Your body is a working machine, whether your job is mental, physical, or a combination of both. Like any machine, you need the right fuel to keep it functioning at its best and healthy. What you’re eating makes a difference in the energy you’ll build and how long that energy lasts. Here are some eating tips for snack breaks at the office that can keep you going strong all morning and afternoon while helping your body get healthier.
Avoid snacks with added sugar, even if you want something sweet.
The urge for something sweet is real. It’s your body craving quick energy. Eating food with added sugar eases your hunger for a while, but it won’t take long before you feel exhausted and starving again. Eating food with natural sugar, like fruit, is best. Those foods also contain fiber that slows the release of sugar into your bloodstream so you don’t have sudden blood sugar spikes or just as sudden valleys. Take apples, grapes, pears, or other fruit. If you want the boost to last longer, add protein, like putting peanut butter on apple slices.
Including healthy fat in your snack keeps you full longer.
Fiber, fat, and protein are keys to feeling full longer. One food that contains healthy fat is the avocado. Nuts and fatty fish are two others. Avocados and nuts provide protein, fiber, and fat. Salmon, tuna, or hard-boiled eggs provide healthy fat and protein. Make a mini sandwich on multigrain toast and top it with whipped avocado instead of butter. Add egg salad, tuna salad, or smoked salmon. It can be a snack or lunch.
Control the ingredients in your trail mix and the portion size.
If you’re trying to eat healthier and lose weight, portion size is also important for many snacks, especially trail mix. Nuts are healthy but are higher in calories and can pack on the pounds if you eat too many. The trail mix may contain popcorn, dried fruit, and occasionally dark chocolate bits. Don’t add pretzels or cereal. Popcorn, nuts, and dried fruit contain fiber. The nuts also provide protein and healthy fat. If you include dark chocolate use pieces that contain 70% or more cacao content.
- If you have a refrigerator in your office or workplace, it opens a wealth of options for snacks. A hard-boiled egg or celery sticks with cream cheese are examples.
- If you love microwave popcorn, don’t use unhealthy prepackaged containers. Get reusable microwave bowls for popping corn. Add zest to the popcorn with special seasonings to sprinkle on top.
- If you have a longer break and a smaller appetite, try pistachios, pumpkin seeds, or sunflower seeds in the shell. They’re healthy and you’ll eat less on your break because they take forever to unshell.
- Make fruit in the bottom yogurt for snacks instead of buying the premade type with added sugar. Use plain Greek yogurt and add berries or other fruit. If you’re using canned fruit, make sure it’s packed in its own juice to avoid the added sugar.
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