Posted by
Sara on
Friday, February 21st, 2014 with
Comments Off on Surprising Starts: New Ideas for How to Serve the 9 Best Foods for Office Breakfasts Comments
The typical office breakfast — a box of donuts in the break room — isn’t doing employees or employers any favors. The fat and sugar will undermine any employee efforts at healthy eating and weight loss, along with causing a spike-and-crash blood sugar effect that will drain energy levels and productivity. If the donuts are there as a celebration or thank you gesture, guess what? Nothing says “I didn’t put much thought into this” like a box of donuts and a pile of napkins.
Think outside the donut box when it comes to office breakfasts.
Image source: Flickr User pattie74_99
Nothing against donuts — they’re delicious. But there are so many other better options for office breakfasts! Whether the goal is to communicate a message (be it “Job well done” or even “Happy birthday!”), improve employee health, or boost office productivity, ditch the donuts and choose a healthier, more exciting alternative.
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Posted by
Sara on
Thursday, February 20th, 2014 with
Comments Off on 4 Strategies Your Corporate Catering Can Learn From Facebook Comments
Move over, Google: Silicon Valley has a new king in the world of employee dining. Over the last few years, Facebook has invested heavily in their in-house corporate catering. They hired away one of Google’s top chefs, built a world-class cafeteria, and serve three meals daily (plus a 3pm snack) to their 800-plus employees. Want to take a cue from Facebook and bolster your own corporate catering strategy? Here are a few lessons to learn from the social media giant that can be applied in any office, whether your meal plan includes full catered lunches or a group takeout order.
Facebook’s aptly named Epic Cafe serves delicious meals to employees daily.
Image source: Flickr User Robert Scoble
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Posted by
Sara on
Wednesday, February 19th, 2014 with
Comments Off on Boost Energy Levels at Office Lunches with These Top 5 Whole Grains Comments
One of the simplest ways to feel better all day at the office — more energized, happier, and more productive — is to eat whole grains. Study after study has shown that including whole grains at meals can help prevent the dreaded afternoon energy slump.
Don’t let the 3pm energy slump plague your office!
Image source: Flickr User Lorika13
What makes a whole grain whole? Essentially, its most nutritious parts — the germ, endosperm, and bran — haven’t been removed in processing (unlike what happens to the flour in white bread). Whole grain sources deliver more fiber, vitamins, and other nutrients, but their real attraction for the typical office worker is that they release energy more slowly than their highly-processed cousins. That means less of a blood sugar spike right after lunch, and less of a crash at 3pm. Whole grains are also easy to sneak into your office lunches. Here are a few easy ways to swap in whole grains and do your afternoon energy levels a big favor:
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Posted by
Sara on
Tuesday, February 18th, 2014 with
Comments Off on Admin Assistance: Perfect Portion Planning for Office Parties Comments
When it comes to planning conferences and catered lunches, the question of how much food to order can be a vexing one to busy administrative assistants who suddenly find “event planner” added to their job descriptions. It’s no wonder that good old box lunches are a go-to solution: all the guesswork is removed from the equation!
Portion planning is key to successful holiday parties.
For more formal occasions or bigger office parties, however, sometimes it’s necessary to plan a more elaborate buffet or family-style food service without individual portions neatly included. For these occasions, consider these tips on how to plan portion sizes for office events:
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Posted by
Sara on
Monday, February 17th, 2014 with
Comments Off on Mercury Concerns vs. Omega-3s: What Fish Are Best to Feature on the Office Catering Table? Comments
We’ve all heard it before: you should eat more fish! Fish is rich in omega-3 fatty acids, and it’s part of the popular Mediterranean diet, and you should definitely eat less red meat. Fish is so healthy!
But, we’ve also heard this: children, pregnant women, and the elderly should be careful about eating fish. Many species of fish have been contaminated with unhealthy levels of mercury, and it can be toxic if you eat a large amount of seafood. Plus, some kinds of fish are being raised or caught in ways that are terrible for the environment. How can you stay informed about which fish to avoid and which is okay to consume?
Heart-healthy seafood should have a place on the office catering table.
Image source: flickr user Old Shoe Woman
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Posted by
Sara on
Friday, February 14th, 2014 with
Comments Off on How Offering Overtime Meals Can Lessen Stress & Increase Team Spirit Comments
In many offices, long hours are unavoidable — at least some of the time. From looming deadlines to demanding clients to unexpected roadblocks, all sorts of challenges require employees to work weekends or late into the evenings. For employers, it can be tricky: even if expectations of working overtime were made clear upon hiring, how do you keep workers productive and happy during these high-stress periods?
Fight stress and fatigue at the office with thoughtful overtime meals.
Image source: flickr user fabbio
One solution that will help both the physical and psychological challenges of working long hours is to feed employees overtime meals. Providing overtime meals (usually weekend meals or dinners) accomplishes a few goals: workers are supplied with sustainable energy sources to physically keep them going and able to focus, as well as receiving the message that their extra efforts are appreciated. That’s why it’s important to serve overtime meals that are a little more special or noteworthy than the typical box lunch: if you’re asking employees to go above and beyond in their work habits, shouldn’t you return the favor when it comes to the meals served during overtime hours?
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Posted by
Sara on
Thursday, February 13th, 2014 with
1 Comments
A new survey of American office workers, commissioned by California-based staffing firm OfficeTeam, reveals a troubling trend when it comes to happiness and efficiency in the workplace: the office lunch hour is quickly becoming a thing of the past.
Out of the 413 office workers surveyed, about half (48%) reported their usual lunch break is 30 minutes or less; 14% of all workers take 15 minutes or less. And when workers do take lunch breaks, many of them don’t even leave their desks! Almost 30% continue to work straight through their “break”, while another 27% just surf the web or catch up on Facebook and other social media.
American lunch breaks are becoming a thing of the past.
Image source: OfficeTeam
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Posted by
Sara on
Wednesday, February 12th, 2014 with
Comments Off on Celebrating Valentine’s Day At Work: Throw an Office Party to Show Employee Appreciation Comments
Oh, Valentine’s Day — modern society’s most polarizing holiday. There are few other celebrations that can prompt such strong feelings of romance, affection, guilt, and resentment! Some offices may prefer to ignore the holiday altogether, either writing the idea of group celebrations off as just for school kids, or, on the other hand, being wary of triggering negative responses from colleagues who prefer horror movie marathons to candlelit dinners on Valentine’s Day.
But, the truth is, in our increasingly busy and work-focused lives, offices that skip Valentine’s Day are giving up a valuable opportunity to express appreciation for staff members — one of the most surefire ways to boost job satisfaction and employee morale. Keep the emphasis on celebrating how much you value your team rather than coworkers’ flirtations or showboating flower deliveries, and the entire office will appreciate it!
Celebrating Valentine’s Day at the office is a great way to show employee appreciation.
Image source: flickr user CascadianFarm
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Posted by
Sara on
Tuesday, February 11th, 2014 with
Comments Off on In Charge of Company Catering? Here’s What You Need to Ask Your Coworkers Comments
If you’re an administrative assistant or office manager responsible for ordering lunches, handling catering orders, and planning staff parties, then you know how tricky it can be to please all the palates in a modern office! Between dietary restrictions and picky eaters, in fact, being in charge of company catering can seem like a Herculean task. Make your life easier by compiling a short questionnaire (voluntary and confidential, of course) and keeping a basic spreadsheet of your coworkers’ likes, dislikes, health-focused dietary goals, and special occasions.
Busy admin assistants know how hard it can be to please a hungry office!
Image source: flickr user katielou33
After all, the goal of office meals is to show appreciation, promote teamwork and social bonds, and create a positive workplace culture. While you may not be able to meet all needs at all times, making the effort will go a long way — and at least you’ll avoid ordering a chocolate ice cream cake for a party, only to discover the birthday girl doesn’t eat dairy. Here are the essential questions to ask your coworkers:
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Posted by
Sara on
Monday, February 10th, 2014 with
Comments Off on Eat to Beat Workplace Stress With These Mood-Boosting Office Meals Comments
Stress eating at the office has earned quite a bad reputation. Mindlessly chowing down on bags of Fritos from the vending machine, or obsessively gobbling from the office candy bowl are just a few of the images that pop into our minds… and they’re closely linked with the reason why we tend to indulge in ice cream straight from the carton after a long day at work or even during a bad breakup. We associate certain foods with comfort, and we reach for those first when we’re overloaded and overwhelmed. But it doesn’t have to be that way.
Coffee alone can’t beat stress – choose mood-boosting office meals!
Image source: flickr user Alan Cleaver
Research has shown that eating can combat stress in a healthy, positive way — one that has less to do with comfort foods and more to do with the way vitamins, proteins, and hormones influence our mood and state of mind. Healthy food may not solve all your problems, but it may give the boost of energy, brainpower, or serotonin you need to take them on with confidence. So next time a deadline is looming, your boss is demanding superhuman feats, or you can barely bring yourself to look at your inbox, treat yourself to one of these stress-relieving office meals.
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