Although they can at times seem like they have an endless supply of energy, children are usually instinctively able to meet their energy needs with the food they consume.

However, they often head for high-sugar snacks to meet these needs. While we want children to be able to sustain their energy levels throughout day, how can we avoid spikes and troughs in their blood sugar levels? Here are some ideas and recipes for simple, healthy and tasty snacks that will make your child smile.

For a snack, you can prepare raw vegetable sticks that your child can dip in hummus (which you can make yourself or purchase) or in homemade guacamole. Give free rein to your imagination in terms of colours: red pepper, carrot, green pepper, celery, cucumber etc. And for a more nutritious snack, complement your vegetable sticks with pieces of wholemeal pitta bread, or oat biscuits - if you prefer to prevent your child from consuming too much wheat.

Another good idea is an unsalted nut mix. Nuts contain fat, that's true, but they’re actually composed of unsaturated fatty acids - therefore "good fats". They also contain protein, which makes them a good source of energy to last for several hours. Be careful with portion sizes, as the number of calories can quickly climb – but, of course, the important thing is that they are not "empty calories."

Plain popcorn is a good alternative to chips. Although this is not a very interesting food from a nutritional point of view, it is still a lower fat option that can help your child not rush out for unhealthy snacks.

To give your child a little touch of sweetness without succumbing to the tempting chocolate bars, opt for dried fruits. Remember, however, that dried fruits contain a lot of sugar, for instance a small raisin has the same sugar content as a fresh grape. As long as you keep an eye on the quantities, dried fruit is an interesting snack.

As for fresh fruit, make them more appetizing by cutting several into pieces and giving your child the option to mix the fruits in a little yogurt (depending on the type of fruit you choose, consider adding a few drops of lemon juice to prevent the browning effect).

And if your child asks for something really tasty, there is always the option of homemade flapjacks! Flapjacks are small cakes of British origin, resembling an energy bar. They are traditionally made with oatmeal, butter, brown sugar and "golden syrup", but you can also find recipes for sugar-free and butter-free flapjacks online. Oatmeal, which is the main ingredient in flapjacks, is an excellent source of vitamins, minerals, fibre and even protein. Not to mention that their glycemic index is low, which means that they release energy slowly (no energy spike like with fast sugars), and they are very filling.