words by Charlotte Newnham

Charlotte spent the first fifteen years of her working life in the advertising industry working across various brands such as Johnson & Johnson, Tesco and John Lewis. After having two children, she has now turned her attention to the world of nutrition which has long been a passion of hers. She will qualify as a nutritionist in 2015 so for now, if she’s not studying the intricacies of short chain fatty acids, she can be found on the kitchen floor playing fire engines with her young boys. Here is what she has been snacking on this month…

Clif Energy Bars

Choosing chocolate buttons for a snack seems rather passé these days as snacking becomes less about a quick fix and more about sustaining energy levels. My latest find, Clif energy bars pride themselves on just this by offering up a densely packed slab of power food, bursting with protein and fibre. The enticing flavours such as ‘chocolate almond fudge’ draw you in but the real pull is how much energy it provides. Given it’s aimed at endurance athletes, I feel pretty confident that one bar should keep me going for an afternoon in front of the lap top.

Nature’s Store Corn Cakes made with Flax Seeds

I have become slightly obsessed with these over the last few weeks and I blame the fact they taste like popcorn. Shaped like the traditional rice cake, these are made with corn and flax seeds.  I began my craze by eating them – in copious quantities – by themselves but after some very high brow experimentation in the kitchen, I can confidently recommend them topped with avocado hoummous (for healthy days) and nutella (for the less healthy ones) The challenge is stopping after a few.

Almonds

There’s nothing new or glitzy about the humble almond but this nut is truly versatile and an excellent source of many vitamins, minerals and essential fats. Whether you opt for a handful of unsalted almonds as a snack or almond butter on toast in the morning, there’s plenty of ways to include them in your diet. I like adding ground almonds (with grated nutmeg) to porridge or soaking whole ones overnight in water and adding them to muesli. Soaking them not only hugely improves the nutritional benefits but also gives them an unusually soft crunch.