We hope you had fun in Part 1 exploring the nutritious meals we designed for your office lunches! But most of the time, it is actually snacking that gets us off track so let's make all that exercise and hard work worthwhile by tackling in-between-meals the smart way.

We’re here to provide you with some ideas on how to master the art of desk-snacking with the help of experts from gourmet and artisanal grocer Little Farms at Valley Point.


Cucumbers and carrot sticks are nutritious and cooling snacks. Get them fresh and organic from Little Farms.
Image courtesy of Little Farms

1. Replace not Reduce!

One of the key reasons it gets tough to control your cravings or sinful snacking is because there might be lots of sugary, salty or artificial tidbits lying around the office! And, if you are especially stressed out or hungry, you’ll naturally start reaching for what’s closest to you.

What you can do is prepare small healthy snacks in your bag and have them at 3-4 hour intervals to ensure that you get the right energy boost and are not tempted by other snacks around you. By using zip-lock bags, it will help with the portion control and eliminate your tendencies to overeat.

So replace those cookies with healthy bites you actually like to eat like cranberries or nuts, and remember to not let yourself go hungry as it will increase your tendency to overeat to feed that built-up, roaring hunger.

2. Understand What You’re Eating

Most of us forget to read the labels, but it helps to spare just a minute reading the ingredient list before putting that snack in your basket.

Do you see sugar in the list? If yes, you might want to look for alternative versions of the same product without as much sugar, better yet, none at all. Nowadays, its pretty easy to get no-sugar options.

You’ll also be surprised to see how many “healthy” products actually contain way too much sugar. An easy way to measure how much sugar is in a product is to use a 'teaspoon method' where every 4 grams of sugar is equal to 1 teaspoon of sugar. For example, if a bottle of orange juice has 30 grams of sugar in it, that means there's 7.5 teaspoons of sugar in it - that's a whole lot for "healthy" juice. Don't forget to consider the serving sizes too. If it states 2 servings, multiply all quantities in the label by two.

Secondly, if the ingredients sound artificial or you haven’t heard of them before, it’s safe to say that you probably should not be eating too much of it as well.


Do you know where your food comes from? Ask the staff at Little Farms.
Image courtesy of Little Farms

Beyond just the ingredient list, it’s also about knowing who and how your food was made. At Little Farms, they pride themselves in selling produce and products only if they understand how the product was grown or made - sometimes, even down to how it gets delivered to their shelves! Feel free to ask the staff for more information like how to include various ingredients into your favourite meals.

Always wondered what "organic" really means? It actually means that a product has been grown without the use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides or other artificial chemicals. It is also important to understand that “organic” labels from different countries are based on different standards and regulations. In Australia, for example, where most of Little Farm’s produce are sourced from, they use some of the strictest organic growing standards in the world.

3. Snacks for the Sweet Tooth

If you are a chocolate addict like most ladies, it’s always possible to replace it with a healthier alternative. This works for those who just need a little something sweet after a meal or when reading a really boring document at work.


Fresh stone fruit like cherries are flown in directly from Australia.
Image courtesy of Little Farms

A solution we find works well are fruits - which are incredibly satisfying when cold! So pack an apple, peach or pear into your lunch bag so that you can just crunch into it when you get hungry! Blueberries and grapes are also great alternatives to pop into your mouth like candy. To avoid the disappointment of mushy overripe fruit, head to Little Farms for the freshest ready-to-eat stone fruit. Fortunately for us, the mangoes and peaches are in season this month, so hurry down and grab some!


An apple, a kiwi, a peach. You gotta love nature’s snacks!
Image Courtesy of Little Farms

4. Take a Moment

It’s understandable to get absorbed into work, but taking short breaks or stretches in between meetings or projects helps clear your mind and gets your muscles moving.

Having a craving? Head to the pantry to prepare a warm cup of tea instead. Not only do you get to move your legs around, the comfort factor of hot tea will help calm your appetite.

If you are looking for something other than green tea, check out the selection of Little Wildling Co. teas at Little Farms. They are an artisanal tea maker who only hand blends their teas and uses organic, wild grown tea leaves from Australia. And guess what? They have a flavour called “I Need a Moment” which is a great take on traditional chamomile.


This artisanal granola are great for snacks on-the-go!
Image courtesy of Little Farms

5. Something Crunchy for the Munchies

Munching on some nuts or granola, pre-packed in zip-lock bags for portion control, can help to curb ferocious appetites in between meals. They can also be life-savers especially when you tend to have gastric pain or can’t make it out for lunch.

Try Dux Nutts Mueslis, an artisanal granola range from Sydney. We say “artisanal” because these mueslis are hand-mixed and roasted in small batches. They are also organic and gluten-free with no refined sugars added. Delicious and full of nutrients, they taste best sprinkled over Greek yogurt!


Check out the full range of yogurt products, because even the original flavours taste real good.
Image Courtesy of Little Farms

6. Popcorn

According to the telegraph.co.uk, popcorn, depending on how it is made, can be a surprisingly great snack because they are lower in calories and sugars, and higher in fibre than chocolate or chips. They also contain antioxidants, vitamin B6, magnesium and iron!


An assortment of comforting snacks made with a little more love.
Image Courtesy of Little Farms

Although the best is to make popcorn at home with as little salt and oil as possible, most of us don’t have the time to do so. Try the Coney Island Classics, artisanal popcorn from Brooklyn, USA. They make their kettle corn by hand in small batches using traditional, small copper kettles, which is actually how they used to pop kettle corn in the old days! The corn they use is non-GMO, 100% natural, gluten-free, preservative-free and vegan, with the use of Himalayan pink salt to boot. All this is done in a nut-free facility, a good-to-know for those with nut allergies.

For Nick, Marketing Director at Little Farms, his personal favourite is the “Jalapeno Popper” flavour. But he warns that it packs a spicy kick! And for snacking purposes, we recommend making your own magic mix with a handful of popcorn, nuts and granola for an oh-so satisfying mid-afternoon snack.

7. Better than Butter

If you are someone who prefers small regular meals, we recommend an avocado open sandwich. Simply cut a few slices of avocado and eat with toasted wholewheat bread. This will keep you full for a few hours!


Find your avocados sold ready-to-eat here.
Image Courtesy of Little Farms

Avocados are buttery and nutty, which makes them great as a spread or topping or even eaten alone. We also know how annoying it can be when you discover that an avocado is still unripe when you cut into it and you end up wasting the whole thing! So don’t let your avos go to waste by getting them just right.

8. Prep Smart

Use the weekend to get all your groceries and prep work done. Once you’re into the work week, you are probably too tired to get groceries, much less prepare all the ingredients. 

You can boil pasta and store in a container ahead of time, and for salads, wash, cut and store your vegetables in separate containers as well. Then, all you have to do is assemble the items the night before.

It’s even easier if you are just prepping snacks – pack your snacks into zip lock bags or plastic containers for each day of the week!

9. Dress up with Dips

Dips are surprisingly versatile and can add a low-calorie flavour punch to any healthy meal plan. For example, you can use dips as a dressing for salads, they can be paired with cheese, and even go great with carrot and celery sticks. So it might be useful to have a tub of this stuff in your fridge for a quick bite.


A comprehensive range of freshly-made dips and tapas are available - so great for the lunch-boxes by the way!
Image Courtesy of Little Farms

Little Farms recommends dips from Roza’s Gourmet which is a family-run business in Brisbane and specialises in 100% natural gourmet sauces and dips. For example, their Hummus Dip is freshly made and is celery’s best friend! You can also use it as a dressing through a simple spinach or kale salad for lunch.

Looking for a low-fat option? Roza’s Gourmet Chargrilled Capsicum Dip is made with natural ingredients such as chargrilled capsicums, sundried tomatoes, onion, fresh parsley, tomato, cumin seeds and lime.

Career tip - Serve it to your colleagues over some crostinis during tea break and you’ll be making some good friends in no time.

10. Think Clean and Think Simple

Cleaning up your diet means replacing artificial, packaged foods with fresh, natural and simple ingredients whenever you can. You can always replace chocolate with fresh fruit or switch potato chips for a pack of nuts. They are just as satisfying, if not more!

If you explore gourmet and health-food grocers like Little Farms, you will realise that they make eating fresh easy and convenient. They offer fresh Australian produce and delicious artisanal products which tend to be made with earth-friendly, human-friendly ingredients and with lots of care!


Feed your tummy with Australian Fingerling Bananas to improve digestion.
Image Courtesy of Little Farms

11. Practice Makes Perfect

Yes, we know it might sound like quite a lot of work, but if you think of it as a practice rather than a goal, your eating habits will naturally improve overtime. Instead of going all out in the beginning or forcing yourself to eat things you don’t like, start by finding alternative foods that are healthy yet still fit your preferences at the same time.

For example, start with packing lunch and a few snacks once or twice a week and you might start noticing a difference in no time.

Now you’re set for a great week, month and year of smart snacking ahead of you!


An artisanal grocer that makes healthy eating way easier.
Image Courtesy of Little Farms



Why we like getting our ingredients and snacks from Little Farms –

Tucked in a cosy corner of Valley Point is a hidden gem called Little Farms. This is where you should get all the good stuff and here’s why. At Little Farms, an avocado is not just an avocado and granola ain’t just a pack of granola… Every product has some interesting story behind them; curated, grown and produced by artisans who really love what they do, and they do it in a sustainable way too.

Hungry for more? Click on Part 1 of our healthy food series for tapas-style lunches for a week of smart desk-eating.

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