Newly Corporate

It’s 10:50am right now and I’m starving. If you’re like me and eat a light breakfast you’re probably hungry too! The trouble with not eating before work is that I tend to eat a heavier lunch, which makes me sleepy in the afternoon. It’s a vicious cycle that needs to be broken! Over the last few months I’ve been experimenting with some cube friendly foods that are cheap and easy to eat at work while being relatively healthy too!

Roasted unsalted peanuts, roasted soybeans
These babies are definitely easy to pop a handful of. They’re also chock full of protein for all of you exercise junkies. Just be careful with these as they are superhigh in fat.. yes, the good fat, but still in large amounts.

Natural granola bars
I’m not talking about those garbage loaded cereal bars, but natural granola bars from Trader Joe’s or Outpost Foods. Nature Valley makes some decent ones and a few varieties are free of the dreaded high fructose corn syrup and saturated fat. These can be be lifesavers when working late or after a skipped breakfast.

Fruits and veggies
This is probably the easiest thing to bring to work. I often buy a few apples and throw them into my laptop bag. Oranges are a favorite too since they’re easy to peel. Winter is a special time for me since clementines go on sale, could there be a more perfect snack? I also bring baby carrots to work when I pack a lunch. They come already peeled and are super cheap. Who knows, maybe they can stop you from going blind staring at an LCD 8 hours a day.

Popcorn
Definitely a crowd pleaser… or maybe not. Regardless, likely to generate comments as it makes everyone else hungry as well. If you look around a bit you can find some pretty natural microwave popcorn. I prefer kettle corn, conveniently available in snack sizes too. Does anyone else feel like a fatty when you buy ‘snack size?’

Bottled water / Coffee
Studies have shown that hunger can actually be reduced by drinking a glass of water. I like to chase my coffee with sips of water in a futile attempt to avoid coffee break. I’ve also noticed that a coffee around 11am can bridge the gap before lunch. It has the added benefit of making you regular too!

V8
If you can stomach this stuff, it’s great for you. At least it should be with how bad it tastes. Sold in convenient small cans in some thoroughly reprehensible flavors. A great way to help get your five F & Vs. Added bonus: You can close your eyes and pretend you’re drinking a Bloody Mary.

There you have it, a few cube-worthy ideas that will hopefully save you some change and trips to the vending machines. In a pinch though, I’ve found that my office stocks animal crackers, not the worst snack and pretty filling. I also enjoy reliving my youth, I just try to eat them privately. I’m not sure what people would think if they saw me eating the heads off of each animal individually before eating the rest…

What foods do you munch on at work?