16 Back to Work Snack Ideas

As the summer winds down and you’re thinking about sending the kids back to school or re-focusing on work, increasing the nutrition of the snacks you eat should be a high-priority. As a Fort Collins Nutritionist, I get asked a lot of questions about healthy snacks to pack for work or school. The key is to focus primarily on organic fruits and vegetables and add in healthy extras to pair with the high quality produce.

Here is an excerpt from my BRAND NEW book (to be released in late September/early October) called Real Food, Real Simple: A Personalized Plan for More Energy, Less Stress, and Healthy Meals in Minutes:

Remember, the easiest and most budget-friendly way to eat a real-food diet on the go is to bring it with you. To make it even easier, you can pre-pack snacks in appropriate portions in small bags or containers when you bring the food home from the store. That way, they will be ready to grab and go when you’re running out the door. In your cooler or bag, pack any of the following real-food snacks in appropriate amounts based on how long you will be gone:

• Apple or pear slices with nut butter
• Applesauce with almonds
• Banana with nut butter
• Brown-rice cakes with nut butter
• Carrot sticks, celery, or cucumber with yogurt dip or hummus
• Fruit and nut granola
• Hard-boiled egg with cut fresh vegetables
• Homemade granola bar or energy bar
• Orange, plum, or peach with a small handful of almonds or walnuts
• Pre-made fruit smoothie
• Real-food bar made with dried fruit, nuts, and/or seeds
• Sandwich (nut butter and no-sugar-added jam or other)
• Soaked almonds with cinnamon
• Trail mix made with raw nuts, seeds, and dried fruit
• Whole-grain or flaxseed crackers with hummus, nut butter, or canned salmon
• Yogurt with berries and nuts

If you do a lot of driving, you can even keep some of these nonperishable snacks in your car so they are always there when you need them. If it’s really hot, though, it’s better to just bring snacks with you, since foods like nuts and seeds will go rancid. If you work a desk job, you can keep some healthy real food in your office for when you need a snack; that way you won’t have to remember to bring it every day. Whole-grain crackers, brown-rice cakes, nut butters, applesauce cups, trail mix, and whole fresh fruit like apples and pears keep pretty well at room temperature and will help you avoid a mid-afternoon run to the vending machine, cafeteria, or coffee shop.