Ever sat down to play an MMO, or really any game and you really can't seem to get to a stopping point, or you get so consumed that you realize an hour later you past you stopping point? I've been like that a lot, so i sat down and tried to think of healthy, satisfying ways i can just run to the kitchen, pop something open and eat/drink it when a Group/Party or your hard-core-ness is in progress.
Here is a little list of cheap, not-so-bad things you can eat while gaming without needing many dishes, in some cases, none.
Food
Chefboyardee - They are loaded with Sodium, but they also have some Vitamins and nutriants that you need to keep from becoming anemic while you're grinding away, they have pop tab tops, and they don't taste bad straight out of the can, all you need is a fork. When you're hungry enough, anything is good, luckily these arn't to bad to begin with.
Ramen - You know those 10 or 11 cent packs? yeah, nothing nutritious about them, but they will fill the hole for a couple hours until you break from your grind, it takes 3 minutes +/- to make, so it's not one of the quickest methods, but you can certainly let it boil and come back to it, just don't forget it, use a microwave or stove kitchen timer to remind you.
Frozen Chicken PotPie - Pretty much any brand, find one you like, take 7-8 minutes in the microwave and you can dump it into a plate to fill that void, This is a good option for getting back to your team because you don't have to watch it, and it even buys you a few minutes while it cools down after the microwave stops, also it has veggies in it.
Hot Pockets Staple gamer food, i don't really like these because they are really bad for you, most of them anyway, if you can stomach lean pockets they at least have a better nutrients panel.
Deli Sandwich Sometimes you can go to a Deli and get 1lb of 3 or 4 different kinds of meats on sale, and even if you can't it's still better tasting that that pre-packaged crap filled with preservative. Ask for (1/2lbs) several kinds of cheese and try different kinds, i like Muenster myself, grab a loaf of bread and you can make a nice sandwich, maybe some chips to compliment it.
George Foreman these are little counter grills, they are awesome for cooking burgers and such, you can also get Hillshire Bratwursts (Filled with chedder) and cook them on that, just lower the lid for about 6-7 minutes, let it cook, and toss it on a hotdog bun.
Drinks
Bolthouse Farms - these guys make meals in a bottle and let me tell you, they are rich, and very good, you can find them in the refrigerator section near the milk/juice of Wal-Mart, Target or even some popular grocerie stores, but be warned, they are almost $6 a bottle, but they are worth it, They are LOADED with vitamins and minerals, they are real, but they parish fast because of ityou have about a week from purchase to drink it or it will start to go bad, but they are delicious and will make up for alot of the vitamins you might miss in your diet. While a Vanilla Chai Tea Soy milk based drink doesn't sound good at first, or to me it didn't i find myself drinking one a week, where 1/4 of a bottle is a daily value. It is literally a liquid vitamin.
Coffee Why is Coffee bad for you to most people? Because they drink to much, the thing most people don't realize is Coffee is actually good for you, the crystallized sugar you put it in, is not, buy a big jar of Honey and substitute the sugar, use about 1 table spoon to sweeten it, not only does it make the coffee taste better, but it's also really good for you, instead of using creamers with flavor, just use plain old Whole Milk, Land of Milk and Honey... in your coffee, keeps you on the edge, and doesn't taste to bad either.
Bottle of Water Red, for No. A lot of people would think i was crazy, but when you're sitting still and no actively exercising or doing much physical work, water will actually build up in your system, most of the time you will pee it out, but if you're not sweating, you will retain water, you DO however need water from time to time, but it's best not to go and drink a whole bottle of water unless you're doing some walking soon. This is not a gamer drink, if you're sitting still this is no better than drink a Pepsi.
There are others but when you pick a drink you need to make sure the sodium, sugars and calories are with in reason, compare it to a can of Coke and stay away from stuff made with a lot of water (Like juice) try something milk based, or soy based, instead of retaining the syrup, water or corn syrup, it's better to treat the drink as a food, and milk according to our biological make up, is processed like a food. Coffee is an example of border line, the caffeine is absorbed into your body, and the water is filtered, but because of the amount of impurities in the water, you body rejects most of it making you pee it out, on top of that, coffee stimulates organs and causes your metabolism to speed up, so in most cases, coffee runs right through you anyway, but you're not as thirsty because it simply is something to drink, and does have water in it.
Heating & Air
I don't know about you but my electric heat and Air is pretty pricey. Here is something iv'e been doing or tried to do for awhile. In the winter time you can always put more clothes on Don't be ashamed because you're wearing your winter stuff inside, because you're sitting still your heart rate will fall, circulation is further inhibited when your arms are straight forward, ever notice your paws get cold while playing, your feet too, coffee in this case helps, your heart rate will increase and blood flow with have an easier time circulating, which is why coffee's make you feel warmer when the temperatures really haven't changed, soups have a similar effect, but that's because they're loaded with sodium, and we don't want sodium while inactive. Try not to turn the heat on unless it really gets to cold for anyone else to bare.
During the summer you can buy yourself a stand-alone fan for about $10, it doesn't have to be fancy, just needs to blow air, point it towards you, your PC, both as long as you get some breeze, when you're not active your body still puts off heat, and as the room warms up from circulated air, you start to feel hotter and hotter with the air around you acting like a blanket, the fan helps you with this by moving the surface tensioned air away from you, and circulating the air in the room, this buys you a tleast 5 degree's F before you would have normally cranked up the heat, it's the difference in standing in the sun and the shade.
they're plenty more foods, drinks and tips out there, those are just a few quick one's i can list off the top of my head, feel free to contribute your Hard-Core life savers.
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