Food is a big deal in our office. Between lunch-and-learns, holiday carry-ins, Girl Scout cookies, birthday donuts, and summer cookouts, we spend a lot of time sharing, preparing, and enjoying food for all kinds of occasions.
We have a tradition to recognize and celebrate employee birthdays on the last Friday of each month. In the past, this has involved a fairly large birthday cake. We decided a few months ago to break from tradition and try switching out the cake for a healthy snack instead. The first month we had fruit skewers and veggie crudite. As everyone arrived, they were a little taken aback when they walked in and realized there was no cake, but all of the food quickly disappeared and people seemed to enjoy it.
The second month we had strawberry shortcake, using fat-free angel food cake and lots of fresh strawberries with a little chocolate drizzle, Month 3 we served orange dreamsicle smoothies made with low-fat yogurt, orange juice concentrate and almond milk.
Now everyone (well, almost everyone) walks into the conference in anticipation of what new treat awaits them. Maybe next month it will be hummus with veggies and pita chips, or perhaps baked bananas with a little drizzle of honey and sprinkled with walnuts.
Have you tried to incorporate healthier choices into your workplace? Share your ideas here. If employee wellness is an issue in your office, make sure your own events and actions don’t contribute to the problem – small changes can reap big benefits over time.