Staying healthy in the office environment is a monumental challenge. It’s not unusual for the office worker to remain at his/her desk for a solid 13 hour spell, arising only for a hit of drowsiness-neutralising caffeine and/or to plunder the vending machine. Our poor bodies weren’t designed to be sat slouched and motionless for half a day, and funnily enough, they tend to complain to us in funny ways! Back pain is the most frequent cause of people taking long term absence from the office, with a supposed 15 million work days lost to it in the UK, giving rise to some serious unpleasantness for the poor sufferer! Some is stress related, but a degree is down to joint sprain, muscle spasm, poor posture, immobility and wear-and-tear. This post is about how to stay mobile at the office and care for your body properly, supplemented with a little ‘Snack Smarter’ section, to get you through your day satisfied and healthy! Click MORE to see it all…
Posts tagged 'snacking'
SNACK ON THIS !!!
It’s cold and wet outside and if all you want to do is snack – at least graze on something healthy!! Part of my daily goal is healthy snacking, so here is my recipe for heart-healthy ‘Protein Cookies’. These cookies are the ultimate snack for the working day – full of protein (c. 15g per 50g cookie), low in carbohydrates, and the mild sweetness comes from natural fruits and a couple of spoons of immune-boosting Manuka honey. I’d suggest taking two generous protein cookies to work with you, eating one between breakfast and lunch and the other towards the end of the day when you are ready to give in to the vending machine! The four different flavours I make are apple, carrot, banana and peanut. I usually add pecan nuts, raisins and flaxseed to all four different cookies to give them a bit of crunchiness, and to release sustained energy. Experiment and use your own favourite nuts and seeds! I personally LOVE flaxseed (aka linseed), and try to use it in/on almost everything – in my uber-muesli, sprinkled on salads, soups, and broths. It’s one of the richest sources of the fatty acid Omega 3 (c.7.2g per 30g) – it boosts heart health, it reduces inflammation throughout the body, the joints and in the blood vessels. There’s also a school of thinking that suggests omega-3 may help lift depression and ease rheumatoid arthritis. Since the body does not naturally produce omega 3 fatty acid this is such an easy way to make sure you get enough of it on a daily basis.
To get my ingredients, which are all fairly specialist, I usually buy online; the Pea Protein powder is from a relatively new company called Pulsin’, the Flaxseed I use is made by Linwoods, and the Manuka Factor-25 Honey is by Pure Gold. Have a browse, see what other healthy ingredients you think might work in your cookie; you can shop by goal at GNC, here. Make your mid-work snack fun! Here are the instructions: