I'm a huge snacker. That whole "several small meals" thing is not a problem for me -- I always find time to eat! But what I don't always do is find healthy things to eat, and when I do (all-too-often) end up snacking on something too salty, too sugary, too processed, or too fattening I always end up feeling it later in the day. It's pretty predictable that within a few hours I'll be feeling lethargic and be finding it hard to focus on work, not to mention (oddly enough) I'll be craving even more junk food. It's a vicious circle in the truest sense.

So I'm taking this information from registered dietitian Marissa Lippert to heart, because it's basically a shopping list for healthy work-friendly snacks. I can follow a list! Just having a list is a good idea -- a standard "healthy snacks" list that you can easily refer to every week when making up your regular grocery list. The only problem is that the same snacks every week can get boring, and since nobody like boredom here are a few fresh suggestions for healthy desk snacks from expert Marissa Lippert:

• Raw and unsalted nuts
• Health-conscious granola bars, Lippert suggests Kashi TLC granola bars, Gnu Flavor & Fiber bars, and Lara bars.
• Low-fat organic cheese, suggestions include low-fat Laughing Cow Cheese, Coach Farm Goat cheese, or part-skim string cheese.
• Yogurt, low-fat organic with no or little added sugar is best.
• Whole grain crackers, go for organic, low fat, low sodium varieties.
• Organic peanut, almond, or cashew butter (Mmm, I've never had this! Sounds good)
• Oatmeal,McCann's Irish Steel Cut Oatmeal and Arrowhead Mills Organic Original Instant Oatmeal are Lippert's favorites.
  
• Kashi GoLean Heart to Heart Cereal, Uncle Sam's Cereal, Bear Naked Granola
• Chocolate cravings? Try Sweet Riot Chocolate Covered Cacao Nibs.
• Good Health Half-Naked Popcorn or Glenny's Soy Crisps.

So that's a list of suggestions from a registered dietician, and as always remember to watch portion sizes! Nuts and whole grains may be healthy for you but not if you eat them in enormous quantities. Besides the items on this sample shopping list all kinds of things can work for at-your-desk healthy snacking -- what works for you? I'll totally be trying these suggestions but my favorites won't be going anywhere: raw baby carrots and fresh apples (not necessarily eaten together!).



Via Lifehacker