Creative snack options for anytime eating

In the noncommercial arena, busy lifestyles and erratic schedules are driving people to snack more often and more adventurously. The increase in snacking has been trending for the last four years, but it especially has accelerated since 2014, growing 9%, according to Technomic’s 2016 Consumer Food Trends Report. Additionally, 42% of consumers have broadened their definition of snacks, says Technomic, shifting from chips and granola bars to healthy, scaled-down versions of larger dishes.

To fill the demand, quick-service restaurants are rolling out small items, such as sliders and nachos, at the speed of light, and independent concepts are focusing on snacks and handheld items. Examples include 5411 Empanadas in Chicago and Pincho Factory in Miami. But workplaces, schools and hospitals also are upping their game.

At Facebook’s corporate offices in Menlo Park, Calif., the culinary team is meeting the challenge with a midafternoon meal period from 3 to 4 p.m. called “Hack-The-Snack” at Cafe 300, one of the company’s dining venues. Instead of falling back on smoothies and hummus, on offer are mini versions of more substantial and creative items, such as high-protein frittata bites and scones.

To energize morning snackers, Facebook preps options such as raspberry shortbread protein bars made with cashews, dates, soy protein, shredded coconut and maple syrup. Also available are “super loaded” acai parfait cups—a combo of blueberry, mango, chia seed pudding and gluten-free granola with pumpkin seeds, buckwheat, sunflower seeds, flaxseeds, hempseeds and dates. These superfood recipes cater to health-seeking millennials and Gen Zers, who make up the majority of Facebook’s workforce.

At Carilion Clinic in Roanoke, Va., Executive Chef Darla Mehrkens satisfies the hospital crowd’s growing appetite for snacks by downsizing classic dishes with a healthy twist. Rather than serve large bowls of fruit and yogurt at morning business meetings, she created a protein-boosted panna cotta bar prepared with a low fat, low sugar granola crust topped with lemon-flavored yogurt panna cotta and fresh blueberries. Variations of this popular snack include bars flavored with lavender and Earl Grey tea.

To fill requests for savory snacks, Mehrkens transformed lunchtime chicken salad sandwiches into bread-free chicken salad “bonbons”: Diced chicken meat, celery, dry cranberries and honey are bound with a bit of mayonnaise and rolled in minced pistachios. The bite-size snacks are served with apricot jam and crackers. Guests “love it,” says Mehrkens, adding that more snackers are looking for healthful, portable options. “When you are in a meeting, you don’t want spaghetti,” she says. “You want something you can pick up and eat with your hands.”