15 Healthy Snacks for Work: Decrease Hunger and Increase Productivity

 

 

Snacks are awesome. Snacks bridge the gaps between our meals, provide us with a short mental break, and can often lead to a healthier weight.

Making sure to have a snack around mid-morning and mid-afternoon can help to keep your blood sugar levels balanced and prevent the spikes and crashes that can be so dreaded. A snack that is nutritious can help to maintain energy levels throughout the day.

Remember, food is fuel. This is what will happen if you don’t put gas in your car. You will eventually run out of gas, which will lead to you being less productive and in a bad mood.

What about the healthy weight you may ask? When you ensure that your body has the right nutrients it needs throughout the day, you will not find yourself feeling famished by meal time. If you put your dinner plate on the table, you will have more control over your portions and be less likely to overeat.

A great snack has a good balance of protein and produce. This combination of carbs, fiber, and protein will give you a quick energy boost that will last. This snack can easily be transported. An easy way to feel good all day is always welcome.

If you’re looking for some healthy snacks to eat at work in order to maintain your energy levels, keep your focus locked in, and promote a healthy weight, here are some options for you. We have a few ways to help you stay healthy while working from home.

Healthy Snacks for Work: Decrease Hunger and Increase Productivity

1. Cucumber Sandwiches

Cucumber sandwiches are the perfect snack because they have both protein and produce. These light and refreshing cucumber buns are a great way to enjoy your protein-rich turkey slices.

Cucumbers are a good way to stay hydrated because they contain a lot of water. And, yes, you can eat your water.

2. Tuna Salad Cucumbers

Cucumbers again?! These fruits are perfect snacks because they are easy to eat and are gentle on your stomach.

Open-faced tuna salad sandwiches are a great way to have a filling snack that will tide you over until your next meal. Tuna contains healthy fats that pair well with the crunch of cucumbers.

3. The Classic: Trail Mix

This combination of foods is classic and popular for a reason. This text is telling me that it is easy and fun to mix this thing up, and that it provides a lot of nutrients.

Here’s a list of different trail mix ideas that are sure to be a hit! Choose nuts and dried fruits that are low in sodium and sugar to avoid unwanted calories.

4. Apple Cookies

You can call these dessert nachos or apple cookies. No matter how you make them, they make a great snack!

These delicious apple cookies are quick and easy to make, and are the perfect snack to keep you going throughout the day. You can easily customize these to any flavor combination you want!

5. Banana Hemp Seed Sushi

Hemp seeds are great! Hemp seeds are full of nutrients like vitamin E, iron, and healthy fats.

Mix peanut butter and bananas with these little Seeds for a powerful snack! This snack has both protein and produce, which makes it the perfect snack!

6. Almond Butter and Banana Open Sandwich

This is another classic recipe, but with a twist. To save time and energy, eat your banana with the peel still on. Add some extra toppings to this dish and eat it with a fork and knife or make it into finger food!

This recipe is perfect to have all the ingredients on hand in your desk drawer!

7. Baba Ganoush

Baba Ganoush is like hummus’s forgotten cousin. It’s scrumptious and deserves more credit! This eggplant-based dip is rich in fiber, copper, and vitamin B. Carrots sticks or seeded crackers go great with this snack!

8. Blueberry Pudding

Chia seeds are little protein packets. And when soaked, they make a delicious pudding.

This pudding is great with fresh fruit added to it. It will keep you satisfied until lunchtime.

9. Cowboy Caviar

You could make a big batch of cowboy caviar on Sunday and have it throughout the week for snacks. This dish is packed with nutritious ingredients that will give you sustained energy.

You can pack this in a small to-go container along with your favorite chips for a quick and easy meal solution that will work for lunch or dinner.

10. Greek Yogurt & Crushed Almond Banana Popsicles

Replacing sugary snacks with healthier options like these Greek yogurt and crushed almond banana popsicles can help you feel better and fight cravings. These snacks are a healthier alternative to the vending machine snacks, but they are just as delicious!

This snack recipe provides protein from the Greek yogurt and almonds, which covers the banana.

11. Roasted Garlic Kale Hummus

Hummus alone should be on everyones list of superfoods! This smoothie also contains kale for an extra nutritional boost. The roasted garlic gives the dish a great flavor without making it too spicy.

12. Avocado Deviled Eggs

Deviled eggs always feel so fancy to eat. Now add avocado to the mixture and they are indulgent! This is another example of a healthy snack that contains both protein and produce.

The avocados provide a good source of healthy fats and flavor.

13. Peach Caprese Skewers

This snack couldn’t be simpler to make and take! You can keep the skewers whole, or put all the ingredients into a Tupperware container to eat as a salad.

Be sure to slice a ripe peach and add it to your Caprese salad! The sweetness of the peach pairs wonderfully with the creamy mozzarella, fresh basil, and the acidity of the tomatoes!

14. Hard Boiled Egg and Avocado Bowl

Eggs are a food that contains a lot of protein, with 6 grams in each large egg. This bowl is great for a snack any time of day. The red bell peppers not only add flavor but also a great dose of vitamin A, C, and B!

15. Protein Packed Oatmeal Cups

You can most likely call these muffins, but they are nutritious muffins!

These oatmeal cups are high in protein and can be customized to your liking by using your favorite protein powder. You can add fruit, nuts, spices, and a bit of sweetener to the mix.

The oatmeal base of these muffins will help to keep you feeling full until your next meal.

Ways to Eat Healthy While Working From Home

If you’re working from home and thinking about your next meal, and wondering how to make sure it’s healthy, here are some ideas. If working from home makes you eat unhealthy food, does that make you feel bad? Do you need some help staying on track with your healthy eating habits? Or are you looking for some new ideas to make healthy eating more interesting?

Here are a few tips that may help you.

1. If you want to limit snacking when you work from home, do meal prep.

“Meal prep” is a term for organizing your meals in advance, so that you have more control over them, and so that you’re less likely to have to improvise because you’re short on time or ingredients.

You can plan your meals by setting aside time on a Sunday night. You can either meal prep the night before or the day before you’ll be back at work.

2. Set a meal schedule for your work-from-home workday.

If you work from home, your day may be less rigid than if you were in an office. People tend to take lunch breaks and leave for the day at similar times.

If you’re worried about how you’ll stay on schedule while working from home, try making a meal schedule that matches your work schedule.

You could schedule your meal breaks into your calendar if you only want to eat three times a day. Find a coworker to be your accountability buddy to help you stay on task when you work from home.

3. Count calories to make sure you’re not overeating when you work from home.

Since you work from home, your kitchen is much closer to your office than it would be otherwise. When your home office is close to the fridge and the cabinet, it’s easy to open both just to make sure they’re still full.

Everyone likes to look into their fridge just to see what kinds of food they have available to them.

If you’re interested in counting calories to learn more about your diet, an app like MyFitnessPal can be helpful. One of the apps we recommend for travelers is one that can help them keep their diet in check. This can be just as challenging as other aspects of traveling.

Counting calories can be challenging and can become tedious to do over a long period of time. You should do it for a few days to get a better understanding of what you’re consuming each day.

The foods you thought were healthy may have more calories than you realized. Over the course of a day, a few handfuls of nuts can really add up.

4. Try to only eat when you’re hungry and not because you need a break.

You can take a break from work while you’re working from home by doing something that doesn’t involve food or drinks.

If you need a break, do something like cleaning the dishes or doing some chores. Or, take a stretching break instead of eating.

5. Try to substitute any type of perishable snack for fresh food.

A pantry should be stocked with both nonperishable foods that can be used in meals, as well as fresh snacks. Non-perishable items should be saved for days when you don’t have time to go shopping. Instead of going out to buy food, try eating what you already have at home.

6. Prep your snacks to save time while you’re working.

If you’re short on time during your workday, soak and pre-cut your vegetable snacks. Soak or cut sticks of celery and carrots ahead of time, so that they’re easy to grab and don’t require peeling every time you want to eat them. This will make it easier to eat healthy snacks throughout the week.

7. Make sure your kitchen is an enjoyable place.

Your kitchen should be a place that you enjoy being in. We recommend a few things for your kitchen to make it a place where you want to enjoy cooking and work toward your health as a remote worker:

• Make sure your kitchen is organized. You can even take some time on a weekend to do some organizing (we just did) so that your week is less stressful! Low stress helps you avoid burnout while working from home.
• Make sure spices are in plain sight so that you use them before you start salting your food.
• Place the kitchen items that you use often in front of others. Or, place the things you want to use (sharp knives, for example) often in more plain sight than things you don’t want to use.
• If you have a cluttered kitchen, put away things you don’t use often like blenders and food processors.

8. Pre-portion dried staples like rice and pasta, according to serving size.

This is so you don’t make too much. You may be tempted to eat all the food you prepared if you’re very hungry, even if you were only meant to have half.

9. Try to cook meals and save half.

Make lunchtime meals that are large enough to provide leftovers for dinner. This is especially useful if you make more food than you think you’ll need. If you’re the type of person who likes to relax after work, you can join your coworkers for a virtual happy hour, as a way to stay connected. You can also just heat up a pre-made dinner.

10. Always keep researching recipes.

We recommend that you make recipe research a hobby. There is a therapeutic quality to cooking if you enjoy it and find it relaxing. There are many beautiful cooking blogs that make it seem like you can improve your cooking skills.