Free Food?
Over the last few years, every company I have worked for has supplied some kind of food. Most commonly free fruit for all employees on a weekly, but usually a daily basis.
Most companies have also supplied unlimited free soft drinks (i.e. cans of coke and other fizzy drinks) and a few offices have even offered free breakfasts in every kitchen. Free breakfast usually consists of a huge range of different types of bread, “healthy” margarines, spreads and jam. There is also typically a wide choice of breakfast cereals and of course, skim milk to pour over the cereal.
Paleo Food?
Whilst it’s nice to have things provided for free, unfortunately, on a Paleo Diet, nothing typically provided in an office environment is “proper food!” The fruit tends to be the fruit highest in fructose (and also cheapest), such as apples and bananas – never berries, which would be a good on occasion.
The breakfast foods on offer are all very high in refined carbohydrates, which cause a big spike in blood sugar levels – and then a crash soon after eating; making a rapid return to the refined carbs very likely. On top of the effect on blood sugars, bread and cereals are all grain based. This means an inflammatory reaction in the gut as well as having an acidic effect on the body. Not an ideal choice.
Unfortunately the typical office food on offer needs to be easy to store and prepare; bread and cereals couldn't be any easier to store – and are ready to eat as they are. These types of foods are also very cheap for a company to provide and popular with the low-fat-healthy-whole-grains conventional wisdom crowd.
Paleo food would be a lot harder for a company to provide in a work place environment. Most of the Paleo options would need to be freshly made and made with good quality ingredients; not very realistic in an office setting.
Until beef jerky, kombucha and bacon are common place in the office, I’d rather go without the free food and bring in my own.
Does your employer supply any food or drinks? What do they provide – is anything Paleo?
