Healthy Snacks for Work

Healthy snacking is a great way to combat hunger between meals and to keep your metabolism up. The problem is, when you’re at work, it can be rather tempting to nip out to the vending machine in the foyer, or grab a sweet treat from the café round the corner.

To help you combat calorie-laden snacking disasters, we’ve collated some healthy snack ideas for work that are sure to combat those 3.30pm cravings.

Homemade Peanut Butter

Making your own alternative to store-bought peanut butter means you can control the ingredients, minimising the amount of fat included and increasing the nutritional benefit. The combination of complex carbohydrates and protein that a healthy peanut butter contains can help your blood sugar stabilise and have you feeling full for longer.

Ingredients:

• 4 x cups of roasted, unsalted peanuts
• 6 x packets of Truvia
• 1/8 x tsp salt
• 1x tbs Coconut oil

Method:

1. Place the peanuts, salt and truvia in a blender. Process until the mixture is quite crumbly and almost the same texture as flour.
2. Grind the mixture down until it is smooth and almost the consistency of butter. You may need to use a pestle and mortar to do this.
3. Pop the mixture back into your blender, and add the coconut oil. Process it all again, until the coconut oil is completely incorporated.
4. Pour your mixture into a sealed jar and pop it in the freezer for for 30 minutes. Remove, and refrigerate it for two hours.
5. Your peanut butter should now be quite firm, just like regular peanut butter.

You should store your peanut butter in a cool, dark place or in the fridge if you want it to last as long as possible.

Serve with multi-grain crackers or apple slices as a snack at work!

Chocolate & Coconut No-Bake Energy Balls

When you need healthy office snacks, look no further than these delicious protein balls. Each one of these creamy truffles is chock-full of energising nutrients, including natural sugar and protein powder. These are the perfect healthy snacks for work. Chow down on a couple when your mid-afternoon slump hits, and you’ll be full of beans, right through until dinner.

Ingredients

Energy Balls:

• 2 x cups coarsely chopped medjool dates
• 1 x cup boiling water
• 2 x tbsp melted coconut oil
• 1 x cup raw almonds
• 1 x tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 x tsp salt
• 3/4 x cup coconut flour
• 3 x tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder

Chocolate Coating:

• 225gm x dark chocolate, chopped or grated into small shards
• 2 x tbsp coconut oil
• 1/2 x cup boiling water
• 1 cup x unsweetened shredded coconut

Method

Energy Balls:

1. Place the dates in a small bowl. Pour 1 cup of boiling water over the dates and leave to stand until cooled, which usually takes approximately 40 minutes.
2. Process the almonds in a blender until they’re creamy, which usually takes around 7minutes.
3. Add the dates and the cooled liquid that they will now be sitting in to the almonds in the blender.
4. Add the vanilla, coconut oil and salt. Blend all the ingredients until they are smooth. You may need to stop the blender a couple of times to scrape down the sides.
5. Add cocoa and coconut flour and blend until you have a thick dough-like paste.
6. Remove from blender and refrigerate until the mixture is very cold, which usually takes between two and three hours.
7. Line a tray with baking paper or foil. Roll the mixture into small balls, using approximately one tablespoon of mixture per ball.

Chocolate Coating:

1. Place the coconut oil and chocolate in a heat-safe bowl and pour the boiling water over the top. Stir the mixture gently until it is smooth.
2. Place the shredded coconut in a separate shallow dish.
3. Dip each ball into the chocolate mixture, so that it is well coated. Once any excess chocolate has dripped off the ball, roll the ball in the coconut and place on baking tray. Repeat with all the balls.
4. Pop the balls into the fridge and chill until the chocolate is set, which takes around one to two hours.
5. Enjoy!