People of the Office - Go to food items?

vmbourg
vmbourg Posts: 125 Member
edited November 20 in Food and Nutrition
I work in an office. Perfect access to a fridge. I bring items to cutup a fresh salad for lunch most days, hit the gym, and just eat at my desk. I eat a protein bar for breakfast with my coffee. And my go to snacks are plain greek yogurt(I add a tad of honey), apples, 1/2 banana. But I am getting bored , and really want to find a way to fit more protein and less fatty snacks in my diet. (Nuts used to be a go to but I keep overshooting my daily fat %). I usually don't mind bars and other prepackaged snacks, but I am really trying to change my diet to include more freshness!! Any tips? What do you guys eat in the office area?

Thanks- Victoria
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Replies

  • KarenSmith2018
    KarenSmith2018 Posts: 302 Member
    Celery pepper and cucumber with a bit of humous.
    I have a carefully weighed out quantity of nuts and dried fruits.
    Meridian peanut bars/battleoat bars
    Granola and yogurt
    Small bags of popcorn, rice cakes etc
    Dry cereal
    Think they are all my usual go to.
  • inertiastrength
    inertiastrength Posts: 2,343 Member
    I went on this 2 week chicken salad kick. Sistema has a really nice salad container that I was more excited to buy vs actually prep the salads but, THAT SAID, I made some really lovely lunches. I only eat about 115-130g chicken at dinner and one breast is about half that so I'd cook extra and when I was making my dinner salad I'd toss some extra veggies in a container, add the cooked chicken and make a tidy little package to have at work.

    I'm back on the Wendy's chili daily though, in the interest of full disclosure. Containers still super cute lol
  • work_on_it
    work_on_it Posts: 251 Member
    I've been doing hard boiled eggs. Sometimes i'll chop them up with a tablespoon or two of greek yogurt or cottage cheese so its like egg salad. Put it on celery sticks or lettuce. I've also done some salami slices rolled around a strips of cheese. That one is a little fatty - but the flavor is really good.
  • timtam163
    timtam163 Posts: 500 Member
    Last week I washed a bunch of mini bell peppers and dipped em in hummus all week. Crackers, cucumber slices, and hummus also work.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    vmbourg wrote: »
    What do you guys eat in the office area?

    I don't snack, I just have lunch. I often do the salad with protein option but change the salad and the protein so it's not boring. I also bring leftovers as lunch a lot -- sometimes for microwaving (do you have a microwave), sometimes not -- lots of things I like cold.
  • stanmann571
    stanmann571 Posts: 5,727 Member
    Nuts... and don't worry about the macro split.
  • Sharon_C
    Sharon_C Posts: 2,132 Member
    Chicken salad
    Chicken sandwich (I make a huge batch of chicken on Sundays, shred it, and mix it up with different things)
    Almonds
    Greek yogurt
    Hillshire makes these awesome protein packs with beef jerky and cheese
    I have a package of beef jerky in my desk drawer and sometimes snack on that in the afternoon
    protein bars
    hard boiled eggs
  • ew_david
    ew_david Posts: 3,473 Member
    At first glance, you're eating a lot of snacks rather than an actual meal. Last week I made a chicken enchilada casserole and ate that. I often prep a protein in the crockpot on Sunday for the week; buffalo chicken, pulled pork, the above-referenced casserole, just to name a few. Sometimes I make protein pancakes and take those to work. It's all about planning and prepping.
  • rachel780mpg
    rachel780mpg Posts: 83 Member
    I keep a dozen eggs in my work fridge. I've mastered the art of hard boiling, poaching, and scrambling all in the microwave. I also bring carrots and peppers with hummus or pico de gallo.
  • Bianca42
    Bianca42 Posts: 310 Member
    While I have access to a fridge at work, I bring just the day's lunch and snacks every day. If I brought enough for the week on Monday, I'd eat it all by Wednesday and then eat out Thursday and Friday. :) So, everything is in serving-sized containers. I do:

    cottage cheese
    yogurt
    berries
    grapes
    carrots and hummus (or whatever veggie sounds good)
    sugar snap peas
    hard boiled eggs
  • skatardrummer
    skatardrummer Posts: 60 Member
    The problem with snackey foods like granola and even protein bars, they are very high in carbs or sugar, and when you don't burn carbs as energy, they actually cause excess fat storage. It's really bad for us who sit all day and aren't burning it. With that said, the body still needs carbs because the brain runs on glucose...but too much isn't good for us either. Look for things low in processed sugars and carbs. Veggies are great, watermelon, berries, are all some of the best according to the nutritionist. I also eat Hard Boiled eggs in the morning, but only 1-2 a day. Unsalted nuts in small amounts. Watch your dipping sauces too. I found out I needed to stop eating my salads with ranch...even light ranch. It was costing me way too many calories. I also buy a brand of protein drink at Costco called Pure Protein because it's some of the lowest in calorie and sugar content I've found. I put cucumbers in my water even though I'm not big on water flavor. Supposedly this jump starts your metabolism, but I haven't seen the research on it. I know that I burned 16 lbs faster that way however with the exercise and diet I was already using.

    My biggest success this week has been watermelon. I cut up a whole one and munch on it all week. It's very filling and low in calories. Like 70 cal for a whole cup. I lost 4 lbs this last week, woo! It is some sugar, but it's not processed.

    I lost over 120 lbs once. I gained it all back because I gave up when undergoing some major stress. I know it can be done with our hard work and courage!

    Good luck!
  • seltzermint555
    seltzermint555 Posts: 10,740 Member
    Not the answer you're looking for here, but I refuse to eat in the office, period. Obviously that is not the right solution for everyone. I eat breakfast before work and go home for lunch (and once a week out) but never eat anything at my desk or even in the building. For me it's too easy to bring a granola bar in, put it in my desk, and then start feeling "hmm maybe snack time?" at 9 am when I am not truly hungry. So that's the basis for my choice. That would definitely change if I didn't live close enough to eat at home and/or had a shorter lunch break than a full hour.
  • ew_david
    ew_david Posts: 3,473 Member
    skatardrummer wrote: »
    The problem with snackey foods like granola and even protein bars, they are very high in carbs or sugar, and when you don't burn carbs as energy, they actually cause excess fat storage. It's really bad for us who sit all day and aren't burning it. With that said, the body still needs carbs because the brain runs on glucose...but too much isn't good for us either. Look for things low in processed sugars and carbs. Veggies are great, watermelon, berries, are all some of the best according to the nutritionist. I also eat Hard Boiled eggs in the morning, but only 1-2 a day. Unsalted nuts in small amounts. Watch your dipping sauces too. I found out I needed to stop eating my salads with ranch...even light ranch. It was costing me way too many calories. I also buy a brand of protein drink at Costco called Pure Protein because it's some of the lowest in calorie and sugar content I've found. I put cucumbers in my water even though I'm not big on water flavor. Supposedly this jump starts your metabolism, but I haven't seen the research on it. I know that I burned 16 lbs faster that way however with the exercise and diet I was already using.

    My biggest success this week has been watermelon. I cut up a whole one and munch on it all week. It's very filling and low in calories. Like 70 cal for a whole cup. I lost 4 lbs this last week, woo! It is some sugar, but it's not processed.

    I lost over 120 lbs once. I gained it all back because I gave up when undergoing some major stress. I know it can be done with our hard work and courage!

    Good luck!

    Too much of ANY food causes excess fat storage, not just carbs. Snacks high in carbs tend not to have lasting satiety, which leads to eating more food until one is satiated, which leads to excess calories, which leads to weight gain.
  • bluestocking06
    bluestocking06 Posts: 66 Member
    I started adding protein powder and flax seed to my morning yogurt/oatmeal to up my protein intake. I also really like beef/turkey jerky as something high in protein to snack on that works well in my desk.
  • kms234
    kms234 Posts: 132 Member
    I found this AMAZING jalapeno dip recipe so I've been making that and bringing carrots and celery to dip. Berries, hard boiled eggs, beef jerky, greey yogurt with PB powder, string cheese, roasted pepitas and other nuts/seeds.
  • lilithsrose
    lilithsrose Posts: 752 Member
    Make chia pudding the night before and then just grab-and-go in the morning. There are tons of easy recipes for chia pudding. It will help you get more fiber and protein. Prepping hard-boiled eggs for the week is a good idea too. Flavored tuna pouches are healthy and convenient.
  • Foodfavor
    Foodfavor Posts: 94 Member
    edited July 2017
    Last night I made red peppers stuffed with meat and veg, Lots of protein and little fat. Half a stuffed pepper would be a very quick convenient snack. Just throw it in the microwave for a minute and you are good to go:)
  • DamieBird
    DamieBird Posts: 651 Member
    What would you eat if you weren't in the office? If you have access to a fridge and microwave (?) there aren't a lot of reasons why you can't eat the same thing in the office as you do at home. If may require some meal prep. but you can have a nice breakfast/lunch/snack without going to the things you're beginning to find boring. I make breakfast at home, and then bring it to the office to eat an hour or so into my workday. On Friday I had a bacon egg scramble with avocado and cheese and a bowl full of berries. When I was ready to eat, I just popped it into the microwave to reheat the eggs. Today, I had an bacon egg muffin the same way. Make it at home, bring it in, 30 second to reheat when I'm ready for breakfast.

    I eat lunch at home, but if you need something easy to eat at your desk, the same principle applies. You could have anything you wanted (although I don't recommend reheating fish in the office)! For snacks, I usually keep some greek yogurt or cheese sticks in the fridge at work and bring in some fruit about once a week (things that will keep like oranges or bananas).
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    skatardrummer wrote: »
    The problem with snackey foods like granola and even protein bars, they are very high in carbs or sugar, and when you don't burn carbs as energy, they actually cause excess fat storage. It's really bad for us who sit all day and aren't burning it. With that said, the body still needs carbs because the brain runs on glucose...but too much isn't good for us either. Look for things low in processed sugars and carbs. Veggies are great, watermelon, berries, are all some of the best according to the nutritionist. I also eat Hard Boiled eggs in the morning, but only 1-2 a day. Unsalted nuts in small amounts. Watch your dipping sauces too. I found out I needed to stop eating my salads with ranch...even light ranch. It was costing me way too many calories. I also buy a brand of protein drink at Costco called Pure Protein because it's some of the lowest in calorie and sugar content I've found. I put cucumbers in my water even though I'm not big on water flavor. Supposedly this jump starts your metabolism, but I haven't seen the research on it. I know that I burned 16 lbs faster that way however with the exercise and diet I was already using.

    My biggest success this week has been watermelon. I cut up a whole one and munch on it all week. It's very filling and low in calories. Like 70 cal for a whole cup. I lost 4 lbs this last week, woo! It is some sugar, but it's not processed.

    I lost over 120 lbs once. I gained it all back because I gave up when undergoing some major stress. I know it can be done with our hard work and courage!

    Good luck!

    Any energy from food that you don't burn off is going to be stored as fat. This isn't particular to carbohydrates.
  • lucys1225
    lucys1225 Posts: 597 Member
    I go to the gym before work so when I get in I have "mexican" cauliflower rice mixed with shredded chicken for my snack.
  • DebLaBounty
    DebLaBounty Posts: 1,169 Member
    My favorite snack lately is an apple and 1/2 ounce of cheddar cheese. Easy to do. Filling.
  • SandraNancy
    SandraNancy Posts: 127 Member
    Same here-- office with a fridge. Today's a late day for me so I have lunch and dinner with me. In the fridge we have:

    100 g of pineapple

    30 g of cheese

    Turkey meatballs (if you're looking for more protein, I've found meatballs to be an awesome way to add it in. The ones I make have 5 g of protein per serving, and I use Parmesan cheese instead of bread crumbs, so only about
    1.25 g of carbs per meatball. They're good hot, cold, in salads, on their own... so versatile!)

    Turkey veggie mix (another go to recipe for me-- ground turkey, chopped up bell peppers, onion, salsa, and spices. Sort of like chili)

    A Greek yogurt

    An apple

    My focus is on protein and fats with most of my carbs coming from veggies & fruit. If that's what you're after, let me know if you want some make-ahead recipe ideas!
  • bowsontoes
    bowsontoes Posts: 44 Member
    I like bringing watermelon, pineapple, or raspberries. I'll also do carrots and string cheese, although the cheese has fat in it which you're trying to avoid. Thomas Light English muffins are a good base for snacks at 100 cals for 8g of fiber, sometimes I put a little lunch meat on those as a quick, 150-calorie fix. The Morningstar veggie burgers range from 110-130 calories, I'll often do the chickpea one with a little hummus on the toasted English muffin for a light lunch or a snack too.

    For breakfast I usually do non-fat plain Greek yogurt with PB2. I'll do the Dannon Light n' Fit strawberry yogurt too, which isn't bad at 80 calories, 12g protein, 0g fat, and 9g carbs. Lunch is 5-7oz of chicken mixed with the sides from last night's dinner. Today is shredded chicken, corn, black beans, cilantro, salsa, and red and orange peppers. If I don't prep the night before, I'll have a Trader frozen turkey burger patty or a frozen Morningstar chickpea burger patty with frozen vegetables.

  • laurenebargar
    laurenebargar Posts: 3,081 Member
    I typically just have coffee in the morning or something small and then eat lunch around 1. Today its pesto pasta (pesto made with kale and spinach) and veggies (carrots celery bell pepper) and hummus. I have a serving of almonds for a snack. Sometimes Ill bring yogurt, or a string cheese. Lately i've been on an almond kick though because if you have a weighed portion size you can snack on a few here and there and wont blow your calorie budget.
  • KeepRunningFatboy
    KeepRunningFatboy Posts: 3,055 Member
    I take in fresh raw fruits and veggies every day. If I feel the blood sugar drop, I'll eat an apple or halo orange. For lunch - kale, broccoli, cucumbers, maybe an apple.
  • Lizakabibbis
    Lizakabibbis Posts: 370 Member
    cottage cheese,yogurt, peaches, cheese sticks, deli meat, watermelon, pickles, cucumber, beef jerky, and packets of tuna. I eat pretty plain at work - just something to get me through the day. If I have fruit I always pair it a protein. I love peaches and full fat cottage cheese and then I'll have yogurt w/another fruit in the afternoon.
  • Ironandwine69
    Ironandwine69 Posts: 2,432 Member
    Love my office nuts
  • mskimee
    mskimee Posts: 228 Member
    Today in my office I had leftover fajita chicken (without the wrap) and a salad, sometimes I'll have a toasted wrap if I'm in the mood. i do like bringing in leftovers as much as possible cos I hate making lunches and i never have time in the morning to prep. I try to avoid buying lunches as 1) the cost adds up and 2) some prepacked stuff has a surprising number of calories!!
  • LuckyNumbers
    LuckyNumbers Posts: 208 Member
    Multi-grain crackers
    Hummus (the green chile variety)
    Baby carrots
    String cheese
    Stuffed olives
    Almonds
    Hard boiled eggs

    I also keep a couple cans of sardines in my desk for days when I forget to pack lunch. I go outside to eat those because I don't hate my coworkers. :smile:
  • ggeise14
    ggeise14 Posts: 387 Member
    My summer lunch go to is 1/4 c cottage cheese with a 1/4 c blueberries/strawberries, a boiled egg and a cup of celery. Afternoon snack is 1/2 c Greek yogurt with 1/4 c blueberries/strawberries. That way I can prep 'meals' for the week on Sundays and don't have to worry about what's for lunch. Somedays I change out the boiled egg for three slices of turkey Natural sandwich meat with one wedge of Laughing Cow cheese and fresh basil spread over the slices and rolled up.

    Breakfasts are either smoothies with PB2 or Almond Milk (with 1/2 a scoop of protein powder) and fruit or three egg-whites with a wedge of Laughing Cow cheese and scallions microwaved. This is my current favorite and keeps me full until lunch. If I have a smoothie (even with the protein powder), I usually have a piece of string cheese as a snack mid-morning.
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