How to snack healthy at work

How to snack healthy at work isn’t as difficult as you may think!

Whether you suffer from boredom at your desk, high stress deadlines or just straight out exhaustion, hunger strikes as a reaction and a distraction several times throughout the work day.

Most of us grab a chocolate, a packet of chips or any other unhealthy, processed quick fix we can get our hands on. But snacks should be more like a nutritious mini meal, something that combines protein, a little bit of healthy fat and fibre. I aim for two mini meals per day, mid morning/post workout and mid afternoon.

You can ‘budget’ a maximum of 200 calories per snack. Consider a hard boiled egg is on 70 calories and delivers 5 or 6 grams of protein. Half an avocado is high in healthy fat and provides 9-11grams of fibre. Now that’s a pretty easy snack to prepare and pack to work.

Almonds are another healthy and very easy on hand snack to carry with you or to leave in your desk drawer at work. 12 nuts equals about 184 calories and delivers lots of good omega 9 fatty acids. Great for energy and brain functioning! Almonds also tick the boxes for protein and fibre.

I like to chop an apple and eat it with almond butter. This snack ensures I am getting fibre, protein and healthy fats all in one go. Not to mention it satisfies my persistent sweet tooth! This is one of my favourite post work out snacks, especially after high intensity work outs like sparring.

A sachet of tuna combined with half a sweet potato is a tasty and nutritious mini meal. This does require a little bit more planning but why not bake a few sweet potatoes and store them in your fridge?

Try different snack bars, but stick to bars that are made from healthy nuts and fruits. You want to make sure your snack bar is high in fibre, low in sodium and sugar with a decent amount of protein.

A mini meal at snack time helps to maintain steady blood sugar which means you can avoid those mid afternoon energy crashes. Sugar snacks like chocolates, chips and biscuits send your blood sugar soaring. They do give you a quick pick me up but it doesn’t last long and you are forced into a nasty cycle of consuming additional high calories that don’t solve the problem long term.

A little bit of planning and prepping makes all the difference!