Life of E's

What if you want to eat and snack in a healthy manner? Does that mean no more good stuff? And why should you care about this?

Snacking at work can be one of the biggest productivity downfalls for three reasons:

• We DON’T eat at all – and then because we’re starving, we eat half the house when we get home. That is never good. When you eat too much at night, you can’t go to bed comfortably to sleep, and then you toss and turn for hours and are less rested the following day.

• We don’t eat at all while we’re working and our blood sugar takes a dive, along with our mental capacity to think, problem-solve, write, teach, or whatever else we need to be doing. This is no good either!

• We eat goofy things (that’s a technical nutritional term) because they are around. In case you are wondering, pretty much if it comes out of a machine, it’s in the goofy category. Cheese crackers with peanut butter in them. Ugh, but they look tasty when you’re starving. Day-old muffins in the workroom that have hunks cut out of them. Lovely. If you’re scavenging, it’s not a good sign.

Use these two multi-faceted suggestions to eat smart, stay focused, and not turn into a scavenger. It is all much more productive and infinitely more attractive.

1. Fresh vegetables, including asparagus, broccoli, squash, and tomatoes – The list can go on and on here. Whatever is in season (and in many parts of the country, you can get “in season” vegetables that are shipped in from another part of the world – in any season. If you like to buy locally, then just stay alert for what is available. You may also choose to grow your own, especially in the summer. That is REALLY the best and the healthiest. It can be only minutes from garden to table so you’re losing no nutrients. As long as you don’t pile a ton of butter, oil, or other fats on top of your vegetables, you are in good shape. Taking raw or cooked vegetables to work with you as a snack will make you the envy of your co-workers. And, they will wish that they were also getting healthier instead of getting more run down and out of shape.

2. Pasta. Yum! Pasta is another one of the many foods that you might love that can be as tasty – or more tasty – by not loading it up with a bunch of heavy fats that you don’t really want. To tell the truth, plain pasta with nothing on it is good (especially when you are hungry!). Or you can add some fresh vegetables or a small amount of cheese or just some fresh-ground pepper and it tastes scumptious. Pasta is very filling and so then you are not hungry and wondering about the next items you’re going to eat.

So, what will you pack to take to work tomorrow?  I’d love for you to make comments below.  We’re interested in your suggestions!!