For all of my Greatist posts thus far, I’ve made healthy, easy, quick dinner-time food, because when I think about eating healthy, I think about mealtimes. But truth be told, I’m pretty good about eating healthy meals – I rarely eat meat, I’m good about incorporating vegetables into everything I eat, and I frequently choose whole grains as my starch just because they’re tastier. The areas where I really struggle are sweets, and snacking. I tend to think that I deserve a little treat wayyy more often than I really do. And don’t worry, I know I deserve treats sometimes – just not 10 times a day. Having a desk job doesn’t make it any easier, especially when you sit next to the department chocolate bowl, and the snack drawer is full of additive-heavy granola bars and peanut butter-filled pretzels. I tend to get the munchies twice during the work day – the first bout at around 11, which I have recently realized is easy to satiate with some milky coffee, and the second at around 3:30, when I get tired and lose a good portion of my self control.
One solution? Bringing my own snack, one that I can feel good about, but that will still satisfy my cravings. Since I usually crave cookies or brownies or other baked treats when I want a snack, sneaking filling and health ingredients into baked goods is an essential skill. These fruit and nut bars from Joy of Baking are a perfect example. They have just a teensy amount of sugar and flour, no butter, and are primarily composed of dried fruit and nuts, but are still super delicious and satisfying. The effect of that small amount of sugar and flour is great – it’s almost like a sweet tempura, in that the fruit gets a very light coating of a slightly sweet, crispy coating. I’m pretty sure I’ll be avoiding the snack drawer today – and my coworkers will probably thank me too, if I decide that I can bear to share these. Head on over to Greatist for the recipe.
Other healthy snacks on my “to try” list:
- Savory Moroccan Date BonBons
- Quinoa Granola Bars
- Popcorn with Truffle Butter, Thyme, and Parmesan
- Sesame and Almond Brittle – OK, so it’s not that healthy but you could do worse!
Thanks for sharing. Great healthy snack.
Thanks for sharing! I just started my first desk job a few months ago, and I frequently get attacked my snack cravings, so it’s great to have something healthy (but still pretty filling!) that I can make myself.