The Best Snacks to Eat at Work

For the past few weeks at the Shifting Careers blog over at the New York Times, writer Marci Alboher has occasionally invited nutrition consultant Marissa Lippert in to give her thoughts about snacking while working.

In one post, Lippert outlines the best snacks for the late afternoon cravings, including:

low-fat popcorn (like Newman's Own or Good Health)
Apple slices with natural peanut butter or 1 ounce of cheddar cheese, 1 cup edamame
1 bag of soy crisps
Fresh cut vegetables with light onion dip or ¼ cup hummus
20 baby carrots and 1.5 tablespoons natural peanut butter
5-10 dark chocolate-covered almonds

In her most recent entry, Lippert details a few more longer-lasting snacks that can be kept in your desk or in the company fridge for a few days:

Raw, unsalted nuts (almonds, pistachios, cashews, walnuts, pecans)
Kashi TLC granola bars, Gnu Flavor & Fiber bars, Lara bars
Low-Fat Laughing Cow Cheese, Coach Farm Goat Cheese or organic part-skim string cheese
Fage 0% Greek Yogurt or Stoneyfield Farms Low-Fat Organic Yogurt
Wasa, Finn Crisp, Kavli or Dr. Kracker wholegrain crackers

All of these suggested snacks are probably better for you than the absent-mindedly-eat-a-whole-can-of-Pringles-while-reading-emails routine that I fell in to for a little while there. (And definitely better than the delicious Krispy Kreme donut pictured above, courtesy of Flickr user Yoppy.)