I feel like when I don’t have snacks in my desk drawer at work, it could easily become the Hunger Games up in my office space. I could scour the whole place in search of a snack and hopefully take no one prisoner while I’m on the hunt. The secret to most of my success has become self-control in the office. I make sure to pack healthy foods, have them on hand at all times, and learn to say NO to a big box of donuts. (Which is super hard for me because donuts are my favorite.)
Below is a list of 10 items to fill your snack drawer with at work!
1. Crackers: Try to get whole wheat or 100 calorie packs. In my drawer I have Cheese It Grips, which are 120 calories each. They curb the need for something salty like potato chips.
2. Breakfast Bars: Nutrigrain Bars are my favorite! I eat them as snacks and with fruit or yogurt for breakfast. You can find them in smaller sizes (like Nutrigrain) for 100-150 calories or you can get some with more calories to replace your whole breakfast.
3. Popcorn: Popcorn is amazing to me because it helps me when I’m just in the mood to eat. Sometimes, especially sitting in an office, you just want the motion of eating. It’s a hard habit to break! You can get 100 calorie pack or Smart Pop packs and they are pretty natural and good for you to eat. If you’re a risk-taker like me, you can get the buttery kind and it’s still pretty low calorie.
4. Tea Bags: Sometimes water just bores you to death. Instead of going to the soda machine, just grab a cup of hot water and make some tea. I make mine with 1 little creamer cup and 1 packet of Splenda and it’s only 30 calories and SO delicious. I like the caffeine because I like a little pick me up now and then, but they have tea that is decaffeinated as well.
5. Meal Replacement Bars: Cliff Bars, Kind Bars, Luna Bars…these are all great alternatives to a healthy lunch. Don’t do this EVERY day because these usually have some unneeded sugars in them, but if you are busy, you still need to eat! Keep a meal replacement bar or two in your desk for days when you just can’t stop what you’re doing to eat a balanced lunch.
6. Cans of Soup: Progressive Light Soups are pretty good and low calorie. I find that I turn to soup a lot because the liquid base fills me up and they are usually packed full of veggies and protein. For days that you forget your lunch or even if you bring your lunch but are still on edge, pop some soup into the microwave instead of running to the vending machine or out to McDonald’s.
7. Sweet Snacks: This might seem like a NO NO to most people, but if you are craving something sweet, keeping something you enjoy on hand is MUCH better then running to the vending machine. Don’t keep a big candy bar, but do keep a mini sized (70-110 cals) one! Even better, keep a chocolatey Kudos bar (100 cals), a Rice Crispies Treat (90 cals) or some fancy 100 calories packs like Oreo thins or something of the sort.
8. Granola Bars: Quaker makes some “25% less sugar” ones that I really recommend. These are filling, get some good grains in for the day, and a lot of times can curb that need for sweets!
9. Fruit: You can keep apples, bananas and oranges out of the refridgerator and in your desk drawer, just to name a few. You could also keep some fruit cups in natural juice or little mini cans of fruit in natural juice. Make sure you stay away from the fruit that is in syrup though! It’s got a lot of extra sugar that sweet fruit doesn’t need anyway!
10. Applesauce Cups: Applesauce is always a good, light snack to me. They have a lot of variety as far as flavors are concerned. Since they are usually 50-60 calories per cup, they are perfect to pair with lunch, or since they are apples and have natural sugar, they are great as a pick me up!
I hope this list helps you get your drawer together! I think that staying away from the vending machine and cafeteria takes a lot of will power, but it’s MUCH easier to do if you prepare yourself.
What are some of your favorite healthy snacks for work?
