Eating Healthy at the Office

The year is now halfway over and our new year's resolutions seem to be long in the wind. The challenge now is sticking to our diets when the support group called new years has somehow disappeared. Three o'clock rolls around and there's a rumble from your stomach. What are you going to reach for? No doubt many of us reach for our change cubby/box/purse looking for sixty cents. However, going to the vending machine everyday for you snack may not be the best thing for our diets. Next thing you know you might be eating fast food once, twice, or even three times a week. All the sudden it's the end of the year and your New Year's resolution will be to loose the weight you gained while at work. Hopefully I can share with you some of the quick and easy ways I've kept to my diet after the fall of the new years support group.

First up Breaks, sounds like a four letter word huh? Most of us, though we are supposed to take our breaks, don't. Fifteen minutes is just too much time to waste especially when we are busy trying to stay afloat in our workday. However, these breaks will actually help you. If you use one of your breaks for a mid morning snack or even a late afternoon snack you may not be as famished for lunch/dinner. I know fifteen minutes may sound like it is to long but in that time you can core an apple, dip out some peanut butter and have yourself a snack that is healthy and only 200ish calories. What about a quick yogurt? Maybe add some granola to it a handful is around 60 Calories but it's a special treat when mixed in with your yogurt. You'll always see a jar of peanuts on my desk. One handful is 150 calories and packed with protein. Peanuts are good when you're just about to get hungry. It curbs your appetite and cures your crunchy & salty cravings. If it's a sweet tooth you have bring in some yam chips, or even a hand full of dark chocolate. These are great especially for women because they are packed with Antioxidants. If you are on a strict calorie diet your in luck. Raw veggies are free foods, meaning you can eat as much bell pepper (rich in Vitamin C) Broccoli (antioxidants), yams (estrogen), and any other yummy veggies you want.

Cravings are usually what get us in trouble when it comes to our snacks. There are usually three cravings that we have. They are crunch, salty, and sweet. My Nutritionist Vinca with Vinca Health has helped me curb these cravings with some healthy alternatives. Let me share her suggestions with you. For something crunchy try any of the following; light popcorn (preferably non prepackaged), frozen grapes, 1 or 2 hard pretzels (the large Bavarian variety), carrots (organic baby carrots), crunchy veggies and dip such as humus or tabouli, celery and peanut butter (organic), whole grain toast/rice crackers with humus or peanut butter. For something sweet try, fresh whole fruit, leftover grains (brown rice and quinoa) drizzled with maple syrup and cinnamon. Fruit smoothies are also wonderful for your sweet tooth. Mix fruit, ice, nut milk, yogurt, and protein hemp powder to blend and enjoy! Also try frozen yogurt, homemade fruit ice cream, sweet vegetables such as yams and squashes (which you can bake up to a week before) as well as dried fruit and dark chocolate chips. For your salty fix you want to make sure that you're not really craving water first. Then try some of these treats, tortilla chips and fresh salsa (stick to the whole grain chips), pickles, sauerkraut, olives, fresh line/lemon juice as seasonings or in a beverage, tabouleh, humus, roasted nuts or even lightly salted soy beans.

Now let's look at lunch. While Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, at work it seems that lunch takes priority. While we all love to go out for lunch it's not the best thing for our diets. Some restaurant meals can be upwards to 1,200 calories which completely bust your day if you are doing a 1,400 calorie diet. Though there are some helpful tips if you do go out to lunch often. Try getting sides instead of meal. Usually the sides are smaller than what you would get in a meal. Not to mention a full meal is usually two servings at a restaurant. The easiest switch is to substitute veggies for rice or pot beans/black beans for refried beans. Beans are so good for you however; you never really know how fresh the refried beans are. My personal pick for lunch is the Crispy Orange Chicken Bowl at Applebee's. The bowl itself is 577 calories, and I dare someone to actually finish it. However it's only about 400 calories if you substitute the rice for veggies. Not to shabby for a tasty, healthy lunch.

Staying in for lunch is a way to save you money as well as a chance to flex your culinary muscles. If you like me you probably don't want to spend a whole lot of time on your lunch, especially in the morning. I have a few non sandwich, quick lunches that might just wet your appetite. One of my favorites is the broccoli and cheese pita. It's really as simple as it sounds. Take a wheat or flower pita (depending on your taste) and pile it full of broccoli florets with strips of cheese on the top. I personally like the veggie cheese which is not made of vegetables, it's made with soy so it's 'Vegan' approved. Pop it in the microwave for about 30 seconds and you have a wonderful healthy meal that is only 250 calories and very little fat, sodium, and sugars. If your not into just veggies you can do a wrap with sliced chicken, bag lettuce (the darker the better) goat cheese (or fêta crumbles) and a bit of red wine vinaigrette. If you want to try something a bit more exotic and a couple of minutes extra take a wheat tortilla and layer Hummus (Roasted Red Pepper) with tomatoes, broccoli sprouts, cubed cucumbers, bell peppers, onions, and a bit of fêta cheese.

Sticking to your diet can be easier even without your support group. While rivalry is great for the short run, eating healthy for YOU is much better in the long run. With some simple tweaks you can be one step ahead of next years new years resolutions. But more importantly, you may well be on your way to a healthier lifestyle.