Every gamer knows this: at the cozy gambling evening, you need something to nibble on the side. But chips and Co. like to end up shredded in the keyboard or as a remnant on the buttons or the character sheet. Cleaning is annoying. As a veteran of the famous LAN parties back then, I’ve also tried pretty much everything about gaming snacks while playing today’s Android games.
So what do you find here? My goal with the list was to find treats that are really “snackable” – that is, between two frags or while waiting for resuscitation can be quickly grabbed and plastered with one hand. If possible, without cutlery.
When choosing, I tried to choose both sweet and savory. But what you will NOT find here are explicitly healthy snacks. I am neither a nutritionist nor a doctor. The following applies to all the snacks mentioned: If you have allergies or intolerances or have to pay attention to blood sugar and the like, look closely at the ingredients when buying. The snacks are not intended to replace meals.
Gummy
Not surprisingly, the list includes the tasty little rubber animals, which come in dozens of shapes and flavors. “Bears” is just the generic term for everything that exists in this form: worms, dinosaurs, and bats from Trolli, Katjes, Take 2, or Haribo.
However, I can only recommend gummy bears without “acidic powder” around them, because this glues the fingers and thus quickly the controller. Also: do not lick your fingers and then go into the bag.
This is not only slightly disgusting, but also has the disadvantage that fully lulled styluses easily dissolve the rubber animals. As a result, they quickly become sticky and their positive effect disappears.
Gummy bears are especially advisable in colder months, as they quickly melt and become sticky again at too-high temperatures. Personally, I like to eat the “original” gold bears from Haribo, especially because they are available in a “Wacken Edition”.
If you are looking for a vegan or organic option, look in the pharmacy for juice bears or products from Katjes. These often cost a little more, but also taste delicious.
Mouse bacon (marshmallows)
Marshmallows, which I still know from my childhood as mouse bacon, are an excellent sweet snack when gambling. They are softer than gummy bears, slightly sweeter, but with a pleasant chewing sensation.
Mouse bacon comes in different flavors, with simply “sugar” and sometimes strawberry being the most common. You will find mouse bacon mainly in the form of fairground mixtures or as increasingly popular marshmallows.
As with gummy bears, do not put wet fingers in the package and store them as cool as possible. Mouse fat likes to stick even nastier than rubber animals.
Dextrose or effervescent sweets
Many probably only know a shower as a bag with powder, which is either dissolved in water, licked from the finger, or tipped directly on Ex. Stupid people also pull the stuff through their noses – but if you usually only do it once, then you learn from it.
But there are also showers in the form of candies that can be sucked or chewed. The candies tingle pleasantly in the mouth and have different flavors.
If you don’t like it so sour, you can fall back on glucose. This is also available in the solid form of sweets, small tabs, or pearls, for example on chains and Co. The advantage over powder: You immediately have portion sizes and nothing sticks if you put the candies in your mouth immediately.
Older generations should also know PEZ. These small sugar plates come in handy dispensers where you do not even have to touch the sweets. But since PEZ is disappearing from stores more and more often, I recommend the website World of Sweets for nostalgic and unusual sweets.
Chocolate lentils
Everyone knows, probably everyone had at least once as a child. Chocolate lentils are usually small chocolate drops coated with a frosting, which crack nicely in the mouth and then melt chocolatey.
The most famous chocolate lentils are probably the famous Smarties. Their advantage is that they come in cardboard tubes and boxes, so you can simply tip the lenses into your mouth.
Personally, I generally don’t like Smarties and chocolate. Here, however, as with all the sweets mentioned, they quickly become sticky in heat and humidity.
ALSO READ: How to Train Your Taste Buds?
Dried meat
What is otherwise known by fitness fans as a source of protein is also excellent as a snack. Dried meat is (almost) completely liquid-free, quite tough meat. Quasi pure protein with a little fat and no sugar.
Dried meat comes in many forms and with different seasonings. It is easy to snack on and also lasts quite long, as you have quite a while to chew – as long as you do not sling.
The disadvantage is that dried meat is quite expensive. Think of it more as a “premium” snack. The dried meat from Jack Link’s is probably the best known and okay, but you get similarly good products cheaper with a little searching.
My tip: Just search Amazon for dried meat, biltong, or droewors and browse something there. For vegetarians, there are also dried vegetable chips or dried fruit as a pescatarian option, and for those who like to experiment there is dried fish or octopus in well-stocked Asia or specialty shops.
Pumpernickel
No, no kidding. Gamers from southern Germany probably don’t know the bread, but pumpernickel is a specially made, almost black, and slightly sweet wholemeal bread made from rye. “You recommend bread? What’s wrong with you?”
Legitimate question, but: as a quasi-Westphalian I am totally into pumpernickel and the advantage of this bread is that you get it in small slices that are about the size of a 2-euro piece. So ideal for snacking.
If you want to make a little more effort, you can prepare small appetizers. As a “mini sandwich” I recommend some processed cheese, air-dried ham, and a slice of radishes between two of these pumpernickel thalers.
Alternatively, a piece of cheese and a grape or date and some bacon can be skewered on the slices with a toothpick as a slightly more upscale amuse-bouche. Here, however, we are already moving away from “simple snacks”.
Trail mix
There are dozens of nut-fruit mixtures, of which the classic “student food” is probably the best known. Various kernels and nuts together with raisins are said to provide energy quickly and boost the head.
Never worked out for me as a student, I still like to feed the staff. You will find different variations in almost every shop – with and without raisins, with certain nuts or without.
However, make sure that certain nuts and nuts such as peanuts can be highly fatty. If you want to take care of your periphery, pay more attention to almonds, hazelnuts and walnuts. In my experience, they grease the least, even if they contain a lot of fat.
Bonus: Fruits, vegetables, and… Skewer?
If you are looking for a healthy alternative, you can of course always nibble some fruit or vegetables and put them in a bowl next to the PC or on the coffee table. Apples, cucumbers, peppers and all varieties of berries are particularly suitable.
For many fruits and vegetables such as bananas or olives, however, cutlery is advisable if you do not want to smear around. In addition, you usually have to prepare the things, which contradicts the idea of a “bag and feed” snack.
But as MyMMO demon Cortyn correctly explained back then: chopsticks help. With chopsticks, you can even feed chips without any problems, without greasing your controller unintentionally. However, this requires some practice.
Eating with chopsticks is especially common in Asian countries. Less here, although it can be quite useful.
In this list, I have mainly recommended snacks that I like to eat myself – even if I don’t do that often anymore. If in doubt, use them as a source of ideas for the next game release you want to play through. Personally, I also love liquorice and especially the salty ones, but since they can vary greatly in their “edibility” when gambling, I have omitted them.
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