had to sit it out while my usual five-minute journey turned into 20 minutes of torture.

Whilst Works & Engineering casually dug up the road, the capsule welded itself to the top of my oesophagus and then sprang a leak next to my taste buds. And no amount of excessive swallowing or face-pulling could move it.

Now when I say there's nothing worse, that's not entirely true.

I'm not suggesting for one moment that fish oil torture is on the same page as poverty, grief or random acts of terror.

But it's also not quite as bad as having a digestive enzyme stuck in your throat either.

A few years ago I had my first experience of being waterless, stuck in traffic, with a supplement wedged in my throat (apparently I never learn).

I was in the UK, on the way back from a party with my husband and parents-in-law.

With the enzyme effervescing around my tonsils, I begged them to speed up and hurry home. However, after 15 years of driving in Bermuda, my mother-in-law wasn't going anywhere quickly.

By the time we got back I was foaming at the mouth. I quickly drank multiple glasses of water and washed it all away, but was a little traumatised by the experience. When I scrutinised the ingredients I discovered that this brand of enzymes contained ox bile.

So there is something worse than fish oil after all.

Now although I've now learned not to take supplements in a hurry, I couldn't help but think how annoying it was that the fish oil incident occurred on the only day in recent weeks that I haven't had a granola bar tucked away in the glove box.

Today I would have eaten one for the sole purpose of forcing the capsule down my throat, but I also find snacks in the car really handy.

Eating little and often (rather than two or three heavy meals a day) really helps to improve my energy levels, and so I try and keep healthy snacks to hand at all times.

Granola or cereal bars are one of the easiest things to carry around or keep at work and so I often recommend them as healthy snacks.

However, it's really important to buy the right kind, as many bars are packed with hidden sugars, saturated fat, sodium or artificial additives.

So this week I've given you an example of healthy vs. unhealthy cereal bars.

Now I'm honestly not paid commission by Kashi, it's just that their products are fantastic.

As with the Kashi Go Lean cereal last week, the Kashi cereal bars are just about as healthy as you can get, while also being tasty. The great thing about the Kashi bars, is that whilst they are wholegrain, high in fibre, high in good Omega 3 fats and low in sugar, they are also high in protein.

As I mentioned last week, it's ideal to mix protein and complex carbohydrates.

Protein slows down the rate at which glucose is released from carbohydrates ? meaning that you get a more sustained energy release.

This slow release also means that you'll stay feeling full for longer.

Do an experiment and look for a difference in how you feel 30 minutes after eating a chocolate bar and after a Kashi bar.

Whilst chocolate will provide a sugar rush, the impact will be short-lived and people often find themselves quickly hungry again.

This can lead to the kind of non-stop, unhealthy snacking that piles on the weight, disrupts blood sugar and raises cholesterol levels.

In contrast, the Kashi bar should provide a filling snack that maintains your energy over a longer period of time.

However, if you do have an irresistible craving for something chocolaty, try out the EnviroKids Chocolate Crispy Rice Bar.

You might not feel very adult eating one, but they are delicious!

The sugar content is fairly low at 7g ? as a rule of thumb, always keep your snacks to less than 10g of sugar.

The EnviroKids bars don't have any protein, but you could add a small handful of raw nuts (almonds, walnuts and brazils are especially healthy) as an easy way to bump up the protein content.

Above all, try and avoid bars like the Kellogg's Nutri-Grain bars.

Yes, they contain some wholegrains (good for lowering cholesterol) but they also contain too much sugar, artificial additives and highly processed nasties such as propylene glycol esters of fatty acids ? yummy.

So try out some healthy cereal bars this weekend (and go carefully with the fish oils.) More "try this, not that" next week.

@EDITRULE:

Catherine Burns is a fully qualified Clinical Nutritionist. She can be contacted at 291 4725 or clinicalnutritiongmail.com