Are you struggling to stay awake at your desk? Do you lose focus and find it hard to concentrate by mid-afternoon? Here’s a top tip: don’t turn to coffee and processed sugar to get you through your workday – however difficult it might be.
Our latest blog provides 10 great ideas for energy-boosting breakfasts, lunches and convenient snacks for your desk drawer. With every ingredient chosen to sustain you throughout the day, these delicious recipes don’t compromise on flavour.
Smoothies
A healthy breakfast or a filling snack, smoothie combinations are endless so your tastebuds will never tire. You can also meal prep and freeze them in ziplock bags, making a true convenience food for your future self! You can’t really go wrong making a smoothie (unless you don’t put the lid on your blender). Chuck in what you fancy, adding more liquid or fruit and veg until you find a consistency and taste you like.
Some great ingredients for energy include:
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Watermelon
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Orange
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Blueberry
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Avocado
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Leafy greens (like kale and spinach)
For the ultimate energy-boosting smoothie, combine protein-rich peanut butter with carb-boosting banana. Rich in fatigue-beating B12, add Greek yoghurt along with a teaspoon of honey for a quick pick-me-up. Finish off with a teaspoon of chia seeds – a brilliant source of long-term energy which are so inconspicuous, they can be added to almost anything!
Porridge
It’s classic for a reason! Whole oats are a complex carbohydrate that slowly break down to provide a steady release of energy. They have tonnes of additional health benefits too, being packed with nutrients and lowering cholesterol. Make them with oat milk to double up on the benefits – other plant milks and cow’s milk will provide energy too, but through the release of fats.
You can add a variety of toppings to your oats to enhance flavour and increase energy value. Banana is a classic addition and an obvious one for energy yield. Dark berries such as blueberries and blackberries give you a natural sugar boost and are high in antioxidants which reduce fatigue.
A spoonful of honey will give you the same quick boost while Greek yoghurt will add a creamy, indulgent texture and give you an injection of B12 vitality. And don’t forget those magical chia seeds!
Banana, Oat and Nut Pancakes
The breakfast of energy gods, these pancakes have all the key ingredients to keep your energy levels up. If they don’t see you through until lunch time, nothing will. Plus they’re super easy to make.
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Start by blending two cups of whole oats into a flour.
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Add two ripe bananas, two eggs – protein-rich and including 14 essential nutrients, including B vitamins.
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Combine a handful of walnuts – energy-dense due to healthy fats – and a pinch of cinnamon or nutmeg.
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Add a teaspoon of baking powder, a cup of oat milk and those all important chia seeds and blend until you have a smooth batter.
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Fry in a small amount of coconut oil until you have a delicious stack of pancakes!
Your pancakes will keep for a couple of days and freeze well. Give them a short blast in the toaster to warm through. Serve with a drizzle of honey, sliced banana or blueberries and a sprinkling of crushed walnuts.
Fruit salad and whole grain toast
The natural sugars, complex carbohydrates, and fatigue-reducing vitamins in fruit are bound to keep you alert and focused until lunch time. Plus, you will be getting your five a day before you’ve even opened your emails.
Dice apples and watermelon, add segments of oranges, blueberries, sliced strawberries and bananas and steep them in fresh orange or apple juice. This will keep well in the fridge for two or three days, apart from the banana, so it might be an idea to add slices as and when you want them.
If you crave carbs in the morning, then reach for the wholegrain bread instead of your go-to white loaf. Whole grains equal whole fuel!
Instead of coffee – which will give you a good boost but can be followed by a crash – reach for green tea. It includes less caffeine but also amino acids which slow the absorption of it for a more steady release of energy.
Tobbouleh and Falafel
Bulgur wheat is a whole grain, and this zesty lebanese salad pairs it with energy-boosting diced tomatoes, cucumber and onion. Don’t forget to throw in a bunch of chopped parsley too as it’s a powerful disease-fighting plant, perfect for a healthy dish. Dress with a simple mix of lemon juice and extra virgin olive oil – energy dense as it’s loaded with heart-healthy fats and antioxidants.
Pair your tabbouleh with falafel and hummus, both easily made in advance from chickpeas, a legume that’s high in protein, fibre and B vitamins.
Falafel can be reheated or eaten cold for lunch. To make:
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Blend a tin of chickpeas with a small onion, garlic clove, a teaspoon each of ground cumin and coriander, a handful of fresh parsley and an egg.
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Form the mixture into balls and lightly fry in extra virgin olive oil.
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For hummus, blend a tin of chickpeas with garlic, lemon juice, tahini, a glug of olive oil and 60ml of cold water and blend until smooth.
Salmon Nicoise
Salmon is an excellent source of B vitamins, controls inflammation and protects heart and brain health. Season a small fillet with salt, pepper and a dash of extra virgin olive oil and bake or air fry it the night before for a tasty cold lunch.
The rest of the ingredients in this twist on a French classic can also be prepared ahead of time. Baby potatoes – B vitamin-rich and a great source of slow-releasing energy – and a quartered hard-boiled egg. Steam a handful of green beans – considered a superfood for their disease-fighting antioxidants – and add a handful of chopped raw kale, another superfood.
Once cooled, throw in a handful of kalamata olives, and a tomato cut into wedges. Dress with a simple mixture of lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil and dijon mustard for a summer lunch that will make you the envy of the office!
Chicken and Avocado Salad
The base of this salad is quinoa – rich in those invigorating B vitamins but also considered a superfood for its many other health benefits. Double up on the superfoods by adding a heap of chopped raw kale. Massage it first with a dash of extra virgin olive oil and salt, which will soften it and remove some bitterness.
Once you’ve got your base started, add:
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A grated carrot
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Chopped red onion
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Diced cucumber
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A handful of energy-sustaining chickpeas and a sprinkling of sunflower seeds – rich in protein, B vitamins and selenium to help keep you energised.
Dress with a simple vinaigrette and give everything a shake before topping with sliced avocado – packed with good fats that increase energy levels – and chunks of protein-rich chicken. Load the lot onto wholegrain crispbreads if you want extra filling – they are the perfect companion to every salad, and whole grains equal whole fuel!
Sweet Potato Dahl
This is another great dish to meal prep if you can make it last longer than one sitting! The base is made of red lentils – a great source of iron, a lack of which can leave you feeling lethargic.
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Fry an onion in coconut oil before adding half a teaspoon of ground coriander, cumin, turmeric (which has powerful health benefits), chilli flakes, and one teaspoon of garam masala.
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Stir until the spices cook through.
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Add a thumb of grated ginger (another powerful health food), three cloves of crushed garlic and diced sweet potato.
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Cook for a couple of minutes then load in 200g of lentils.
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Add 500ml of vegetable stock and let it all stew until softened.
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Add a tin of energy-boosting tomatoes, half a tin of chickpeas and salt.
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Stir frequently until cooked through and the liquid has absorbed. Serve with a couple of handfuls of fresh spinach and coriander for added veggie power.
Tofu Noodle Bowl
Perhaps one of the most misunderstood foods, the key to good tofu is in the prep. When done right, you might just find yourself reaching for it over meat. It’s also a nutrient-dense, high-quality protein. Made from soybeans, it has innumerable health benefits, lethargy-beating iron and energy-boosting B vitamins.
To make your noodle bowl:
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Use extra firm tofu and squeeze with paper towels until the excess moisture is removed.
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Dice into 1cm cubes and coat with cornflour seasoned with Chinese five spice before shallow frying or crisping up in the airfryer.
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Make a raw veggie slaw of finely sliced carrots (use a mandolin if you have one), B vitamin and iron-rich broccoli, spring onion and white cabbage.
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Add to cooled soba noodles – made from buckwheat – a whole grain.
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Throw all your ingredients together in your tupperware and dress with a simple Asian
dressing – honey, ginger, garlic, chilli and soy sauce, blended to taste.
Blueberry and Macadamia Nut Flapjacks
This tasty snack is guaranteed to get you from meal to meal!
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Mix 150g each of blueberries and macadamia nuts with 200g of whole oats and a spoonful of chia seeds.
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Add 85g of both self-raising flour and honey and enough melted coconut oil to form a sticky mixture.
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Bake it in a parchment-lined tray and cut into squares.
