When your employees hear the words “office party,” do they shudder with dread? Some office parties have a bad rap for being awkward and uneventful, and that can affect perceptions across the board.
Don’t let a few bad apples ruin it for the rest of the great parties out there. So how can you ensure that your next office party is fun, inclusive and memorable (in a good way)? That’s a “pizza” cake. You bring in some office party snacks that are both healthy and a delight with every bite.
First, Why Offer Healthy Snacks at Work?
Healthy snacks aren’t boring. In fact, they’re downright exciting because they help your employees ramp up their game at the office. This is great news for you and your business, since it lets you enhance employee productivity, strengthen your company culture and keep things sailing smoothly.
According to a Harvard Business Review article, “Fruits and vegetables contain vital nutrients that foster the production of dopamine, a neurotransmitter that plays a key role in the experience of curiosity, motivation, and engagement. They also provide antioxidants that minimize bodily inflammation, improve memory, and enhance mood.”
What does this mean for your office? It means that if you want employees to be more engaged, productive and contented, you need to make sure they can achieve those objectives. The HBR article goes on to say, “The good news is that contrary to what many of us assume, the trick to eating right is not learning to resist temptation. It’s making healthy eating the easiest possible option.”
In other words, you need an action plan! Healthy snack offerings from Corporate Essentials, through either snack box subscriptions or customized snack orders, are an excellent place to start.
The Connection Between Healthy Office Snacks and Company Culture
First, it’s time for a quick recap on how healthy snacks are good for your company culture and how they increase employee morale. When your employees are fueled with proper nutrients, they are likely more engaged with their roles and more enthusiastic about helping your business thrive.
Healthy snacks are just one example of company perks that help staff members focus on wellness, happiness and their overall work-life balance. To take advantage of healthy snacks, consider a snack box subscription or customized snack delivery from Corporate Essentials.
What About Healthy Snacks at an Office Party?
Are healthy office party snacks a good idea? Absolutely. Just like you offer healthy snacks during work hours, so too should you offer healthy snacks for office events. Whether you go simple with just a few options or you order up an entire spread, your choices can boost the mood and overall success of your next office party.
Now, feast your eyes on some “ap-peeling” office party snacks.
1. Chips and Dip
Let’s start off with some classic party foods: chips and dip. Now, while traditional chips are greasy or caked in salt, healthy chips are quite the opposite. Not only are they made from simpler ingredients, but they have richer flavors and better nutrient profiles.
For example, consider selecting Herr’s Sweet Maui Onion Popped Chips for your next office event. These chips are made from cassava root, which is high in potassium, vitamin C, dietary fiber and magnesium, with sweet onion as flavoring. Another fantastic option for office party snacks is The Better Chip Jalapeno, featuring fresh jalapeno peppers mixed into the corn masa and then baked, giving a spicy chip with a good crunch.
Then you can set out bowls, perhaps these 32 oz compostable paper bowls, pour in some chips and add a rich dip like Lilly’s Original Hummus. The hummus is made from organic chickpeas, along with hand-roasted vegetables like red peppers, jalapeno peppers and tomatoes. When you serve office party snacks like these, your employees will be lining up to take part.
2. Fruit and Veggie Treats
Healthy snacks often contain a good amount of fruits and vegetables, which are important sources of vitamins and minerals. This is an excellent reason to give your employees snacks that do great things for both body and mind.
If you’re short on time, all you need to do is look for ready-to-go snacks you can set out on the table. Dole Tropical Fruit Bowl is convenient and delicious, and it even includes a fork under the lid. Your employees can enjoy fresh pieces of pineapple and papaya while they happily chat with one another after-hours. You could also bring out delicious Del Monte Pears in Blackberry Flavored Chia, which are full of omega-3s, vitamin C and fiber. Another delicious way to add in healthy food to your day is with a bag of baby carrots! This great veggie option can be eaten plain or with a single serving (or more!) or sabra hummus.
And last but not certainly not least, you might want to set out little treats with a mix of flavored granola and fruit bites. Use these 4 oz bowls, and pour in Bear Naked Fruit and Nutty Granola or Purely Elizabeth Cranberry Pecan Granola. Top with Matt’s Munchies Mango Acai fruit pieces and serve.
3. Delicious Drinks
There are many types of drinks, and not all are good for your health. The best drinks are simple in ingredient but rich in flavor, and they favor natural sugars, such as those found in fruit, rather than added sugars. At your next office party, aim for simple yet good-for-you drinks. Set out these 12 oz Greenware clear cups, which are environmentally friendly and made from starch biopolymers, alongside some great options like POM Wonderful Pomegranate Juice 60 oz, Uncle Matt’s Organic Lemonade 59 oz, Martinelli’s Organic Apple Juice 64 oz and Uncle Matt’s Kosher Orange Juice Pulp 59 oz. If you’d like to offer your employees a variety of personal size smoothies, consider the Naked Juice Variety Pack, which contains a dozen 10-oz bottles.
4. Little Desserts
Who says there’s no such thing as healthier desserts? In the end, the ingredients make all the difference. Corporate Essentials offers many types of healthy snacks that work well as office party desserts. Set out a stack of plates, like these 6-inch biodegradable plates, along with a few trays of delicious treats. You might consider Alter Eco Sea Salt Truffles or Next Organics Dark Chocolate Cherries, both of which feature heart-healthy dark chocolate. That’s right, studies have shown that dark chocolate – containing at least 70 percent cacao or higher – has a positive impact on your heart, even helping reduce the likelihood of developing cardiovascular disease.
If your employees love pudding desserts, you could set out Echo Farm Rice Pudding as another healthy office party snack. It has just a few simple ingredients, along with the intriguing spice combination of cinnamon and nutmeg. These 8 oz small bowls would provide plenty of room for delicious toppings like raspberries or blackberries. Or you could add Tate’s Gluten Free Ginger Zinger Cookies, which have crystallized ginger and excellent flavor.
5. A Medley of Snacks
Perhaps your office has a grab-and-go preference, and your employees like to nibble on snacks as they chat at office events. That’s nothing to worry about because we have you covered. Put out a stack of 4 oz bowls and a variety of healthy office party snacks your staff will love. A few options could include Chef’s Cut Portion Snack Pack Original Recipe & Cheddar Cheese or Annie’s Original Snack Mix, which is chock full of pretzels and baked cheddar bunnies.
For a combination of intriguing flavors, along with a good variety of vitamins and minerals, dried fruit chips are the way to go. You can set out options like Dang Original Coconut Chips, Woodstock Organic Banana Chips and Bare Fruit Dried Granny Smith Apple Chips.
6. Homemade and Delicious
Finally, show off your inner chef when you offer employees healthy, homemade office party snacks. Homemade is a broad term, but when you make effort to blend ingredients together, you can just call it homemade in the office.
To make a delicious dip, you’ll need a food processor and a few special order groceries from Corporate Essentials. For black bean dip, you’ll need black beans, lemon juice, olive oil and a few spices, if you wish. Rinse and drain the beans, and then blend them in the food processor along with the other ingredients. Serve with your favorite chips. For hummus, use garbanzo beans (chickpeas) and most of the same ingredients (except black beans) as above, plus extra spices as desired.
You could even get more adventurous and combine chickpeas with avocado, or you could make a yogurt dip with Greek yogurt, lemon juice, olive oil and some spices. To add cucumber, just cut it into slices and chop up in the food processor.
If your break room has a small toaster oven, you can even create some quick-baked fruit offerings. You’ll just need a glass baking dish that measures roughly 9 inches by 9 inches. For baked apples, slice and core your choice of apples, and cover with a mix of granola or oats, cinnamon and some honey. Add a bit of water for moisture, and bake until tender. For baked apricots, slice the apricots in half, and top with maple syrup, almonds and some granola if desired. Add water for moisture, and bake. Your employees will love how delicious these party snacks are, and they’ll appreciate your hands-on efforts as well.
Work Happy with Corporate Essentials
We’ve now reached the end of The Definitive Guide to Office Party Snacks. As you’ve seen, healthy eating is perfect for the office, whether you’re in the break room or at an office party. With some of these office party snacks from Corporate Essentials on the table, your next event will be successful from start to finish.
