Category: Healthy Break Room Services

Your Phoenix break room has potential. It doesn’t have to be a place that employees avoid or use sporadically. Instead, employees should be able to find a relaxing space with vending machines or a micro-market that offers delicious lunch options.

While breakfast is referred to as the most important meal of the day, lunch plays a crucial role in making the afternoon a success. Unfortunately, the lunch break is disappearing.

But isn’t this dedication to one’s career or job good for business? No. In fact, the opposite may be true. Rather than focusing on eating, many employees feel they need to do something more meaningful. They also feel guilty for not always being available.

Even employees who are working from home because of COVID-19 need a break too. Spending too much time at a desk without taking a break can decrease productivity and hurt the bottom line.

Creativity and Community

Everyone, including Phoenix employees, needs a change of scenery every now and then. Creative thinking and new ideas are more likely to occur after taking a break or moving to a new workspace. Going outside for a walk or sitting in the sun help solutions to form.

Studies also suggest that taking time off in the middle of the day, whether to eat, walk or take a coffee break with coworkers, creates a community culture within the workplace and happier, more productive employees.

Rejuvenate your Break Room

Although a walk outside can be beneficial, too much of a good thing can turn into a bad thing, especially when a short break becomes an extended time away from the office. To create a sense of community and a pleasant place to go when getting away from the office isn’t ideal, create a better break space.

• Offer quality coffee service (a high-value benefit at a lower cost) and healthy snacks and beverages. For a bonus, consider offering micro-market or vending options for free or at a reduced cost.
• If possible, bring some of the outdoors inside with potted plants, oversized windows, or natural scenery wall murals.

Regardless of how you encourage your employees to get away from their desks, it’s essential that you do it. Whether it’s lunch out, a walk around the block, or a foosball tournament in your break room, your Phoenix employees will appreciate it.

To learn more about updating your break room or adding office coffee service, vending machines, or a micro-market, contact Southwest Refreshments at 623.780.3036. We look forward to hearing from you.

The need for break rooms in Scottsdale businesses that are fully stocked with healthy and popular refreshment options has recently increased. Whether it’s a great cup of coffee, a sought-after snack or a healthy beverage, access to on-site refreshments has become very important, especially for essential employees.

Staying healthy is also important. While all fruits and vegetables offer great nutrients and vitamins, the go to vitamin for an immune system boost is Vitamin C. And a popular source for Vitamin C is orange juice. Orange growers in the U.S. usually see an increase in demand for orange juice every year during cold and flu season, but this year, it appears that the demand for orange juice will be ongoing.

Mike Sparks, CEO of Florida Citrus Mutual, recently explained that “orange juice is the most nutrient dense juice in the marketplace. Chuck-full, of course, with Vitamin C. There’s no question in my mind, there’s going to be a run on orange juice.”

Another beverage that can help keep the body healthy is water. Staying hydrated not only helps remove toxins from the body, but it also helps the muscles and joints to work better, keeps the body cool and supports the functions of many other systems.  

Dehydration, on the other hand, can negatively influence the outcome of different parts of an employee’s day without them realizing it. For example, workplace productivity can be negatively impacted by dehydration because of a decrease in cognitive abilities, reduction in concentration and alertness, and slower reaction times, both mentally and physically.

The good news is that there are many different ways to offer hydrating beverages in Scottsdale break rooms. Cold beverage options might include bottled water, filtered water, sparkling water (flavored or plain), iced tea and sports beverages. A hot beverage menu might include tea or coffee, which not only hydrates but offers a caffeine boost. 

Break rooms should also offer something to eat with all of the beverage options. Whether it’s fresh food, a healthy snack or a traditional snack or treat, there should be a variety of choices in the break room that support both physical health and morale. (Everyone needs a special treat every now and then.)

Scottsdale employees’ needs have shifted because of the coronavirus. Southwest Refreshments is here to assist essential employers during this difficult time by providing snacks, fresh food and beverages that will help recharge essential employees. For more information, please contact us at 623.780.3036.

How healthy is your heart? February may be best known for Valentine’s Day, but it is also American Heart Month, a time for Phoenix individuals to reconsider their diet and exercise habits and the impact those habits have on the health of their heart.

Making good food choices is an important component of developing a healthy lifestyle but expecting to make good food choices all the time is unrealistic. Phoenix individuals should instead be aware of the overall picture or pattern of their diet.

What does that mean? It’s being aware of the different types of snacks, food and beverages that are consumed. Is an individual eating a variety of nutritious foods from the different food groups? Are the portion sizes appropriate? It’s also noticing which circumstances like stress, fatigue or eating with friends trigger different types of eating patterns including unhealthy ones.

Lunch time is another event that can impact future food decisions that will be made throughout the rest of the day. A recent survey from the American Heart Association (AHA) and Aramark, a food service company, found that “more than three quarters of those surveyed say they’re more likely to make healthier decisions at other times of the day if they eat healthy at lunch.”

While those numbers are great news for the health of those surveyed, the likelihood that employees will actually eat a healthy lunch is much lower. The same survey also found that “56 percent of employed Americans who typically eat lunch during work struggle to make that meal healthy.” Phoenix employers have just been presented with an opportunity to step in and make a difference in the types of snacks, fresh food and beverages available in the break room.

Two additional results from the AHA and Aramark study show that employees are looking for a bit of help; 82 percent of participants believe access to healthy options at work is important, and 68 percent appreciate their employer’s help in becoming healthier. Creating opportunities for regular exercise during the workday is another approach employers can take to help their Phoenix employees become healthier.

Regular exercise not only helps maintain or lose weight, it also improves cardiovascular or heart health. If offering a gym membership or an onsite gym isn’t a realistic employee benefit, there are other ways employees can increase their physical activity during the workday. Taking a walk at lunch, parking further away from the building, using the stairs instead of the elevator and holding walking meetings are just a few ways employees can add a bit more movement to their day.

Employees who choose a variety of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, nuts and seeds and lean proteins and increase physical activity often have less stress, more energy and improved confidence. Now that sounds like a benefit for everyone.

For more information about updating or redesigning your micro-market, pantry service or vending machine refreshment menu to include healthier options, please call Southwest Refreshments at 623.780.3036. We look forward to working with you.

Choosing healthy snacks is becoming easier for Scottsdale employers and students thanks to a new initiative by the International Food and Beverage Alliance (IFBA), a group of 12 leading global food and beverage companies.

According to a recent IFBA press release, the organization “is determined to innovate and optimize the composition of members’ products in order to help contribute to the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) goal of eliminating industrially produced trans-fat (iTFA) from the global food supply by 2023.”

In other words, snacks and beverages, especially those made by IFBA companies, should have less artificial trans fats in them and be a lot healthier for Scottsdale consumers. 

What are trans fats, and why are they unhealthy?

Trans fats come in two forms: naturally occurring and artificial. Naturally occurring trans fats come from some animals, are found in smaller quantities and have been found to be beneficial. Artificial trans fats, on the other hand, are the result of a chemical process that adds hydrogen to liquid vegetable oils creating a solid product and are very unhealthy. 

Because artificial trans fats are inexpensive to produce, have a longer shelf life than other fats and add a desirable taste and texture, they have historically been used as an ingredient in a wide variety of processed foods such as pie crusts, biscuits, frozen pizza, cookies and crackers.

Consuming artificial trans fats increases Scottsdale individuals’ risk of developing heart disease and having a stroke because the artificial trans fats raise bad (LDL) cholesterol levels and lower good (HDL) cholesterol levels. Artificial trans fats are also linked to long-term inflammation, type 2 diabetes and insulin resistance. 

Healthier Choices

For heart health, the American Heart Association suggests enjoying a diet that emphasizes fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, low-fat dairy, poultry and fish. When freshly prepared food is not available such as in many Scottsdale break rooms, processed snacks made with unhydrogenated oil including canola, safflower, sunflower and olive oil are a great option. 

Southwest Vending, a full-service break room refreshment company, would like to provide your business with a micro-market or vending machines full of delicious and healthy fresh food, snacks (with healthy fats) and beverages. For more information or to schedule a product sampling, please contact us at 623.780.3036.

Healthy treats and sweet treats are often perceived by many Scottsdale residents to be two very different things. One of them provides nutritional value while the other is full of unhealthy ingredients. But the term “healthy treat” doesn’t always have to refer to something that is a substitute for a preferred sweet treat. 

In fact, a treat doesn’t even need to be edible for it to be a treat. It might be purchasing music, fresh flowers, a new book, or new supplies for a favorite hobby. The most important thing is that the person who is enjoying it perceives it to be special and looks forward to the experience.

Treats, in all their forms, also help Scottsdale employees build new and maintain current healthy habits. According to Gretchen Rubin, author and happiness expert, “When we don’t get any treats, we start to feel deprived—and feeling deprived is a very bad frame of mind for good habits. When we feel deprived, we feel entitled to put ourselves back in balance…and feel entitled to break our good habits.”

A delicious and healthy sweet treat that employers can offer their Scottsdale employees, especially Millennials, is chocolate. While there are different types of chocolate consumers, Millennials, the largest generation in the workforce, tend to prefer a mix of dark, milk and white chocolate products made with high-quality cocoa by companies who value social/environmental stewardship. 

Chocolate also offers several health benefits. Made from different combinations of cocoa solids, cocoa butter, cocoa bean powder, sugar and milk powder, there are many options to choose from. Cocoa, the prime ingredient, contains antioxidants which benefits cardiovascular heath while flavonoids perform a variety of jobs such as helping control insulin sensitivity, improving blood flow, and protecting the skin against UV damage. 

Dark chocolate contains the highest amount of cocoa followed by milk chocolate then white chocolate. Milk chocolate contains a smaller percentage of cocoa solids and cocoa butter than dark chocolate plus milk powder and more sugar. While the milk powder and decreased amount of cocoa creates a smoother and sweeter chocolate, milk chocolate also has fewer flavonoids. White chocolate, made from sugar, milk, and a small amount of cocoa butter, doesn’t contain any flavonoids making it quite sweet. 

For chocolate to provide the most health benefits, it needs to be made with a higher percentage of cocoa, and avoid processing methods such as fermenting, alkalizing, and roasting that cause important flavonoids to be lost. Overall, sweet treats can be part of a balanced diet if Scottsdale employees pay attention to portion sizes and frequency of consumption.

To support your Scottsdale employees in making healthy “sweet treat” choices during their workday, it is important to create an environment where healthy options are the norm. Southwest Vending would like to help your organization customize a healthy refreshments’ menu for your office break room with healthy snacks, beverages and fresh food.

For more information about our micro-market, vending machine or pantry service options, please call us at 623.780.3036.