Top 9 Functional Office Snacks For Mental Health

We’ve been told for so long that fats are unhealthy for us and there’s this belief that “fats make you fat”. Well, let us burst that bubble and tell you that this statement is not actually true and popular opinion is starting to change its mind on this topic. Fats are needed to have a healthy and sustainable diet for many reasons. To understand your body’s need for fats, you just need to look at your brain. If you remove water weight and focus on the dry matter, you’ll see that your brain is 60% fat. That means you can't expect it to work properly if you don’t give it the building blocks it needs.

In today’s article we want to help you add more healthy fats in the way of functional office snacks to make your brain happy and healthy even when you’re working.

1. MCT oil in coffee

MCT oil is a medium-chain triglyceride that is easily digested due to its shorter length. Also, there are many health benefits linked to the way your body processes these fats. The best quality MCT oil is extracted from coconut oil. The main benefits of MCT oil are promoting weight loss, since it makes you feel full for longer, it increases energy quickly, it also has been shown to improve recovery among athletes, it supports ketosis, and gives you mental clarity.

If you’re still wondering why should you add it to your coffee, keep reading, we’ll convince you. By merely adding MCT oil to your coffee, you may experience improved satiety, enhanced cognition, and reduced risk of heart disease. MCT oil might help you elevate your productivity and achieve optimum health and it will provide you with the steady energy you need to stay focused and working during the day.

TIP: You may want to keep a bottle of MCT oil in your office to add to your coffee during your work break.

2. Green tea and l-theanine

L-theanine is a compound that may support thinking, mental clarity, sleep, and relaxation, and also help with weight loss, blood pressure, and more. It occurs naturally in green and black tea but is also available in a supplement form.

This compound may affect the levels of certain chemicals in the brain such as serotonin and dopamine, which influence mood, sleep, emotion, and cortisol, which helps the body deal with stress. A change in the balance of these chemicals can change a person’s mood or stress levels.

Of all of the teas, the one that has more L-theanine is matcha, so maybe you could change your coffee break for a matcha or a green tea break. This could help you focus more and have more steady energy throughout the day without the coffee jitters.

3. Nuts and seeds

Nuts and seeds, despite having a bad reputation for being highly caloric, are great sources of protein, healthy fats, fibers, vitamins, and minerals. This is why we can consider them functional foods. Nuts and seeds regulate body weight as their fats are not fully absorbed and they regulate food intake. They also contain unsaturated fats and other nutrients that provide protective effects against heart disease and diabetes. Having a handful of nuts and seeds as a snack is a great idea since they’ll keep you full for a long time and you’ll be feeding your body and your brain with exactly what it needs.

4. Funky Fat chocs

Chocolate on its own can be considered a functional snack because of its health benefits. However, it’s only functional when it’s made out of 100% pure cacao, and has no fillers, sugars, or other uneccesary ingredients that block cacao from doing it’s functional job. 

Our Funky Fat Chocs are also considered functional foods due to their ingredients. The chocolate bars are full of antioxidants, healthy fats, and vitamins with no artificial sugar or flavors. One of the main ingredients of our bars is the MCTs, which is one of the main reasons they are functional. Don’t forget to always keep a Funky Fat chocolate bar in your office drawer to enjoy it as a creamy nutritious & delicious snack. And if you want to enjoy even more those benefits and have better mental health, it goes great with a bulletproof coffee (coffee with MCT oil), a matcha, or some nuts and seeds.

5. Berries

Berries are wonderful foods, packed with tons of antioxidant properties, among others. Not only they’re low in calories, their anthocyanin pigments, which give the color, may offer great health benefits. In case you can’t get them fresh, you can go for the frozen unsweetened berries, since they’re a great choice as well. You can also add them to your smoothie to go and enjoy them in the middle of your work day.

6. Bulletproof Mocha Coffee

If you’ve tried bulletproof coffee but you’re not a huge fan of it but still want to add the MCT oil to your diet, don’t worry, we have the perfect solution for you. Add some chocolate to your coffee and you’ll have a bulletproof mocha coffee to enjoy during your work day. It’s pretty easy to make and the mix of chocolate, MCT oil, and coffee will give you the energy and mental clarity you need to have the most productive day at work. You can make it either with dark chocolate or with white chocolate, both of them work fantastic with the recipe.

7. Collagen chocolate smoothie

Collagen is the most abundant protein in your body. Without collagen, your skin would be dry and thin, your nails would be brittle, your muscles couldn’t grow, and your bones would be extremely fragile. This is why adding a collagen supplement to your diet assures you you’re giving your body what it needs to work properly and be healthy. An easy way to add it to your daily nutrition is by making a smoothie. A keto chocolate smoothie is perfect for those mornings when you don't have a lot of time to prep your breakfast but need some fat for fuel. You can also prep it and take it as a snack at your workplace to keep you full and focused while you work.

8. Low-carb and keto choc & berries smoothie

As we’ve previously mentioned in this article, chocolate is a great functional food and so are berries. So if you want to pack the benefits of both of them, what better way to make a smoothie with them? A Choc & Berries smoothie is a great option for a healthy snack on the go, specially now that summer approaches and days are getting warmer. It has plenty of health benefits, it’s super healthy and tasty and it will give you mental clarity.. 

9. Keto kinder bueno

If you’re a sweet tooth looking for healthy sweet dessert or snack alternatives, this is for you! The best way to enjoy chocolate or any snack, to be honest, is when is sugar-free. Consuming sugar causes your blood sugar to spike which in turn then causes it to fall (crash) making you feel tired and sometimes even sleepy. 

Making keto kinder bueno is a great snack option to stay out of that slump. First of all, because is made with healthy ingredients and has no sugar. And second, because is a great snack to-go, since you can batch prep it once, store it in the fridge, and then enjoy it for the rest of the week. If you don’t want to add sugar to your recipes but still want this sweet taste, you can choose other healthier alternatives to sugar. Our top 3 sugar alternatives are erythritol, stevia, and monk fruit. But if we have to choose, we’ll forever choose erythritol.