7 Healthy Snacks to Bring to the Office

Eating healthily can be difficult, especially while working hard out of the house. There are so many temptations around, the crisps, the pastries… But taking some of these easy to assemble snacks to work will help sway temptation while leaving your wallet heavier, and your body and mood lighter. Leaving you happier, and with more money to come in to your favourite local nail salon, Trieu Nails! So, here are our 7 favourite healthy snacks to bring to the office.

Hummus

Let’s be honest, hummus is the best; it’s healthy, it’s easy, it’s cheap. It’s got fibre, protein, and enough slow release carbohydrates to keep your mind active throughout the day. It’s a fabulous healthy option without any of the spikes and lulls in mood and activity that come with sugar. If you want to work consistently, bring hummus to the office, and it’s portable! 

You can buy it, or prepare a large batch ahead of time for pennies, but the true benefit of making it yourself is the control you have over the final product. Give yourself the control to ensure that only the healthiest ingredients make it in, and you’re taking it to the office, so you can omit the garlic and save your colleagues… Once refrigerated this hummus will keep for over a week. And it’s so easy to make, here’s how: 

1. Drain your chickpeas, reserving their liquid. 
2. Place your drained cooked chickpeas in a food processor, and some salt, some olive oil, some minced garlic (to taste), and some tahini (if you haven’t got any, peanut butter works, but neither is completely necessary).
3. Blend, adding the chickpea juice slowly to get the desired consistency.

Roast Chickpeas

These little bite sized morsels are basically a savoury popcorn, and they’re just so addictive! If you’re the kind of person who loves crisps, then these are for you – and, as they’re baked, they’re much healthier with a lot less oil content. They’re a great little snack to take to the office, here’s how to make your own: 

1. Place your drained cooked chickpeas onto a baking tray lined with foil. 
2. Salt to taste, coat with a generous glug of olive oil, add paprika and turmeric powder or whatever dried seasonings you enjoy and have to hand. 
3. Place under the grill or in the oven until the chickpeas are golden, dehydrated, and crispy.

Dark chocolate

This bitter delight is a great source of antioxidants. Studies have linked its consumption to increased cognition, lower cholesterol and improved heart health. Try and eat brands with as little added sugar as possible and as high a chocolate content as possible, ensuring you the healthiest snack.

Seeds in Soya Sauce

High in protein and fibre, these are delicious to snack on at the office. Take your favourite seeds, pumpkin or sunflower work well, and add a tasty twist to them. 

1. Heat up a frying pan with a little oil in it, when it’s up to a medium heat add your seeds then stir until they brown. 
2. Add a splash of soya sauce, stirring until the seeds are coated and the liquid disappears.

Then, really, it’s up to you; this recipe is so versatile you can make the seeds taste however you want. Here’s some variations without the soya sauce:

1. Lemon with Olives: when your dry seeds are browning in the pan, toss in some olives, the zest of half a lemon and a little of its juice. 
2. Sweet Curry: toss your browned seeds in two teaspoons of curry powder and the same amount of brown sugar. 
3. Garlic and Smoked Paprika: toss the seeds in the pan with two cloves of grated garlic and two teaspoons of smoked paprika. 
4. Chilli and Soya: with your browned seeds in the pan, mix in some chilli sauce and soya sauce, stir until your seeds are coated and the liquid has evaporated.

Homemade Yoghurt 

Yoghurt is delicious, we know. Sure, it’s super easy to buy it, but we know you’re the enterprising sort, so here’s how to make your own, practically for free.

1. Take any amount of whole fat milk, bring it to the boil in a large pot, stirring well to stop it sticking. 
2. Cool to 13^oC, then add yoghurt culture (you can buy cheap off amazon), and stir for three minutes. 
3. Loosely cover with cling film, or in a Tupperware with the lid off and keep in a warm place in your house for 6 hours, then place in the fridge and cool. 

You might as well stock up, homemade or not, yoghurt keeps for a long time in the fridge.

So, you’ve got all this delicately beautiful yoghurt. Or, you’ve bought a some low-fat from the supermarket. It’s lovely on its own, but perfect sweet or savoury. Try making up some healthy little pots to take to the office:

1. Sweet Topped Yoghurt

Take your home-made yoghurt and put fruit on it! Try adding nuts, a little honey, some dark chocolate pieces, or whatever takes your fancy – it’s going to be delicious and nutritious. 

1. Savoury Beetroot Yoghurt

Place your beetroot in a baking dish with a little water, season with salt, cover with parchment paper and bake for an hour until tender. Using a grater or liquidiser, grate your beetroot. Then mix with yoghurt, fresh cut herbs (mint, tarragon, and coriander work well), vinegar or lemon juice to taste. Season with salt and chill. You can make this dish a couple of days in advance as it keeps well in the fridge.

Dried fruit

Dried fruit is handy – it’s easy to transport, comes in bite sized chunks, and can give you that sugar you need to keep you going through your long day. You can buy your own, or you can make it easily yourself. Here’s how:

1. Cut your favourite fruits into ¼ inch pieces, place on a lined baking tray, and put into your oven on the lowest setting. Different fruits vary, so keep half an eye on them, but it should take 6-8 hours until they’re completely dry.

Jerky

Jerky has an unhealthy reputation, but it’s just so good – stick some in a zip-lock bag and snack on it at the office. Some jerkies can be unhealthy, anything with too much salt or sketchy preservatives, but some brands are better than others, check out the ingredients before you buy! But here’s the deal – making jerky is super easy. Here’s how:

1. Marinate your thinly sliced beef for as little as three equal and as long as 24. For the marinade use parts equal Worcestershire sauce and soya sauce, then add some dried herbs, whatever you have around the house really, but try to add something sweet and something smoky, try some ground pepper, smoked paprika, chilli flakes, garlic and onion powder, honey or sugar. 
2. Place your marinated beef on a rack over a baking tray, cook in a 175* oven for 3-4 hours or until your beef is completely dry, it should come out looking like old leather. 
3. Cut into bite sized pieces and enjoy!

There you have it, seven tasty snacks to make your day in the office that much healthier and more enjoyable. And what should you do with the leftovers? Come, bring them to us, your local friendly nail bar, Trieu Nails. For more recipes and healthy living related content, check out our other blogs here.