Snack Report: Gamer Vacation Edition
Video game vacations are my favorite. Going to work is torture when you’ve just started a new game and you’re busy collecting some random thing. I can’t stop collecting the random thing! If I get 5 more I can build another random thing that I NEED! All those hours not playing? *shudder* At work you can of course read articles about the game you’re not playing, or message your friend about your game separation pains. None of it will help because you’ve been rudely pulled from your full gaming experience to adult. Taking a game vacation is really the best thing for you!
I’m obsessing slightly about my upcoming game-cation. Mass Effect Andromeda looks just as huge and detailed as the last game. I’m one of those crazy gamers who loves doing anything that isn’t the actual main plot. SIDE MISSIONS! RANDOMNESS! Searching for weird cool things under random rocks on a random planet because you never know!
In my obsessing I’m realizing, there are other adult things that may try to intrude on my gaming. Making food happen, getting enough caffeine for if stopping to sleep is too hard, and dessert of course. I mean poor food planning could lead me to have to put on pants and go to the store in the middle of talking to every NPC in a place. You can’t just stop mid-place with only half the NPCs talked to! That would be insane. YOU MIGHT MISS A SIDE MISSION!
I’ve finalized my snack list. These are foods that once prepared are easy to re-heat, or that could be eaten cold. They’re also easy to graze on while still gaming. Stopping for a meal is just more adulting, don’t fall for adulting!
Official Snack List of my ME: Andromeda Game-cation:
Pizza. Pizza pizza pizza. Pizza is a gamer go-to! You can eat it hot or cold. It is ready for when you realize that mission you’d thought would take no time, dumped you right into another action scene, and now that you’ve killed all the things you need FOOD! I’m going to cook the day before vacation, so I can have FANCY pizza, but delivery works too. I’m addicted to this pizza from The Pioneer Woman, though. Caramelized onions, prosciutto, lot of cheese! Mmmm…This pizza will hopefully see me through several days of random meals. Other good replacements are pizza rolls, or even making your pizza on naan bread, french bread, or english muffins to save yourself from dealing with pizza dough.
Dessert. This is a gaming vacation so dessert is essential. Not every meal should be as adult as pizza. I fully plan to eat dessert instead of a meal at least once a day, probably with a soda. Sugar-caffeine is how gamers survive long missions. I love peanut butter and chocolate! My Kentucky relatives always used to make buckeyes when I was a kid. If you haven’t had these they are sugary peanut butter balls dipped in chocolate. Smitten Kitchen has a great recipe for Buckeyes that I love. If buckeyes don’t seem like the dessert for you, Smitten Kitchen is a go-to site for desserts. She’s a very dedicated dessert tester. If she says a recipe is the best, she’s done the science. She knows! I should really move in next door to see if she gives samples to her neighbors. If baking is too complicated, find a local bakery!
Caffeine. It could be you don’t need this. Happiness and game excitement might carry you through nonstop playing! You may also get stuck in a weird place in the game and need some extra energy. Better be safe and stock up.
Dip. What is even the purpose of a couch vacation if you aren’t gonna eat a fancy dip while talking to alien NPCs about if you can get their credit chit back from some other NPC that wants you to do something else? NPCs are so needy. You need dip for in between your pizza and dessert meals! You know what though, you probably should have some more protein. Buffalo Chicken Dip! It is like eating cheesy wing dip! Frank’s hot sauce has my favorite recipe for this. It is great with corn chips. I use cheddar cheese, not blue cheese. I also like it hotter, so I do about 3/4 c. hot sauce. But you might want to taste it before listening to a crazy person and adding more.
Olives and Cheeeeeeese. This is the easiest snack. It requires taking it out of the fridge and maybe putting it on a plate before stuffing it in your mouth. It is perfect for game-grazing! I usually get an aged gouda, a port salut or soft goat cheese, an english cheddar that smells super earthy, and a stinky blue cheese (drizzle some honey on that.) Yum. Olives need to be pitted for safety!
For olives treat yourself and go find a grocery with an olive bar. Then you can get a variety! Genoa salami, crackers, apples, pears, pickled veggies, candied pecans…these can only improve your olive and cheese experience. Fresh herbs too. A little fresh thyme on a soft goat cheese is magic.
Bacon Sandwiches. Alright, my no cooking plan was for anything but bacon. Bacon is nice. You’ll also need some breaks eventually. Why not use your break to cook some bacon! I love a bacon, avocado, tomato sandwich on toasted bread with a bit of lime juice and mayo. Now this is messy food. It may be tough to eat without getting the controller messy, so this is probably a chance for you to eat while looking online at all the silly things everyone else is doing in game. Reddit is my usual go-to for this, but right now they’re complaining about faces and character creation? It’ll be better in a week when there are silly game videos and screen caps!
EXTRA SNACKS. As much as you plan, you don’t know what you’ll be craving. Best to have some back-up favorites around. In fact, I’ve got fruit and veggies since I suspect a few days of eating the above, I may start craving lighter things. Of course, if I want more fatty sugary things, then peanut m&ms or reese’s pieces are wonderful. Chocolate truffles. Cookies. COOKIE DOUGH. Popcorn. All of these can round out your vacation diet.
Finally, you should probably also buy the game, get the updates installed if you can, do some gamer stretches, make sure you have enough clean pajamas, and warn your family and friends that you may go silent for a while.