25 Healthy Snacks While Working From Home

Fill your pantry with healthy snacks while working from home to boost your energy, skyrocket your productivity, and most importantly, stay healthy! A combination of high fiber complex carbohydrates, protein and healthy fats will help you feel your best.

Eating to feel your best is personal. But for most people, SNACKS are a vital part of the equation.

Consider snacks a bridge between your meals. They hold you over until you’re able to eat a well-balanced, nourishing meal. 

In my years of practice, I find that most of my clients need a snack to bridge lunch and dinner. Once my clients figure out how to eat a well-balanced breakfast, they often don’t need a mid-morning snack. However, the time between lunch and dinner is usually longer than the period of time between breakfast and lunch. 

Just because this works for most doesn’t necessarily mean it will work for YOU. Or work for you every day. There may be days when a mid-morning snack is necessary. Or you may just push up lunchtime.

Snacks are important because they prevent you from being HANGRY at your next meal. Entering a meal over-hungry can lead to over-eating and delayed feelings of satisfaction. 

Healthy snacks while working can…

• Boost your overall nutrient intake
• Prevent over-eating later on
• Keep your metabolism elevated by preventing sugar crashes
• Satisfy cravings
• Help you maintain a healthy weight
• Be mini meals

But what’s a healthy snack?

To boost your energy, skyrocket productivity, and feel good, aim to combine protein and/or fat with a fiber-filled carbohydrate.

This will prevent you from hitting the pantry all day, getting hangry, and falling asleep at your desk… especially if you’re working from home and your desk is your couch (you’re not alone!).

There’s no “right” combination of foods for a snack. This can change daily, depending on your mood, what sounds good, and so on.

But, choosing foods that have protein and/or fat + complex carbohydrates more often than not, but not always, will have numerous health benefits for you.

I often advise my clients to choose 1 high protein food + 1 high fiber food to keep it simple. As they get used to crafting their own snacks, I suggest just picking 2/3 major food groups. So you can pair a high fiber carb with a high fat food or a high protein with a high fat, etc.

To make it simple, you can mix and match to craft a healthy snack that sounds good to you by choosing 1 food from each food group below:

HIGH PROTEIN SNACK FOODS:

• Hard boiled eggs
• Cheese (string cheese, from a block, a wedge, etc.)
• Edamame (dry roasted or frozen and thawed)
• Nut/seed butter
• Nuts/seeds
• Greek yogurt or skyr
• Cottage cheese
• Milk or soy milk
• Turkey/chicken slices
• Hummus
• Organic jerky
• Tuna/salmon salad

HEALTHY FAT SNACK FOODS:

• Avocado
• Cheese (string cheese, from a block, a wedge, etc.)
• Nut/seed butter
• Nuts/seeds
• Dark chocolate (or your favorite chocolate)

HIGH FIBER SNACK FOODS:

• Any veggies
• Any fruit
• Whole wheat toast
• Whole wheat crackers
• Popcorn
• Edamame
• Chickpeas (roasted chickpeas or fresh)
• Hummus
• Bean-based tortilla chips
• Granola
• Dried fruit
• For more info/ideas on high fiber carbs, click here!

Check out some of my favorite store-bought snacks on my Amazon shop!

Allergy-Friendly Healthy Snack Ideas

It can be hard to come up with fresh, exciting ideas that leave you feeling satisfied, so I compiled 25 healthy snacks to enjoy while working from home..

[Tweet “A good snack is made from REAL, WHOLE foods. 10 healthy snack ideas…”]

Here are 25 healthy snacks while working from home…

Healthy Nut Free Snacks

1. Nut-Free Lara Bar Lookalikes – It’s hard to find nut-free snack bars (my favorite are from 88 Acres), but these “Lara Bar” lookalikes are easy to make from pantry staples and delicious!

2. Crispy Roasted Edamame– You can DIY or you can purchase pre-made dry roasted edamame. I especially love the individual portions to throw in my bag for when I’m out and about. Seapoint Farms also makes a wasabi flavor, if you’re into spicy things!

• Edamame are high in protein and fiber, so they’ll keep you full for hours!

3. Hummus + Veggies – This is a great snack if you’re a volume eater (aka like to eat large portions of food to feel full). Veggies are mostly water so they’ll fill you up, but alone you’ll be hungry soon after. The hummus provides “staying power.” You can use storebought hummus or DIY with all the canned beans you may have from the coronavirus quarantine.

• Roasted Red Pepper and Mung Bean Dip 
• Sesame-Free White Bean Hummus
• Turmeric Hummus

4. Avocado + Hard Boiled Eggs – This combo is full of healthy fats, which will keep you full for hours. Hard boiled eggs are high protein and contain healthy fats too.

5. Healthy cookie dough with apple slices – You’d never know that BEANS could taste like cookie dough – no joke! This is one of my FAVORITE recipes, and a go-to in our house. 

• If you’re looking for a way to use up extra pumpkin puree, try this pumpkin version.

6. Seed Crackers + any dip/spread – These seed crackers are a favorite to make because they’re full of healthy fats and protein. Pair with any dip/spread that your heart desires for more oomph, or enjoy on their own.

7. Tuna Salad on Cucumbers – This is a favorite “mini meal” combo for lunch or a snack – it’s satisfying, filling, and full of protein. Most tuna salad recipes have fat added in them, so pairing with cucumbers or bell pepper slices is perfect.

• Tuna Avocado Salad
• Tuna Salad with Cranberries

8. Bowl of minestrone soup – Don’t forget about soup when brainstorming snack ideas! A bowl of minestrone soup is filling and comforting. Be sure there’s some protein in there, like beans for optimal staying power! These soup recipes make a hearty and filling snack:

• Immune-boosting veggie soup
• Butternut squash and lentil soup

9. Chia Pudding – The flavor combinations are endless and it’s SO filling, thanks to protein, fiber, and healthy fats in chia seeds. Use any milk or milk alternative you have to whip up a batch. These are my favorite recipes:

• Chunky Monkey Chia Pudding
• Blueberry Chia Pudding
• Apricot Turmeric Chia Pudding

10. High Protein Blender Muffins – My go-to food prep breakfast because they’re packed with protein and easy to reheat + eat, but they also make a delicious snack. Here are a few of my favorite recipes: 

• Green Protein Muffins
• High Protein Berry Muffins

11. Bean-Based Tortilla Chips with Guacamole and Salsa – This combo gets me every time when I’m in the mood for something savory and salty. Bean-based tortilla chips are a healthier alternative because they’re made with beans – AKA an extra dose of protein and fiber!

12. Turkey slices rolled in iceberg lettuce with salad dressing – Another mini meal that’s so darn good! The salad dressing is key because it adds fat and flavor, which is a formula for satisfaction – essential for any meal or snack!

13. Yogurt parfait with high fiber cereal and fruit – A common breakfast also makes a great afternoon snack. Layer yogurt with high fiber cereal and fruit. Sprinkle in seeds for extra oomph.

14. Portobello Pizzas – For a fun way to enjoy pizza, with a serving of veggies on the side, 

15. Israeli salad with feta cheese – Who says you can’t have traditional “meal foods” as a snack? This is such a refreshing option!

5-Minute Healthy Snacks

16. No Bake Oatmeal Bites – Oats, SunButter, sunflower seeds + add-ins – so simple!

17. Balanced smoothie – While working from home, throw a bunch of ingredients into a blender and enjoy! Try these variations that take mere minutes to throw together: 

• Nut Free Green Smoothie
• Banana-Free Creamy Berry Smoothie
• Creamy Chocolate Blueberry Smoothie

18. Cheese and crackers – Enjoy a sharp cheddar or fresh mozzarella paired with whole grain crackers for a fan-favorite snack! If you want to get fancy, top with sliced tomato and basil too!

19. Cottage cheese stuffed in a melon – A diner classic – melon + cottage cheese. But add a sprinkle of cinnamon for a little extra pizazz.

20. Fruit + Sunflower Seed Butter – If you want a “stick to your ribs” kinda snack, pair SunButter with banana (or make popsicles!). Otherwise, any fruit will do.

21. Half roasted sweet potato with nut/seed butter – If you want another “stick to your ribs” option that’s not fruit, try a sweet potato! This is a great way to use leftovers!

22. Shrimp cocktail – so delicious! Buy steamed shrimp at the supermarket if you don’t want to DIY.

23. Organic jerky + fruit – choose grass-fed jerky for the best quality. 

24. Popcorn + Pumpkin Seeds + Chocolate Chips – I probably eat this combo at least twice a week. Popcorn is one of those foods that’s sooo satisfying because you can eat a HUGE bowl! My favorite brands of store-bought popcorn are Skinny Pop, Lesser Evil, and Boom Chicka Pop.

25. Ants on a Log – Bring back a childhood favorite with an extra crunch. Spread sunflower seed butter on celery sticks or carrots and top with raisins and granola.

What’s your favorite healthy snack while working from home?
XO