Training & Nutrition

10 Tasty Desk Draw Snacks

Stock up on those healthy snacks to see you through the day

When those days are dragging out and you need a little pick-me-up to see you through, delve into your desk draw stash of snacks.

Even if you’ve had your bowl of breakfast porridge and your morning cuppa, some days you just feel low in energy and need a little snack to get you through to lunch time. It’s a great idea to ensure your snacks are not only tasty, but healthy as well.

Our bodies require a balanced diet containing all the essential food groups for muscles building, recovery, immunity and energy so we can perform our best on the bikes. What better way to implement your healthy foods than into your snacking too?

We’ve round up our favourite 10 desk snack foods that you can keep close to you when hunger strikes.

Nuts

Nuts are packed with healthy fats, fibre, Vitamin E and antioxidents making them great for reducing inflammation and recovery from workouts. In particular, it’s the Omega 3 fat which helps with puffy-muscles.

Nuts are a great source for protein which helps with muscle growth and keeps you feeling fuller for longer. So they are a great filler snack for the day.

Seeds

Like nuts, seeds are also packed with healthy Omega 3 fats and tryptophan giving our bodies some healthy benefits.

They are also rich in iron, calcium, magnesium and zinc. Different seeds have benefits with pumpkin seeds being one of the healthier options. You can eat them raw, or as a salad or porridge topping too.

Dark Chocolate

Yep. You read that right, dark chocolate is great for you and an ideal desk snack.

Studies have shown that having as much of 40g of dark chocolate per day can improve your cycling performance. Having similar affects to drinking beetroot juice, dark chocolate contains Bio-active Nitric Oxide (NO) which is proven to help dilate blood vessels and increases glucose uptake. This makes your workout more efficient by requiring less oxygen to fuel your pedal power.

Low-Sodium Jerky

Typically eaten on those camping trips, jerky has quickly become a popular choice amongst athletes for that all important protein boost.

Jerky is tasty and healthy, providing you avoid brands with high sodium counts.

Dried Fruit

Fruit is full of natural sugars which are good for you, but in moderation. Dried fruit lasts longer and therefore, it’s great for storing in your desk drawer.

Are bananas the original super-food?

Different fruits provide different benefits for the body, but they are also mega tasty, packed with Vitamin C and convenient for desk food and well as trail food.

Nut Butter (peanut/almond)

Nut butter varieties are great for keeping at your desk because they can be eaten with most dry foods like crackers, granola and toast.

Recipe: Scrumptious Peanut Butter Cookies

Plenty of protein, fats and taste, peanut butter is great as an ingredient or to eat as a topping.

Granola

It’s easy to make your own granola, and it’s great to eat with yoghurt and milk for that extra protein boost.

Recipe: Power Granola

Make yourself a healthy jar of granola to dip into at your desk when you’re feeling peckish.

Roasted Chickpeas

Chickpeas are the happy snack. Full of Vitamin B6, chickpeas are responsible for increasing the production of neurotransmitters which help sends messages from the brain.

Chickpeas can be roasted with some herbs to make for a tasty and healthy snack.

DIY Trail Mix

Rather than buying a pre-made trail mix which could be sprinkled with additives and other chemicals, make your own.

Choose your favourite nuts and seeds and slow roast them in the oven for approximately 20mins. You can make enough to last you the week at work, and mix it up with honey for a sweeter taste.

Green Tea

Reduce your coffee and tea intake and replace them with herbal green tea. This tasty tea is full of flavonoids and antioxidants to help detox your body. Green tea also contains L-thenine – an amino acid which helps your body to produce germ-fighting compounds.

Green tea helps increase your metabolism so you can burn calories quicker, and helps with fat oxidisation.

So stock up your office drawers with these healthy snack foods that will get you through the day, and give you that much needed boost for your evening training session.