Unless your office is Chick-Fil-A, Dunkin' Donuts, Krystal or some other fine dining establishment, the food offerings at the office may be less to be desired. Some employers offer their employees the opportunity to pay for snacks via a vending machine. These lucky employees get to spend their hard earned dollars eagerly pressing "E3" or "D4" on the vending machine and watch a "claw" grab their package of Grandma's Cookies and it drop down to the opening at the bottom of the machine.
Other employees are a little more spoiled. Their employers stock on site kitchens with goodies such as Nature Valley Bars (likely Oats and Honey) -- take one bite of these succulent snacks and three quarters of the "bar" is gone because its all over the floor of your office. Maybe there is some communal trail mix sitting on the counter which "Dan the IT Guy" dips his hand in three times a day after changing toner cartridges all day on your office's malfunctioning printers. Perhaps your assistant is the designated person who keeps a glass dish near her desk or cubicle stocked with Halloween candy so you can scarf down two or six mini Snickers as a satisfying snack.
My office certainly meets some of the criteria above; however, I don't partake in such snack shenanigans. No, thank you. I bring my own snacks and you should too -- the snacks taste better and they are less likely to cause your ass to outgrow your desk chair every six months. Snacking will also help curb that loud awkward stomach growl that interrupts every meeting you have between 10 and 11 am and 3 and 4 pm and save you from having to say excuse me because it's awkward that your stomach made a loud alien noise. Here are some of my go-to snacks I like to have available in my office at all times.
1. Field Trip, Turkey Jerky. First of all, as you can probably imagine, having a large bag of turkey jerky sitting on your desk is a wonderful conversation starter. Second, this meaty snack is delicious. Third, its a healthy snack (1 oz = 70 calories). Field Trip is sold at wholesale stores such as BJ's -- so you can purchase a large bag -- which can last you while. I am currently munching on the cracked pepper flavor.
2. Larabar, Cashew Cookie. Snack bars are a favorite among attorneys. If I had a billable hour for every snack bar I watched an attorney consume, I'd finally get that bonus I was told I would be eligible for. I enjoy a good snack bar; however if you look close enough at the nutrition label (or bother to look at all), you will see many ingredients that look similar to the names of items you listed on the product liabilities complaint you just filed. Larabars, however, have all natural ingredients. My favorite is the cashew cookie flavor. Here are the ingredients of the cashew cookie Larabar: Cashews and Dates.
3. Apple. How about them apples? Yes. I bring an apple to work everyday as a snack. Not only do they fill me up for a little afternoon snack, but apples have lots of health benefits including lowering cholesterol, boosting your immune system, and helping increase brain function (not sure about this one).
So next time you find yourself scrolling through Facebook and suddenly juking your eyeballs out of their sockets as you try and catch that Tasty video showing you how to make Mozzarella Stick Onion Rings, you can just keep on scrolling as you now have a few delicious snack options for your office snacking pleasure. You could also watch the Tasty video. It's really up to you.
