There’s a lot of people who work in offices throughout Houston, Tx, who want to find healthy snacks for those bouts of midmorning and midafternoon hunger. Some are lucky enough to have access to a refrigerator and some are not. Either way, bringing personal options that are lower in calories and high in nutrients is far better than opting for the food from the candy machine, overeating at lunch or gobbling down the first thing they see at the gas station after work. Many of these options actually save money, too.
Save money and eat healthier homemade microwave popcorn.
Don’t pay the high price for a bag of microwave popcorn, when you can make dozens of bags for the same amount of money that have fewer calories. All it takes is a brown paper lunch bag and some popcorn kernels. Just pack up ¼ cup of popcorn kernels in each bag, fold the top several times and it’s ready for the microwave. You can even keep some seasoning at your desk, such ones in stores, like a ranch or dill pickle, or make your own. You can melt a few bittersweet chips that are 60 percent cacao up to 80 percent cacao and drizzle, then top with some sea salt for a treat everyone will want to try.
Take some nuts and seeds.
Keeping a bag of trail mix that’s exclusively made of seeds and nuts, with maybe a few pieces of dried fruit thrown in for sweetness at your desk can help you relieve that midafternoon hunger. If you’re not good at eyeballing portion size, take it in individual serving sizes. Eating a whole bag of trail mix at one serving will not make you thinner. To make it less expensive and control portion size, cut the whole dried fruit before time and just add a few small pieces to each bag of trail mix.
Keep energy balls on hand.
There are a number of recipes for energy balls on the internet that provide high protein that gives long term protein and quick energy to boost you immediately. If you want a salty caramel flavor, try these balls. There’s no added sugar. They take a cup of fresh medjool dates or regular dried dates, a cup of cashews or other nuts and seeds–raw is healthiest, but you can use roasted, 2 tsp of vanilla extract and a pinch of sea salt. Combine all the ingredients in a food processor, adding a bit of water if it’s too dry to form a ball. Roll in balls the size of a golf ball and chill in the refrigerator. They stay good for a month refrigerated, but can stay in the freezer for months. You can take frozen ones to work with you and let them thaw throughout the day for a morning or afternoon treat. There are 70 calories, 2.8 g fat, 8.9 g carbs, 1.6 fiber, 6.1 g sugar, 3.5 g protein in each ball.
- Keeping it simple is often the best route to take. Take a piece of fruit. Whether you choose an apple, orange, banana or pear, they don’t need any special preparation.
- Sprinkle some unflavored Greek yogurt that has live cultures with a few nuts or some blueberries or strawberries for a yummy healthy treat. You need a refrigerator in your office or this one.
- If you have a refrigerator available, take some fresh veggies for a snack and a little dip made with powdered ranch dressing and Greek yogurt.
- Plain oatmeal packs are a filling option and you can store those packets in your desk and then have your treat ready as long as you have water, a mug and a microwave. Sprinkle on some cinnamon.