Six Healthy Snacks to Eat While Playing

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Pizza Buns, Potato Chips, and Hot Pockets, washed down with Mountain Dew, can numb that rumbling stomach, but these foods probably won’t do you any good for your waist (or your brain, for that matter). Instead, buy your typical gamer snack with these healthier yet still delicious snacks.

The average foodie’s food choices will make any nutritionist swoon. In fact, a study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that subjects tended to eat more during video game sessions, regardless of hunger cues. The combination of mindlessly overeating excess fat, carbs, and salt along with the sedentary nature of video games just doesn’t bode well for your overall health. Now I’m not your mother, but you can at least slightly change your food choices while playing.

The tricky part is figuring out what is worth messing around with when you have some poor guy on the internet. There are a few key points about play-friendly food. Products must be:

We’ve touched on this briefly before , but the next snack changes should meet all the requirements for these extended gaming sessions.

Kill: Potato Chips Try: Toasted Pita

Sliced ​​pita toast is money.

Okay, before knocking, try slicing the pita bread into triangles, quickly covering them with a nonstick spray, adding spices as desired (salt, perhaps garlic powder or parmesan cheese), and then baking them in the oven for 12-15 minutes. minutes at 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

When you reach the crunchiness you want, they begin to tighten up remarkably with a crisp crunch, and you can dip them in hummus or avocado puree (or even guacamole if you have extra toppings) for a fresh flavor. Plus, the chickpeas in hummus provide something that nacho-flavored chips don’t: extra nutrients and dietary fiber that help control blood cholesterol levels. When you also factor in more protein and more food (versus chips), you are likely to feel more satisfied.

Kill: Cookies Try: Nuts and Dried Fruit Mix

The biscuits taste great, but they have no nutritional value and are likely to cause some disappointment when the crumbs keep crumbling onto the keyboard or knees.

Choose a nut mix with dried fruits like figs, raisins, or even dark chocolate chunks for a sweet and salty combination. Nuts mimic a light cookie crunch (unless you prefer a softer texture) and contain a similar fat macronutrient profile, albeit with mono and polyunsaturated fats. While most nuts (insert anecdote about nuts here) appear to be health promoting,researchers at Tufts University have found that walnuts are particularly beneficial for brain function and memory due to their higher amounts of omega-3 fatty acids.

And hey, maybe these walnuts will help you remember where that stupid tourist was!

Kill: Sour Patch Kids Candy Try: Frozen Grapes

If you’ve never eaten frozen grapes, a treat awaits you. Each tiny serving of the fruit is sweet and cool and very easy to prepare. Just toss them in the freezer at least two hours before you start playing and you’re done. Whether you like a green, red, or black variety, all grapes are delicious and rich in antioxidants . If you crave this astringency, green grapes suggest puckering your lips.

Simply put: Grapes are definitely a more nutritious and damn delicious alternative to Sour Patch Kids.

Kill: Nacho Try: Cured Cheese & Beef

Anyway, sticky fake cheese smothered on top of tortilla chips is nacho, the best choice (ha!) For a hassle-free snack and play. Strings of cheese and jerky are less of a hassle, are high in protein to keep you feeling fuller for longer and help you cope with the traction situation. If you put in the extra effort, you can lightly melt the cheese on a piece of jerky to create a mixture that looks like a high protein nacho. There are plenty of good low-fat jerky foods out there (I’ve even seen ostrich, turkey, buffalo, and salmon), although I would probably skip Slim Jim due to its ridiculously high fat-to-protein ratio and questionable protein sources.

Kill: Hot Pockets Try: Hard Boiled Eggs

Based on some really compelling anecdotal evidence, Hot Pockets caused many tongue burns due to its molten hot filler (or is it just me?). For a hearty snack that you can still eat with one hand, try hard boiled eggs.

While eggs have a bad reputation for being associated with an increased risk of heart disease, eggs are generally beneficial if you are healthy. However, the results ofthis study from Diabetes Care caution people with metabolic disorders such as type 2 diabetes to be a little more careful. For the most part, healthy people do not need to worry about dietary cholesterol in egg yolks because there isample evidencepointing to the benefits of cholesterol from eating eggs .

So eat the whole egg , including the yolk. The yolk contains many vitamins and choline, an important nutrient for the production ofacetylcholine : a neurotransmitter involved in memory and overall brain function.

Just boil a few at a time and take a couple of minutes to clean them to get everything ready. You can spice up the flavor by adding your favorite seasonings – a pinch of salt, a little pepper, smoked pepper, or even a little ramen seasoning – or by dipping them in marinara or my favorite Sriracha sauce. The beauty is that they are versatile and economical in calories compared to Hot Pocket.

Kill: Pizza Rolls Try: Sushi

Part of the appeal of pizza buns is that they can be eaten with one hand, right? Well, you can also eat sushi with one hand. What a coincidence. (They even have a similar shape!)

Japanese cuisine may not be for everyone, but for the adventurous, sushi is a clear winner, especially if you’re digging salmon rolls. Salmon contains high levels of omega-3 fatty acids, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). DHA has been shown to help with motor skills and even cognitive conditions like ADHD and depression, likely due to the effect of omega-3 fats on neurotransmitters like serotonin and dopamine, which regulate mood.

Don’t like salmon or raw fish? There are always cooked sushi rolls. Sushi comes in more varieties, flavors and styles than typical frozen pizza buns could ever be. Explore the local takeaway sushi bar menu and see what tickles your taste and is good if you leave it on during the intense gaming sessions of the marathon.

Remember: Calories Remain Calories

While any of these foods are healthier alternatives to traditional snacks, they can be as high in calories as any classic game snacks, depending on what you eat and how much you eat. Eat a lot more calories than you consume in a day , and you simply resist trying to lose weight, even if the foods are generally healthier for you. As with any food, you must practice sensible eating habits – and while you are doing this, get off the couch from time to time.

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