7 Great Ideas For Filling, Healthy Snack Food for the Office

Snack Ideas For Work Meetings.

As children, most of us are told that the key to a good diet is three square meals a day. Despite this, snacking is a way of life for many of us. In fact, we are the biggest nation of snackers in Europe, with the average Brit eating crisps, nuts or popcorn an incredible seven times a week.

We often snack quickly or while on the go and, this makes it easy to forget how many snacks we’ve eaten compared to sit down meals. In fact, there is evidence to suggest that what we think is the average caloric intake in the UK (2000 calories per day) is actually way too low. Studies suggest that it is actually more like 3000, with the extra calories coming from unrecorded snacking that we forget about.

If we are honest with ourselves, that probably rings true for most of us! And since eradicating snacking altogether isn’t an option, we are here to give you some ideas. There are great foods that are perfect for giving you short bursts of energy, increasing productivity and providing extra nutrients that you might not find elsewhere.

When holding work meetings, you need snacks that are fun to eat, filling and most importantly, energising for clients, your team and yourself. In order to make a healthy lifestyle realistic long-term, it’s great to have a number of different snacks that you enjoy eating and are good for you. Some of these will be prepared at home before work and others can be grabbed from a shop during the work day.

Here are 7 ideas for filling, healthy snacks to eat at the office. We are going to give you some of our favourite ideas for things you can buy and also some extra special snacks that you can prepare at home. Some of these are suitable for meetings and others are perfect to eat at the office at your desk or while on a break.

Quick snacks to buy:

There are benefits to preparing your own snacks: it’s cheaper, you know what’s in them and you can make as much or as little as you need. However, It’s not always possible to make up the perfect selection of snacks before work. Most of the following are whole foods, and because of this are less likely to have preservatives and more likely to be full of wonderful nutrients.

Even if you are phenomenally organised, its good to have a few things to keep in mind if you need an extra boost, if you don’t get a chance the evening before or want an extra lay-in the morning. Here are the best of the quick and easy things.

Nuts

Those who eat nuts every day live longer healthier lives, according to two long-term studies at Harvard. People who eat nuts every day are less likely to die of cancer, heart disease and respiratory disease. An extensive long-term dutch study concluded that eating a handful of mixed nuts a day, was associated with an average 23% lower risk of early death from a range of conditions, including neurodegenerative diseases and diabetes.
”OK” – I hear you say – “but nuts are high in fat, so won’t eating lots of nuts every day make me gain weight?”. The same study also shows that people that eat a lot of nuts were actually less likely to gain weight, not more. Nuts are high in protein and fibre, which makes you less hungry and allows your body to absorb them more slowly.

Nuts are best eaten raw, not dry-roasted, salted, or flavoured. They are not always the best to have in communal areas because of allergies, and caution should be taken when putting them out as snacks for meetings. However, keeping a bag of different nuts in your desk is a perfect way to have a healthy snack at hand. Here’s a few ideas of nuts to keep around.

Almonds

• Have the highest amount of protein and fibre of all nuts.
• Rich in Vitamin E.
• Contain monounsaturated fat, which are good for maintaining a healthy heart by keeping normal levels of good cholesterol in the body.
• They also contain zinc, calcium, magnesium and B vitamins.

Brazil Nuts

• They are the richest known food source of selenium, which is required to produce the active thyroid hormone.
  Selenium is also also good for improving the immune system.
  Just a small amounts of Brazil nuts every month can dramatically improve cholesterol levels, it was found that having a handful once a month can lower LDL (bad cholesterol) levels in the blood.
  Brazil nuts also have anti-inflammatory benefits that protect the way your brain functions.

Some other nuts for you to try are walnuts, which are source of omega 3 fatty acids, helping you improve memory and prevent onset of depression. Cashews are also a really good way to get protein and the mineral magnesium, which helps to stop age-related memory loss.

Yoghurt

Yoghurts are fantastic to have in the office because they can be eaten as a breakfast, snack, or as a dessert. Dark chocolate chips can turn a yoghurt into a low calorie dessert and blueberries turn a pot of yoghurt it into a delicious well-balanced breakfast.

They are a great source of protein, and can be customised with dried fruit, fresh fruit, honey or whatever else takes your fancy. Yoghurts aren’t the best for sharing and are messy so arguably aren’t meeting-friendly, but their versatility means it is a great idea to keep a yoghurt or two in the fridge at the office. Full fat yoghurts in particular contain all of the nutrients that our body needs, including Vitamin B12, Calcium, Phosphorus and Riboflavin.

Lots of yoghurts now have probiotics in them. Probiotic yoghurts can improve your gut, helping you develop a healthy digestive system. It is important to buy yoghurt that hasn’t been heated after the probiotic has been added, as this kills the probiotic bacteria. Try and find yoghurts with active or live cultures.

If dairy isn’t your thing or if you fancy a bit of variation, a favourite of ours is coconut yoghurt. It has a lot of the benefits of dairy yoghurt like having live cultures, calcium and fiber and can be equally as tasty.

Popcorn:

Another Feedr favourite, it seems like everyone loves popcorn: It’s crunchy, light and low in calories. Popcorn is an all-round great snack, put a bowl out at your next meeting and buy a few bags to keep around in case you need a quick snack.

Popcorn isn’t usually considered good for you, but that’s because most people choose to prepare it – or buy it – with sugar, butter or salt. In excess, these can raise blood sugar, add to cholesterol and lead to overeating respectively. In moderation, these are OK, especially a sprinkle of salt to add flavour. It’s high in fibre, has a low energy density and is relatively low in calories for the amount you are likely to eat.

Snacks to make at home for the more adventurous:

Here are two great recipes that require a little planning but will give you something extra special to look forward to during your day at work. These are not things to share, but something to keep in the fridge at work and to look forward to eating during a break in your busy day.

Both of these snacks are simple to make and designed to give you a little boost of nutritionally-rich deliciousness.

Whole Chia Seed Pudding:

The mysterious tiny black seeds from the Salvia hispanica plants hailing from Latin America. It has been told that the ancient Aztecs and Mayans used chia seeds as a source of energy.

Chia seeds are pretty amazing. They have more antioxidants than blueberries and more Omega 3 than salmon, yes that’s right. They are also somewhat of a natural wonder of the food world because of their consistency and ability to thicken, which is perfect for making yoghurts and puddings. It is so easy to use chia seeds to make a delicious snack or dessert that with just a little preparation you can have something to look forward to all day.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups milk, coconut milk or almond milk.
• 1/2 chia seeds.
• 1/2 vanilla extract.
• 1/4 cup maple syrup or honey.
• 1/4 cinnamon.

Step 1: Place all ingredients except chia seeds in bender and blend for 1-2 minutes.
Step 2: Manually whisk/stir chia seeds into mix.
Step 3: Leave in fridge for 4 hours at least, the pudding is best left overnight.
Step 4: Add blueberries, raspberries to the top of your chia seed pudding as a garnish.

You now have a beautiful, delicious and healthy snack to enjoy a dessert or a snack.

Hummus hard-boiled eggs:

Everyone knows that eggs are the holy grail of protein sources, with each hard-boiled egg containing 6 grams of high-quality animal goodness. They are also a great thing to eat at work, because (although a little smelly) they are easy to eat quickly and have a low-energy density, meaning that you feel fuller on fewer calories.

This recipe also contains hummus, which is high in carbs, protein and healthy fats. Hummus consists of chickpeas, lemon juice, garlic, tahini and olive oil, but there are plenty of recipes of how to make hummus out there so we’re going to flatter you by assuming you already know how to do this. This recipe is designed for a batch cook, in order for you to make enough in one go for the week, assuming you’ll eat one egg per day.

Ingredients:

• 7 eggs
• 1 large pinch of black pepper.
• 1/2 cup hummus.
• 1/4 teaspoon tabasco sauce.
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika.

Step 1: Place raw eggs at the bottom of a large pot. Pour water into the pot until it is 1-2 inches above the top of the eggs. Place the pot onto the stove, uncovered, and turn the heat on high. Bring the water in the pot to boil. Just after the water comes to a full boil, cover it with a lid and turn off the heat. Leave the covered pot on the hob for 12 minutes.

Step 2: As the eggs sit in the covered pot, fill a mixing bowl with ice water. When the 12 minutes is up on the timer, use a slotted spoon to remove the eggs from the pot and move them to the bowl of ice water to stop them from cooking any further. Leave the eggs in the bowl for a few minutes until they are fully cold.

Step 3: Peel the eggs under cold running water, slice them in half lengthwise. Get a mixing bowl, take out the egg yolks and put them into it.

Step 4: Add a little bit of water and mask the yolks as much as possible with a fork. Add the hummus, black pepper and tabasco sauce, mashing them until the mix is as smooth as possible.

Step 5: Spoon the mix into the egg-halves and pat down until flat. Sprinkle paprika over the top. Wrap each egg individually in cling film in order to prevent mess and and then put into a small Tupperware container or wrap in silver foil.

So there you have it, 7 ideas for healthy snack food for the office. Use these tips to reduce your attack on the crisps, nuts and chocolates. Let your clients and team know that you care about their health and well being with tasty and nutritionally-balanced food.

Feedr brings delicious, healthy food to your office for team breakfasts, lunches, meetings and events. We work with over 100 curated vendors and deliver across London and Dublin.

‍