7 Healthy Snack Ideas for the Office

So it’s Friday.. woo hoo!  It is 3:00 and you get off in two hours, but you are STARVING.  You only have a few minutes in between clients, so you run to the vending machine for a quick snack.  What do you see?  Cookies, chips, candy bars.  Nothing with any nutrition.  So what are some ideas for snacks you can bring next week?

Here are 7 snack ideas that you can eat quickly, but that will satisfy your hunger AND give you some nutrition!

1. Apple and Almonds

Bring an apple and 1/4 cup of unsalted, raw almonds.  This will give you lots of energy, healthy fats, and hold you over until dinner time.  Also – it is easy to store in your bag if you don’t have access to a fridge.

2. Hard Boiled Eggs

Hard boiled eggs are a great portable way to get some protein into your mid-afternoon snack. Boil a few on the weekend so you always have one to grab in a hurry. For perfect hard boiled eggs, pop eggs into a muffin tin and bake in the oven at 325 for 30 minutes.

3. Protein Bars

When shopping for protein bars, look for ones that are soy and dairy free and only contain whole ingredients. Homemade ones are best, so you know exactly what it is made of.

4. Fruit

Fruit is the ultimate grab-and-go snack! Apples, oranges, bananas, and berries are all great choices. Fruits like apples and bananas are great to keep in your office as they are less perishable than berries. For these fruits, invest in an insulated lunch box to keep them cool.

5. Almond Butter

Almond butter is great to have on hand to spread onto apple slices or celery. Most almond butters must be refrigerated after opening, but a few companies offer their spreads in single serve pouches. Check out justinsnutbutter.com or barneybutter.com

6. Trail Mix

Trail mix is an easy and quick way to quiet hunger pangs. This is really simple to make on your own. Add your favorite nuts, dried fruits, flaked coconut and seeds, mix together and enjoy.  Make sure to always get unsalted nuts.  Be careful on the dried fruits because they are high in sugar.  If your goal is to drop weight, watch your portion size!  You’ll want to keep each serving to 1/4 a cup.

7. Homemade “Chips”

When you just have to snack on something crunchy, make some homemade “chips.” Apples, bananas, kale, sweet potatoes, and carrots all make excellent chips. For sweet potatoes and carrots, cut the veggies into thin slices, place on a baking sheet in a single layer, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake them in the oven at 375 for 10 minutes. For apple chips, slice thin, place on a sheet pan in a single layer, drizzle with grapeseed oil and sprinkle with cinnamon. Bake at 350 for 35 to 45 minutes.

What is your favorite snack?  Is it one listed above or something different?  Please comment below!  

Hope you enjoyed this post.  Please make sure to “Like” it and share with your coworkers. :)

– Laura