Monday, March 7, 2011

On the feeding and care of gamers.

We are a household of gamers.
This brings up a few interesting things that you don't notice in a 'normal' household. The plethora of tiny, plastic alien figurines. That each of us answers to a couple of different names, not necessarily the ones we were born with. That neither of our favorite animals are real. (Mine's a squig, his is Shai-hulud.) And that we gain pleasure from sitting in front of a screen, talking with and fighting imaginary monsters with people we've never met.

Around the house, you'll see dishes halfway done (my place in the queue is ready, will do these later!). Laundry left untended. And, as it is now with RIFT coming out and both of us engrossed in the game, total dependency on snacks.

Gamers need snacks to survive. They must be of a specific sort, requiring little to no cooking as well as the ability to be eaten with one hand. This tends to lead to junk food.
Case in point: I arrived home last week after leaving the husband alone for a weekend with our brand new game, I find:
  • one pizza box
  • two boxes of pop-tarts
  • an empty bag of lays potato chips
  • one frozen shephards pie
  • one bag of pizza rolls
  • one cannister of frozen chocolate chip cookie dough
These are things that don't normally exist in our household, but then we've been without a really addicting game for a while. This cannot hold. 

I've started to brainstorm on healthy gaming snacks.
Once again, parameters are:
- must be able to eat with one hand
- simple; little to no cooking required

So far I've come up with pretty much the menu you'd feed a little kid:

  • Blueberries
  • Carrot and celery sticks
  • pretzel thins with hummus
  • String cheese
  • Popcorn
  • Sliced turkey or salami
  • Cheerios or other dry cereal 
  • apple slices
  • Almonds

This is working so far, but Husband is getting bored with these, and that's never a good sign. 
If there are any other gamers in the woodworks, I'd love to hear some further ideas. That, or it's back to indian takeout.

(also, obligatory plug: RIFT is a fantastic game, and if you want to join us, we're on Reclaimer owning face in PVP.)

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

We're also engrossed in Rift, and find that it is cutting into our normal dining routine. I've always been a fan of cooking up a big dish/pot of something healthy, and then having leftovers for a couple of meals later in the week. We've been having more leftovers for dinner of late, though.

Beans and rice, soup, even pasta with veggies can be kept in little containers and popped in the microwave for a minute or two between warfronts. And, for the most part, can be eaten one-handed.

But, then again, we pretty much only play as a duo, so maybe we go slower while we're eating, but don't notice it because who's going to complain?

Anonymous said...

Never underestimate the value of small pieces of sharp cheddar cheese. Sure, it's higher in fat content, but the sugar and carb content is almost negligible. Also, if your husband is anything like my boyfriend, salty, savory snacks are a food group. Plus, the higher fat content often satisfies the stomach so there's less snacking and more fragging. Happy playing!