You might have noticed that we consider the break room as the heart and soul of your busy NJ office. It’s the one place you can guarantee people will enjoy stopping off between tasks, on their way in or out of the building each day, as well as when they are entertaining visitors from outside the firm.
Since everyone needs a bite to eat now and then, studies continue to show that small, nutrient-heavy portions of food throughout the day keep our bodies running more smoothly. People are increasingly aware of the impact their food choices have on their wellbeing, so providing an assortment of healthy snacks in your office break room is more important than ever.
While this sounds like common sense, we wanted to take a few minutes to really break it down for you. So today, instead of extolling the virtues of great office coffee, we are asking you to grab a refreshing glass of water and spend ten minutes reading through our top seven reasons your office needs healthy break room snacks.
7. Sugar is the enemy
While our reflex might be to reach for a high-sugar treat when hunger strikes, the resulting blood sugar spike sets off a chain reaction through your body that ultimately leads to an energy slump. Providing snacks that offer a slow release of energy over time helps keep blood sugar in check. There’s nothing worse than a sugar crash in the middle of traffic-filled commute home in NJ.
6. Protein is your friend
A great way to add energy without piling on carbohydrates is by choosing protein-rich treats. If you are looking for healthy office snacks that are high in protein, we recommend a selection of nuts, cured meats, eggs, cheese and even protein shakes for an ideal hit of protein in a convenient, desk-based snack format.
5. Fiber is your ally
High-fiber diets are popular for their power against everything from strokes and heart disease to hypertension. Fiber is important for colon health and can provide a vast array of vitamins, minerals and other important nutrients that your body craves. More importantly, fiber is filling, which makes it a great healthy snack option. Seek out fresh, seasonal produce when you are looking to add healthy office snacks that are high in fiber.
4. Hydration matters
Workers who are dehydrated are more prone to making simple mistakes, so encouraging them to hop up now and then to grab a quick drink and/or snack is a great way to avoid foggy minds. Fresh fruit and vegetables are rich in nutrients and can be made up of as much as 70% water, to fight the scourge of dehydration.
3. The “afternoon slump” is real
In general, your blood sugar drops about three hours after you eat – which can lead to general grumpiness as well as clouded minds and poor decision making. Our typical knee-jerk reaction is to grab the easy-to-come-by junk food du jour, which can complicate things further by creating a cycle of sugar surges and crashes. Having a variety of healthy snacks to choose from makes it easier to keep your metabolism on an even keel, improving attitudes by eliminating the downswing in blood sugar.
2. Calories should count
While you should aim to keep snacks to a calorie count of about 100, putting together healthy office snacks within that frame should be easy. Combine fresh fruit, vegetables or whole-grain nibbles with nuts and seeds or some cheese to create a satisfying snack that will tide you over until mealtime.
1. Healthy snacks create healthier staff
In addition to the benefits of healthy snacks, we have already listed, like keeping blood sugar steady and staving off dehydration, giving staff easy access to healthy snacks helps them make better choices. Given the opportunity, people will seek out the good choices. This is particularly true once they experience the overall benefit of choosing healthy snacks in their day-to-day work life.
If you are interested in learning about healthy snack options for your NJ break room, or just discussing the finer points of getting better options into your regular snack rotation, reach out and talk to one of our office snack gurus today. Our team at Corporate Essentials is ready and willing to help put healthy office snacks into your building today. We offer delicious, wholesome treats in NJ offices so that your employees won’t have to look further than the breakroom cabinets for their snack fix. They won’t have to give up their healthy eating regimen for something tasty.
