As I write this, I’m on Christmas break. Teaching and grading have been replaced by spontaneous napping and endless Facebook and Instagram scanning. Thankfully, by the time you read this, the new year will upon us and I will be back at work, spending my days like an adult doing responsible work things. Of course one recreational activity that will continue to be part of 2018 is my weekly game of Wizard with my colleagues, for which I provide snack foods. (Never fear, there is no role playing and no actual wizards. It’s a card game kind of like pinochle.)
As I’ve mentioned in previous posts (here and here) when I bring food to campus, or anywhere for that matter, I feel strongly that it should be reasonably healthy fare. I don’t stick to this 100% of the time, but I’d say I hit about 85%. (For confirmation on these values, please contact the math faculty who regularly attend Wizard and keep track of such things.) People have access to all kinds of tempting food options at work, so I like to be a positive influence alongside the vending machines and candy dishes, while still trying to provide something that’s tasty and appealing. I don’t expect anyone to get excited about a big bowl of raw broccoli spears or to choose an orange over a bag of chips necessarily, so I aim for a little salt, a little sugar, a little crunchy, and a little chewy and hope I hit the sweet spot.
Here are 5 days’ worth of Wizard snacks from last quarter with info on each selection. Bear in mind, you’ll see some repeats because: 1) I ran out of creativity, but not mozzarella cheese, and 2) I got the almonds at Costco.
Clockwise, starting top left:
- Soft and Fruity Coconut Bites
- Blueberries
- Persian cucumbers
- Blue Diamond Smokehouse Almonds
- No-bake Cinnamon Apple Energy Bars
- Tri-color baby carrots
- Low moisture, part skim mozzarella cheese
- Cashew Coconut Carrot Cake Bites
- Blue Diamond Smokehouse Almonds
- Low moisture, part skim mozzarella cheese
- English Seaside Cheddar Cheese
- Dang Caramel Sea Salt Toasted Coconut Chips
- Green seedless grapes
- Crunchmaster Multi-grain 6-Seed Crackers
- Unsalted, toasted pecans
- BelleWood Acres Dehydrated Honeycrisp Apple Chips
Did you see anything that looked appealing? That might satisfy your afternoon snack craving if it was set in front of you at 3:00 pm? It’s not hard to change up the typical office offerings, like donuts or microwave popcorn. These combos were super easy to put together, conveniently portable, and definitely crowd-pleasing.
I know one healthy snacktime each week doesn’t constitute a healthy diet for anyone. But what I bring gets eaten. And I feel good about bringing vegetables, nuts, and fruit into my workplace so I will continue to do so in the new year. Who knows? Maybe someone’s 2018 resolution is to make better food choices at the office and I can help support that in my own small way. I’m actually excited for break to end so I can get back to work and feel like a responsible adult again. Doing responsible work things. (And playing cards.)
How do you maintain healthy habits at work? And how do you avoid the ever-present temptations in the breakroom? I’d love to hear what strategies work for you.
Kristine Duncan, Registered Dietitian
I’m a Registered Dietitian, the author of Veg Girl RD, and a vegetarian who loves to eat. I’m a nutrition nerd who teaches at the University of Washington and Skagit Valley College. I also write about nutrition professionally for magazines and books. If you want to know more, check out my About page.