Workplace Snacks and Their Health Benefits

If you're like many people, you may find it helpful to partake of small snacks throughout your work day. Snacking throughout the day can provide you with the extra energy and focus you need. The trick is to snack smart! Here we have complied a list of common workplace snacks and a brief summary of their health benefits, as well as some disadvantages!

1. Almonds

Almonds are a favorite of many in our office and in offices across the U.S.! These tree nuts have several nutrients and and known for providing people with energy throughout the day. Benefits:  Almonds contain high amounts of fiber, antioxidants, protein, healthy fats, magnesium, vitamin E, calcium, and iron. In a 1/4 cup serving there are 5 grams of fiber, 0.4 milligrams of riboflavin (an antioxidant),  97 milligrams of magnesium, 16 milligrams of vitamin E, 96 milligrams of calcium, and 33 milligrams of calcium. Disadvantages: Almonds contain 5 grams of sugar per 1/4 cup as well as 207 calories and 7 grams of cards. While these carbs and calories allow almonds to provide the energy that they give us and can be an advantage if burned off correctly, they can also be a harmful to those of us who spend most of the work day sitting instead of moving around.

2. Granola Bars

Granola Bars and Cereal Bars have been with many of us since our school days. From Nature Valley to Quaker Oats, these quick morning-time snacks come in a wide variety of brands and types. Granola bars are most commonly consumed because they're filling and, like almonds, are known for providing people with an ample amount of energy. How much nutrition is in one granola bar? The information below pertains to standard name brand granola bar. Benefits: Most granola bars contain magnesium, potassium, and protein. These are all things your body needs daily to create energy and to continue to function. These bars quickly cure hunger and fatigue. Disadvantages: As granola bars generally exist to provide their consumers with energy, they can be high in calories. Do some research on granola bars and choose one that contains a calorie level fitting to the amount of activity you normally do during the day! Some have even chosen to make their own granola bars at home with natural ingredients.

3. Cashews

Did you know that cashew's come from a fruit? (If you understood that reference, you know that, and how to make a song go viral). Cashews are a convenient snack that posses many disease fighting properties! Benefits: Cashews have been proven to reduce high blood pressure, and to lessen the consumer's risk of cardiovascular disease and cataracts. These curled nuts also contain iron and copper, which are essential nutrients. Research has shown that cashews also play a role in preventing diabetes and cancer! Disadvantages: Like almonds, eating an excessive amount of cashews can cause one to add more fat to their diet than necessary. However, if enjoyed in moderation, these nuts provide good and healthy fats!

4. Pretzels 

Pretzels are the salty snack many people grab when trying to avoid fattier options like potato chips, although many choose them simply because they love the taste! These twisted favorites are known for their satisfying crunch and bread-like flavor. There are good reasons that pretzels are often seen as a healthier option. To name a few: Benefits: Pretzels contain a surprising amount of healthy dietary essentials! Among them are fiber, iron, folic acid, 7-10% of your daily needed minerals, and our favorite antioxidant, riboflavin. Disadvantages: The vice of most pretzels is their excessively high sodium content. While the salt is a big part of what gives pretzels their delicious taste, it  is good to keep in mind that, on average, --- pretzels provides the recommended amount of sodium for the average person for a single day.

5. Fruit

The term "fruit" covers a wide range of sweet, seeded plant products from limes, to apples, to starfruit, to berries and everything in between. Because so many individual things fit into this category, the information below pertains to the most commonly snaked on fruits: apples, bananas, blueberries, strawberries, grapes, and oranges. Benefits: Most fruits, especially bananas, have a very high potassium content. Blueberries, oranges, and several others contain high amounts of the immune system supporting vitamin C. Apples, bananas, and blueberries can all boast a high dietary fiber content as well! These fruits are also full of B vitamins and varying amounts of magnesium. Disadvantages: Although the sugar in fruit is natural and better for your body than processed cane sugar, most fruits contain 1 (strawberries) to 19 (apples) grams of sugar. Compared to many other snacks, however, this sugar content is relatively low.

6.  Cheese

Unless you're lactose intolerant, or just a little weird, you probably love cheese. Cheese comes in so many different forms and types! When it comes to snacking, the most common types are mozzarella string cheese,  cheddar cubes, and cheese curds. Cheese is a known source of calcium, but it also a common culprit when it comes to high cholesterol. Is cheese good for us or bad for us? As it turns out, the answer is a bit of both. Benefits: As the rumors say, cheese is indeed high in calcium! One common brand of string cheese another brand of cheddar both contain 20% calcium per serving. One fourth cup of plain cheese curds contains 200 mg of calcium. These cheeses also provide 7-8 grams of protein. Cheddar cheese also contains 30% potassium per serving! Disadvantages: Unfortunately, cheeses contain a high volume of fat, cholesterol, and sodium. String cheese contains 6 grams of fat,  15 mg of cholesterol, and 210 mg of sodium. Cheddar cheese and cheese curds both contain 9 grams of fat, 30 mg of cholesterol, and 180 mg of sodium.

7. Roasted Chickpeas

Roasted chickpeas might be a little new to those who are used to only eating chickpeas in salad or mashed up into humus. But if you've eaten flavored and roasted chickpeas, you know how delicious they are! Alternately known as garbanzo beans, these unique legumes are usually thought of as being a health food. The facts below are based on a common roasted chickpea recipe involving several spices. Benefits: Chickpeas contain several vitamins and minerals including A, C, E K, Thiamine, our buddy Riboflavin, Niacin, B6, Calcium, Zinc, and Selenium. They have a particularly high content of folate (or folic acid), iron, phosphorous, potassium, and manganese. In addition,each serving contains 19% percent dietary fiber! This makes chickpeas particularly good for digestive and blood health! Chickpeas are also a significant source of protein with 11% per serving. Disadvantages: Like many protein rich foods, chickpeas have a somewhat high carbohydrate and calorie content. Each serving contains 124 calories , 17.7 grams of carbs, and 3.8 grams of fat. Chickpeas roasted in seasonings also contain an average of 23 mg of sodium.

8. Dark Chocolate 

Okay, okay. You're probably sick of people telling you that chocolate is actually good for you, and then eating it to find it brings you more added pounds that wellness. I won't sugarcoat it- chocolate is definitely something to be enjoyed only in moderation. However, dark chocolate does have several legitimate health benefits and nutrients that your body needs! When it comes to health and chocolate, the darker the chocolate, the better it is for you. This is because milk and semi-sweet chocolate have much more added sugar and artificial ingredients. Here, I have chosen an extreme example; these facts are based on 70-85% cocoa dark chocolate!  Keep in mind that nutrients will very with different percentages of cocoa, and even sometimes by brand. The information below is based on a 1 bar (101 gram ) serving. Benefits: In one serving of dark chocolate, there is 2 mg manganese, 1.8 mg copper, 311 mg phosphorous, 3.3 mg zinc, 722 mg potassium, 230 mg magnesium, 12 mg iron, and 73.7 calcium! In addition to these essential minerals, plenty of vitamins are present too! These vitamins include vitamin A (1%), Thiamine and B6 (2%), B12 (5%), vitamin K (9%), and of course, riboflavin (5%). Each serving also contains 7.9 grams of protein and 11 grams of fiber! These nutrients allow dark chocolate to promote digestive, immune system, blood, and nervous system health! Disadvantages: You may have guessed already that chocolate is high in calories. Even the very dark chocolate we focus on here contains 605  calories. A total of 388 of these calories are from fat. There is a total of 43.1 grams of fat in each serving, which is 66% of the average suggested daily intake. As stated above, this treat is healthy for you if enjoyed in limited amounts. We hope you liked our list of tasty and healthy office snacks! If you have anything to add, or if you want to tell us about a convenient office snack that you've discovered, let us know below in the comments!