8 Healthy Office Snacks to Keep You Away From The Vending Machines

Whether you love sweet or savoury, snacking is what keeps us going throughout the day. Sometimes the little mid-morning or afternoon pick-me-ups are the only way we can stay focused when we still have tasks to get done. By the time 11am comes around, bellies start to rumble and thoughts drift from spreadsheets to a different kind of spread (the food-based kind), and the vending machine or the biscuit cupboard is often the easiest answer to those cravings.

If your mind starts to wander to crisps and chocolate before lunch is here, consider these 8 healthy snacks for the office instead. 

1. Fresh fruit salad

It doesn’t get healthier than raw, fresh fruit when it comes to healthy snacks for the office. If you’re worried about high sugar, high fat junk food fueling your teams, then causing major sugar crashes, fruit baskets can alter those bad eating habits. By consuming a rainbow of fruits everyday, you can ensure that you are getting the full spectrum of nutrients. Not only is this great for physical health, but it can improve mental wellbeing and also give productivity levels a boost. 

Our premium fruit boxes contain 50-250+ pieces of fruit for the whole office, and we can deliver direct to your door daily. 

2. Healthy trail mix  

If you’re a self-confessed grazer, a trail mix with nuts and seeds can be a great way of staying satisfied between meals. A jar of trail mix is ideal for nibbling on at your desk, and can deliver a range of essential nutrients. Nutrients from nuts include several B group vitamins (including folate), vitamin E, minerals such as calcium, iron, zinc, potassium and magnesium, antioxidant minerals, plus important phytochemicals. Seeds are an excellent source of fiber to ensure a healthy digestive system, and provide monounsaturated fats, polyunsaturated fats and many important vitamins, minerals and antioxidants too. 

Buy a few airtight clip-top jars to store them in and you can reduce plastic waste while keeping it fresh on your desk for weeks. We can also add punnets of nuts to our fruit delivery. 

3. No-flour banana bread

If you’re avoiding sugar and carbs but love sweet bread, a no-flour banana bread can be a much better (but still seriously tasty) snacking option. Bake large loafs at home and you can share your healthy office snacks with your team. Recipes can be found all over the internet, but typical ingredients are mashed banana (ripe ones), oats, eggs, pure maple syrup and baking soda. No gluten. No refined sugar. Just gooey, fragrant, healthy goodness. Goes great with a cup of tea or coffee, and a winner for meetings.  

4. Homemade guacamole 

One of the best savoury healthy office snacks is homemade guacamole. You can dip just about anything in it, from celery and carrot sticks to rice cakes and seeded crackers. And you can share it with others in a meeting (or not). The reason why homemade is better than shop-bought is because you can monitor exactly what’s going in your guac - no added fats or preservatives. Skip the mayo or added cream, and don’t go overboard on the oil. Keep it largely avocado-based and use chopped tomatoes, onion, lime and coriander to pack in a serious flavour punch. 

By sticking to the standard serving size of two tablespoons per person (around 45 calories), you won’t overeat on your good fats either. 

5. Roasted chickpeas 

Simple, savoury and so easy to rustle up. You can roast these at home and store them in an airtight container for at least 2-3 days. Use olive oil or avocado oil to get them to crisp up in the oven and don’t hold back on the spices. Great spice mixtures can be lime and chilli, paprika and lemon, curry powder with caraway seeds, or turmeric and garlic. Get creative and try out lots of different flavours to keep your lunchbox varied. 

To make sure your chickpeas pack that crunch and don’t go soggy, make sure you dry them off before roasting. 

6. Chocolate avocado muffins 

Avocado has so many more uses than just smoothies and toast. It also works well as a baking ingredient, meaning you can make healthy snacks for the office that aren’t as damaging to the waistline. If gluten is your Achilles’ heel, then opt for a zero-flour, avocado-based chocolate muffin that is also easy to make. Made with ripe avocado, sunflower seed butter, cocoa powder and eggs, you can omit unhealthy dairy ingredients such as butter and cream. 

With a non-alkalised cocoa powder that has more than 70% cocoa, you can maximise the health benefits of chocolate too. Such as decreased inflammation, improved heart and brain health, blood sugar and weight control, as well as healthy teeth and skin.

7. Baked veggie crisps 

If you have a weakness for a bag of salt and vinegar or prawn cocktail, it can be hard to curb the cravings. Especially when you’re in a busy office where there are vending machines, snack cupboards and meeting platters piled high with sandwiches and crisps from the caterers. Making your own healthy version is easy, and can be done by slicing vegetables like sweet potatoes, beets, carrots, courgettes or radishes. Just brush with olive oil and bake on a lined baking sheet at 110°C for approximately 2 hours.

8. Plain layered Greek yoghurt  

When we say ‘plain’, we are of course referring only to the type of yogurt. Because when served with all the trimmings, there’s nothing plain about a layered yoghurt pot. Include sweet, juicy fruits like peaches, mango or summer berries. These will contrast nicely with the tartness of the Greek yoghurt and can be used to make colourful layers in your healthy yoghurt parfait. Top with nuts and seeds for added crunch and nutrition. Chia seeds, for instance, are loaded with antioxidants, protein and omega-3, and almost all carbs in them are fiber. 

Not only are fat-free yoghurts healthy office snacks, but they make a good post-lunch dessert too for those who have an insatiable sweet tooth.