As an office goer, you're always navigating a maze of deadlines, meetings, and never ending tasks that leave little time for leisurely meals. And for those who have a sweet tooth and need to snack between meals, it's easy to give into the temptation of buying packaged snacks.
While some of these snacks may be marketed as healthy options, they often fall short on the nutrition and satisfaction factors. These snacks are often laden with hidden sugars, unhealthy fats, and artificial flavors and additives that may temporarily satisfy your cravings, but will definitely fail to give you the energy you need to get through a busy workday. Moreover, having these snacks regularly may just contribute to lifestyle issues like weight gain, sluggishness, and a risk of chronic diseases.
Office goers are also usually confined to their desks, so it's not your fault if you end up having a sedentary lifestyle. You may not be able to add as much activity in your day, but you can make healthy and nutritious meal choices, especially when it comes to snacks. While prepping homemade special sweets may seem a little laborious initially, the efforts will help you in the long run. It's also a therapeutic and rewarding exercise that you can partake in before starting your workday.
So, here are some quick and easy sweet snacks that you can prepare for yourself if you're an office goer:
No Bake Energy Balls
Ingredients:
- 240 gm rolled oats
- 160 gm toasted shredded coconut
- 120 gm creamy peanut butter (microwave to loosen it)
- 120 gm ground flaxseed
- 120 gm chocolate chips
- 80 gm honey
- 1 tbsp chia seeds
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions:
- Add all of the above mentioned ingredients into a large bowl and mix well. It should look like cookie dough.
- Then pop the bowl in the fridge and let it chill.
- Use an ice cream scoop or a tablespoon to scoop out the energy ball dough. Then roll them out into balls. You may need to lightly grease your hands with some coconut oil for this.
- Now, you can immediately pack them up in your trusty lunchbox.
Baked Oatmeal Cups
Ingredients:
- 200 gm rolled oats
- 1 egg
- 355 ml milk (dairy or non-dairy)
- 60 ml pure maple syrup
- 1 finely chopped apple
- 60 gm chopped almonds or walnuts
- 80 gm creamy peanut butter
Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 176°C, and prepare your muffin tray by lightly greasing it. You can also line it with cupcake liners, or just use a silicone muffin mold.
- Add all of the ingredients into a food processor and blend. If you want to keep the oats intact, you can mix all of the ingredients in a bowl by hand.
- Pour the batter into your prepared muffin tray, then bake for about 25 minutes.
- You don’t necessarily need to use chopped apple, almonds, and creamy peanut butter. You can also use dried, fresh or frozen berries, raisins, bananas, and chocolate chips if you desire.
- Bake these muffin cups over the weekend, then store them in the fridge. You can have them cold with a cup of coffee, or just heat them for 30 seconds in the microwave.
Baked Apple Chips
Ingredients:
- 3 large, crisp apples
- ¾ tsp ground cinnamon
Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 93°C and line two baking sheets with baking paper.
- Thoroughly wash the apples, and pat them dry with a kitchen towel. Then remove the core, unless you’re just too lazy and don’t mind the extra crunch of the seeds.
- Then using a mandolin, thinly slice the apples into chips.
- Arrange the chips on both baking trays and sprinkle with sugar.
- Place the baking trays in the oven for about an hour. Rotate the trays if you have a big enough oven to accommodate both on one rack. If not, replace the tray on the bottom to the top and vice versa.
- Bake them for another hour and a half until the apple chips look golden and dry.
- You can test whether the chips are done and crisp by taking out a chip, letting it cool down at room temperature.
- After this you can turn off the oven, and let the apple chips stay in the warm oven for 30 minutes. Then let them cool down at room temperature.