15 Snacks To Fuel Your Work Day

It may be 3 Square Meals month here at The Kitchn, but I have a confession to make: I actually eat five or six meals a day! A few years ago, I did away with lunch and replaced it with a series of smaller meals or snacks between breakfast and dinner. I certainly can't speak for everyone, but for me it was a life-changing move that keeps my blood sugar balanced and my energy level up. Whether you follow a similar eating pattern or just need something to power you through an afternoon slump, here are 15 of my favorite small meals and snacks. What are yours?

• 1 Nuts – A handful of savory nuts such as Roasted Almonds with Paprika and Orange or Rosemary Roasted Cashews

• 2 Whole grain bread with nut butter – A classic peanut butter sandwich (with or without jelly), or a variation with tahini or almond butter

• 3 Apples and peanut butter – Tasty and well-rounded!

• 4 Olives – Young, lightly brined olives like Castelvetranos are a great afternoon pick-me-up

• 5 Edamame – Protein-packed soybeans straight from the pod or in a salad of shelled edamame, olive oil, lemon juice, and herbs

• 6 Vegetables – Carrot sticks are fine, but I also like to mix it up with radishes, cherry tomatoes, jicama, or whatever is in season

• 7 Hummus – Something to dip those vegetables in; check out our homemade hummus tutorial

• 8 Fresh fruit – Seasonal fruit from blueberries to pears to clementines

• 9 Dried fruit – Dried apricots and raisins are two standbys

• 10 Apple chips – Crisp, homemade apple chips

• 11 Yogurt – Plain yogurt swirled with flax seeds, honey, jam, granola, or fruit such as rhubarb

• 12 Ricotta – Creamy, homemade ricotta drizzled with olive oil and eaten with bread or crackers

• 13 Trail mix – GORP (Good Old Raisins and Peanuts) or something fancier like these homemade trail mixes

• 14 Bars – Invaluable on days when I'm running between meetings; The Kitchn has a great trio of recipes from Crunchy Granola Bars to Dried Fig and Nut Bars and DIY Nutri-Grain Fruit and Nut Bars

• 15 Tea – For me, no snack is complete without a cup of tea; I keep a major stash of loose-leaf tea green, black, and herbal teas in my office drawer

(Image: Emma Christensen)

Comments (19)

My work snack drawer has cereal, a bar of some sort, couple cartons of soup, a bar of chocolate, and some almond packets. I have on my desk right now, 3 "cuties" that will probably get gobbled up here in the next hour or so...

An apple and always a bag mixed of milk chocolate chips/almonds/raisins. I'm always hungry!

I try to keep a few apples, veggie burger/sausage and a box or two of cereal at work at all times. The latter two I use for breakfasts, but sometimes serve as emergency snacks. These look delicious!

I actually had the opposite revelation a couple years ago... after years of having hunger and blood sugar issues, thinking that eating small meals was helping, I started really filling up (not stuffed, but past "no longer hungry") three times a day with a couple small snacks if necessary. For me, it was as life-changing as your switch seems to have been for you - I don't know how I functioned, but I was having hunger-related cold sweats/dizziness/near fainting almost every day. Which I only point out to say how fascinating it is how people's bodies can be so different.

Dried mango and apples, hummus, yerba mate, trail mix, and a bar of daaaaaark chocolate keeps me going.

i am very interested in your loose-leaf tea preferences, but have yet to find a post about it...

@Tangledgray, it is interesting! I personally have found that eating most of my calories before noon helps me a lot but I still plan snacks or I don't have enough energy to get through my workout in the evening.

My favorite snacks this week have been almonds, carrot coins (lets me mindlessly munch without guilt!), hard boiled eggs and oranges.

Non-fat Greek yogurt with homemade granola or a drizzle of maple syrup, chopped banana and a few walnuts; an apple or other portable fruit; fruit leather; cheese strings (don't laugh!); Laughing Cow light cheese and a slice of multigrain bread; baked tortilla chips and salsa with hot peppers; veggies with homemade tzatziki or hummus; almonds (or other nuts); low-fat cottage cheese. I also love Lara bars and usually keep one in my purse for hunger emergencies.

I like the homemade ricotta & olive oil idea. Sounds fab!

I have a real problem with people who skimp at breakfast or lunch and then fill up on sweets between meals. Why not eat a healthy, filling breakfast that will last through the morning and a well balanced lunch that will last through the afternoon? If you'd eat sensibly, you wouldn't need to snack. As mother would say, "if you'd eat your meal, you wouldn't need dessert or a snack".

I love snacking but I would need to eat through that entire list within the span of a few hours to substitute for a proper lunch. But I do love the list! I'm always looking for healthy snacks.

@Iona: a "snack" is not necessarily the same as a "sweet." For my body and blood sugar, 5-6 small meals a day (what you would consider "skimping") works far better to maintain my energy than eating a "filling" breakfast at 5:45 a.m. and starving my body until 1 p.m. "Snacks" can simply be components of what you would consider a "well-balanced lunch" spread throughout the morning and afternoon. I think "three squares" is an antiquated way to eat.

@Tangledgray That is really interesting! Just goes to show we should listen to our individual bodies.

@Iona I'm not sure whether you are referring to this post/list specifically, but I wouldn't consider most of these "sweets." In fact, I don't eat any refined sugar during the day (occasional dessert after dinner, yes).

I have always been a snacker, never a meal person. Its annoying when people look at you and say something like "Don't you eat?!".

3 meals have never worked for me. I can't eat a lot in one sitting, I'd rather have a small handful of almonds and a cutie a few hours later.

I'm another who can't really snack--I have to eat solid meals or I get very, very grouchy. It seems that there will be trends toward one style of eating or another (and back again), but the truth seems to be that we each need to figure out how to sustain our energy and maintain our weight and then DO THAT regardless of the current trend or the weird disapproval (looking at you Iona) of others.

I'm grateful for this snack list though as I have a little one who needs a solid snack (edamame, a banana, pepper sticks, or cheese) twice a day. It's always good to get more ideas.

Ah, I guess I'm a mixture of all of the comments above! Some days I'm three square meals, some I'm just snacking throughout the day...some days most of my calories are in the first half, spread evenly throughout, or stacked at dinner/dessert. It just really depends on how I'm feeling and what's going on that day.

I second the: do what works for you!

Oh, how could I forget:

Sea's Gift!!

Seaweed snack! Yum, yum, yum, yum!!

Mmmm, snacks. I, too, am a grazer. Mostly because I prefer variety to filling up on any one thing. (I also spread my meals at home into as many "courses" as I have time for.)

One I like at work a lot is frozen peas. Either bring a single serving in a baggie in the morning to defrost by the afternoon and eat with a spoon, or keep them in the freezer at work and eat frozen, by hand. They make me as happy as candy does, though I have a lot of that, too.

I eat about three snacks a day alongside smaller meals for what would amount to six small meals a day. I have GERD, and so it is important that I 1) don't eat too much and 2) always have something in my stomach. I like to snack on oatmeal, cereal, whole grain crackers, whole wheat toast or English muffin with PB, apples with almond butter, almonds, yogurt, Greek yogurt with blueberries and a sprinkle of granola...I could go on and on.

Ants On A Log:
A celery stick filled with peanut butter and topped with raisins.

I keep a bowl of goji berries/granola mix at my desk to snack on. Ultimate brain food, curbs cravings, and puts pep in your step.