Guide to healthy snacks for the office or on the go

by Jen (April 6, 2008)

Trying to eat healthy away from your home can be daunting. You don’t always know how restaurants prepare their food, and if you don’t have a fridge and microwave, the options for what you can bring from home are limited. This guide should help you come up with some healthy treats you can eat, wherever you need to be.

Let’s start with a real challenge: people who work out of their cars. You can’t bring cheese or yogurt for later - no refrigeration. You may not even have the good fortune to be near restaurants other than fast food joints. Here’s what you can have:

• Nuts. Some people advocate dry-roasted over oil roasted, but the actual fat content isn’t that different. Nuts are full of “good” fats your body needs as well as a nice dose of protein and some carbs. Yes, nuts can be fattening if you overdo it, but on balance they’re good for you. Trader Joe’s is a great place to buy nuts and nut mixes. Nuts are a great choice for someone who has to watch carbs due to diabetes or insulin resistance concerns.
• Trail mix. Trail mix usually means nuts with fruit, maybe yogurt coating, etc. I personally avoid these because I think they’re usually high in sugar for the nutrients you’re getting (an apple, for example, is a much better fruit source than raisins), but it all depends on your body, your metabolism, and what else you’re eating. In any case, it’s a food you can keep in the car that’s better than a Starbucks muffin.
• Peanut Butter on crackers. Some brands of peanut butter need to be refrigerated, but most don’t. Bring your plastic knife, some crackers, and spread it right on when you’re parked somewhere. You can also make sandwiches using two crackers at home and bring them in a plastic bag or container so you don’t have to spread them while sitting in your car.
• Cereal. There are plenty of dry cereals that taste
• Granola and Power Bars? Yes, they’re handy, and many of them are nutritious. But read the labels: some of these supposedly healthy bars can have a ton of sugar in proportion to the protein and fat. An ideal snack involves protein and fat as well as carbs. If you have trouble eating soy or wheat, read the labels very carefully: most of these bars rely on proteins from soy or wheat.
• No trans-fat potato or veggie chips. If you’re watching carbs, the occasional snack of potato chips can actually work with your diet. If you’re watching fat, there are several low-fat types of chips out there. If you just want balance, look for healthier types of cooking oils like canola or sunflower, which gives you some good fat to balance out the carbs.
• Rice Crackers? A high-carb snack, but otherwise a better option than much of what you could buy on the road.
• Plain popcorn. Bring a bag of plain popcorn from home to munch on.

If you’ve got a fridge and/or microwave handy, it’s even easier. You can also enjoy

• Yogurt
• Cheese
• Leftovers from last night’s healthy dinner
• Veggie juice (V-8 type) - watch the salt if that’s a concern or if you drink these a lot. Go for the low sodium varieties, if necessary.
• A portion of a salad you’ve made over the weekend for lunches and snacks during the week. Include meat, beans, nuts, fruit, cheeses, veggies and dark leafy greens; avoid or limit fattening croutons and wonton noodles. Watch your dressings: they can be full of “bad” fats or sugar. There are so many options available, especially at stores like Whole Foods, that you can always find something you like that fits in with the rest of your balanced meal.
• Plain or buttered Popcorn. Another high-carb option, but a good type of carbs (lots of fiber) for diabetics and other low-carb people to eat in moderation. This can be a virtually fat free snack (a tiny bit of fat naturally occurs in corn) if you avoid the “movie theater butter” microwave varieties. Get the most plain microwave popcorn you can find and, if you just can’t do without the butter flavor, drizzle a pat or two of melted butter over a small bowl. Honestly, you’re better off with the fat of real butter than with the chemicals and oils (and fats!) in some of the”butter flavor” popcorns. The key, as always, is moderation

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