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This thread is dedicated to identifying healthy and unhealthy snacks for your D&D and Pathfinder sessions.
Bon appétit!
Here's one I didn't know:
Wheat Thins vs Cheez-It
WT
Serving = 16 crackers
Cal = 140
Fat = 6
Carbs = 21 with 4 sugars
Protein = 2
Calories in one 16 oz box (don't act like you've never eaten a whole box!) = 2100 (that's right, you are done for the whole day)
CI
Serving = 25 crackers
Cal = 150
Fat = 7
Carbs = 18 and no sugars
Protein = 3
Calories in one 16 oz box (don't act like you've never eaten a whole box!) = 1950 (that's right, you can have a sip of Coke before you are done for the day)
Cheez-It wins for healthy!
Actually, both are made with enriched flour, and neither are particularly good for you. Plus, Cheez-Its give you bad breath and leaves a nasty aftertaste :-(
I used to provide a veggie tray with peanut-yogurt dip for my health-conscious friends. And then I started gaming with less health-conscious people, so I don't really do that anymore. Occasionally some whole wheat scones (trust me, they taste just as good as ones made with white flour), but I'm just as likely to make lovely unhealthy desserts for snacking during gaming now. Nobody ever complains about being offered pumpkin cheesecake :)
My wife make a crock pot dish that has three ingredients:
Hot dogs
Bacon
Brown sugar
Healthy or Unhealthy?
64 oz of dark rum and a 12 pack of cola! and microwave popcorn.
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A good session style bitter, mixed from one pint in the fridge and one at ambient to give a nice 13C cellar temperature.
Pork or gala pie and some good quality cheese, perhaps a Cheshire a double-Gloucester or a strong Cheddar.
Gaming isn't a time for healthy snacks - gaming is when we blow all of the good work we did eating healthy for the rest of the week.
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A good session style bitter, mixed from one pint in the fridge and one at ambient to give a nice 13C cellar temperature.
Pork or gala pie and some good quality cheese, perhaps a Cheshire a double-Gloucester or a strong Cheddar.
Gaming isn't a time for healthy snacks - gaming is when we blow all of the good work we did eating healthy for the rest of the week.
That's 55 Fahrenheit for the rest of us. I thought the Brits preferred Imperial measurements? That's what my British in-laws say, at least.
Gaming isn't a time for healthy snacks - gaming is when we blow all of the good work we did eating healthy for the rest of the week.
May I disagree?
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I thought the Brits preferred Imperial measurements? That's what my British in-laws say, at least.
Depends on the age of the Brit. Using Fahrenheit for temperature was my parents generation and my 2yr old son will probably grow up using kilos, metres and litres, rather than my beloved pounds, feet and pints.
I've seen engineering companies dimension rods using inches for diameter and metres for length...
RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32
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Well, I am usually late for our D&D Session, so I drop through Drive Thru on the way there to get dinner. That means I usually eat KFC or McDonalds, but no snacks.
Cards (Vampire: the Eternal Struggle) on the off week from D&D on the other hand is snack city...
Chips are the mainstay.
If I am going to a Tournament however, I always pack a container chock full of Celery Sticks. People actually comment on and expect me to bring it now and I get a lot of people take some (quite surprisingly considering the amount of crap they otherwise feed into themselves over the course of the day).
:)
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I've found pineapple and lemonade to be an awesome addition to game sessions. Both are delicious, and not too bad for you either, especially if you go for Crystal Light lemonade. My group also has a habit of making large bowls of pasta on game nights, sometimes with pesto. A couple times we've gone and gotten soup, too. If we're feeling unhealthy, though, we always go for Doritos and root beer, sometimes pizza.
I rarely eat healthy during games. I tend to drink sugary soda and eat a lot of chips. Interestingly, I *like* to snack on those fresh veggie plates (carrots, cauliflower, broccoli, etc.) but they're bloody expensive compared to chips...and, when I bring them, I seem to end up sharing a good deal more of those things than chips. Go figure. You'd think baby carrots and broccoli wouldn't be big hits at the gaming table.
M
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I once got a huge sushi dish for a game night, thinking it'd be a really good, unique, and healthy snack, only to see it get completely ignored. It wasn't until I explained that no, there wasn't actually any raw fish in it, that they finally all dug in...but there was still much sushi left over at the end of the night.
I guess I overestimated how adventurous my adventuring buddies were.
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At a slight tangent, does anyone else like to try and serve something authentic off the tavern menu at the appropriate time in a whole-day game. Venison stew anyone? The Volo books are great resources for interesting recipes for doing this.
Or does anyone else have a favourite drink for when playing a specific character? Anything almond flavoured for my Waterdhavian magician, but if I'm playing my wheeler-dealer from Westgate then it is a wine evening.
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This thread is dedicated to identifying healthy and unhealthy snacks for your D&D and Pathfinder sessions.
Bon appétit!
Here's one I didn't know:
Wheat Thins vs Cheez-It
WT
Serving = 16 crackers
Cal = 140
Fat = 6
Carbs = 21 with 4 sugars
Protein = 2
Calories in one 16 oz box (don't act like you've never eaten a whole box!) = 2100 (that's right, you are done for the whole day)
CI
Serving = 25 crackers
Cal = 150
Fat = 7
Carbs = 18 and no sugars
Protein = 3
Calories in one 16 oz box (don't act like you've never eaten a whole box!) = 1950 (that's right, you can have a sip of Coke before you are done for the day)Cheez-It wins for healthy!
Actually, both are made with enriched flour, and neither are particularly good for you. Plus, Cheez-Its give you bad breath and leaves a nasty aftertaste :-(
Annies Baked Cheddar Bunnies 7.5oz box
Serving = 50 crackers
Cal = 150 (60 from fat)
Fat = 7
Carbs = 19 and no sugars
Protein = 3
Calories in one 7.5 oz box (don't act like you've never eaten a whole box!) = 1050
Now the major difference is, Organic whole wheat, expeller pressed safflower oil...and real cheese...
It's made with vegetarian ingrediants (not vegan obviously)
Other non-expeller pressed oils, can have trace amounts of formaldehyde...yummy...look it up...
no nasty aftertaste...
but I prefer to serve carrots and celery to go with our pizza...plus plenty of water and tea...
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At a slight tangent, does anyone else like to try and serve something authentic off the tavern menu at the appropriate time in a whole-day game. Venison stew anyone? The Volo books are great resources for interesting recipes for doing this.
Or does anyone else have a favourite drink for when playing a specific character? Anything almond flavoured for my Waterdhavian magician, but if I'm playing my wheeler-dealer from Westgate then it is a wine evening.
I've done stuff like that before I got married and had kids but now I just don't have the time. If your'e lucky enough to own Leaves From The Inn of The Last Home or The History of Dragonlance they both have some really neat recipes for "in game type" foods, some of our favorites were stuff like elven waybread and kender wild rice delight, but there was alot more I just can't seem to find the books right now.
A good Irish ale goes along way towards setting a tavern mood as well.|
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I usually eat a pretty healthy breakfast, but today I ate at the Food Court in my military exchange (PX). I almost never eat donuts, but did today. I was surprised to learn how many calories I consumed in less than 10 minutes...
one Old Fashioned Cake Donut = 280 calories
one Strawberry Frosted Donut = 230 calories
12 oz nonfat, no whip, Mocha (Seattle's Best) = 375 calories
Grand Total = 885 calories
Holy fo shizzle!
That's almost half my daily intake, and I was incredibly still hungry 30 minutes later!
I find it slightly ironic that my first choice was the skinny-looking, no frosting, no glaze, no sprinkles, Old Fashioned Donut--I thought it was the healthiest-looking fare--it turned out to be exceedingly more unhealthy than the frosted donut.
This breakfast barely filled my stomach. The emptiest meal I've ever had :-(
For healthy, yet tasty, snacks, I recommend some of the following:
Lightly salted/seasoned popcorn, preferably air-popped. Considering the choice of seasonings, this can be "different" each session.
Lightly salted or unsalted nuts/seeds/dried fruit. There are some good varieties of Trail Mix for sale, but even plain sunflower seeds can do the trick for some (if the rest of the group doesn't mind the husk-spitting that ensues).
Tortillas and salsa were mentioned. Again, watch out for the salt; go with the unsalted or light salt tortillas (the "hint of lime" ones are pretty tasty by themselves, IMO!).
There's been some interesting research lately that foods that are high in salt, sugar, AND fat can cause the brain to react as with addictive substances, causing cravings and withdrawl symptoms.
As much as I love chips and whatnot, I've been making an effort to "healthify" the gaming table. I noticed that if you put veggies in front of gamers, along with onion dip made from non-fat plain greek yogurt (tastes better than sour cream IMO), that they will eat them. All of them, eventually. Interestingly, if you don't bring the carbo snacks to the table, or maybe only one bag along with salsa, the players eat less total mass of food. However, they don't complain about lack of snacks! They still eat whatever the heck is in front of them.
If you compare slicing up a cucumber ($.50), two peppers (~$1.99), and adding a bag of baby carrots (on sale $1.50 around here), plus the dip ($2.39 to make), that's about the cost of two bags of chips ($6.38). Now we do healthy plus one bag of unhealthy but fatty-salty goodness. We used to go through 3-4 bags of carbo snacks, so overall our wallets are healthier by one bag!
um we game like less than 500ft from a italian joint and a chinese take-out or a BBQ place. we dont bring anything we just take our turns, wait for one guy that we all know takes 20 minutes to make a decision as to go left or right and while perma-gamer takes his turn we do a food run. Healthy or unhealthy is player choice.
Healthy gaming snacks? Hmm...
Hummus & pita bread. The roasted red pepper hummus is awesome. Lots of olives and those little marinated mozzarella balls go nice too.
Meat, Cheese & Cracker plate. You can get those pre-cut squares of cheese at the store now.
Veggie Tray! Yes please. :) Buying things and cutting/prepping yourself is much cheaper, and really doesn't take a lot of time.
Edamame. A big favorite in my home and not terribly expensive either. I have a habit of not paying attention to how much I'm eating though, and can go through a whole bag if I'm not careful.
A lot of my other suggestions run into the almost-dinner categories, so I'll save them. :)
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A friend of mine came to me with an issue today: he's trying to lose weight, was doing well, and seems to have bottomed out. He couldn't understand why his diet was working so well, and suddenly poof no more weight loss.
Since there may be a few Paizonians out there in a similar situation, here's the answer I gave him:
You start at 200lbs. You want to lose 25 pounds. You're only willing, initially, to cut calories by eating less. Your lunch is usually two sandwiches, a can of Coke, and a small bag of chips.
You cut your lunch down to one sandwich and a bottle of water. Three weeks later, you weigh 190lbs. You're pleased and happy.
Three more weeks (six total) you still weigh 190lbs! You decide to give it more time, but after nine weeks you haven't lost anymore weight, so what's going on?
Probably, any odd health concerns aside, you've simply reduced your caloric intake to a level that sustains 190lbs.
If you want to lose that last 15 pounds of the 25, you have to continue to reduce your daily intake. Eventually, you should exercise as well, though, honestly, you could lose all the weight through diet alone.
Finally, don't forget--the heavier you are, the more calories it takes to motivate you, and the faster you'll lose weight through diet and/or exercise. This means that as you lose weight, it'll be harder to lose weight without ramping things up! If your body expends 10 calories per minute while running 5 mph at a weight of 200lbs, once you get down to 190lbs, if you still run the same speed, your body only expends 7 calories per minute, because there's less weight to move around--less work to perform. You need to run faster or for a longer period.
If you start exercising, you'll experience, eventually, some weight gain--it's muscle! This means, through diet and exercise, you could lose 25 pounds, then gain 10! Fortunately, you'll still reduce body mass (think waist line).
Eventually, you should exercise as well...
What is this "exercise" that you speak of, Mr. Turner?
Seriously, thanks for the explanation. It accounts for the failure of all those "one trick" diets out there.
Edit: As for healthy snacks, maybe baked pita chips and salsa? I'm not very good at healthy...
Eventually, you should exercise as well...What is this "exercise" that you speak of, Mr. Turner?
It's that thing LARPers do when they run about public parks swinging pillow egded weapons at each other.
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I like to cut up some green peppers into slices, and then bring a dish of ranch to dip them in. Doesn't get stuck in my teeth the way chips do, leaving me picking at my teeth for the next hour.
Deviled eggs are also good, particularly if mixed with something to jazz them up, like brown mustard, curry powder or horseradish mustard.
The thin guy at our gaming table brings bottles of chocolate milk and family bags of M&Ms or Reeces Pieces or other chocolates, and eats them pretty much nonstop (having up to 2 lbs of chocolates during the game). The rest of us eagerly await the day his metabolism changes...
The thin guy at our gaming table brings bottles of chocolate milk and family bags of M&Ms or Reeces Pieces or other chocolates, and eats them pretty much nonstop (having up to 2 lbs of chocolates during the game). The rest of us eagerly await the day his metabolism changes...
We've got a guy with the hummingbird metabolism in our group as well; it drives the rest of us crazy. Buttercreme frosting, indeed!
I thought the Brits preferred Imperial measurements? That's what my British in-laws say, at least.Depends on the age of the Brit. Using Fahrenheit for temperature was my parents generation and my 2yr old son will probably grow up using kilos, metres and litres, rather than my beloved pounds, feet and pints.
I've seen engineering companies dimension rods using inches for diameter and metres for length...
You Yanks and Poms need to catch up with the rest of the world - the sooner you change over to the metric system the better.
On topic - we try and eat healthy, carrot sticks, celery, fruit and so on.
I do recommend not to have too much dried fruit (sultanas, apricots, cranberries and so on) we did that once and there was a cue for the toilet as too much dried fruit can have a laxative effect.
The thin guy at our gaming table brings bottles of chocolate milk and family bags of M&Ms or Reeces Pieces or other chocolates, and eats them pretty much nonstop (having up to 2 lbs of chocolates during the game). The rest of us eagerly await the day his metabolism changes...We've got a guy with the hummingbird metabolism in our group as well; it drives the rest of us crazy. Buttercreme frosting, indeed!
<raises hand>
Guilty, I'm afraid.
From my personal experience (turn 40 next year, 6 ft 2 in tall, 176 lbs), as long as the high metabolism folks stay physically active they will continue to stay thin. Eventually, they will have to start watching their intake (or exercising more), but at that point they won't be as hungry, so it mostly balances out.
Of course, I like many healthy foods, so I'm not a big "junk food junkie" (although I do have a sweet tooth). I also try to maintain a somewhat balanced diet (variety of food groups, whole grains, etc.) and not "super-size" my meal portions; occasionally I'll indulge in a big meal with a rich dessert, but only occasionally.