Gaming food (no caffeine version)

[Ratio]

Foods that keep you awake without crashing. (No caffeine, no refined sugar, no taurine.)

Water is the one thing that lets you run longer than anything else. Drink a lot. And by a lot, I mean at least three times as much of it as you just thought of.

Tyrosine is an amino acid that is the primary precursor to the brain's production of norepinephrine. Norepinephrine keeps you awake, increases reaction time and makes you learn faster. Tyrosine is found (in quantity) in chicken, turkey, fish, peanuts, almonds, avocados, milk, cheese, yogurt, cottage cheese, pumpkin seeds, and sesame seeds.

Tyramine is derived from tyrosine and it has basically the same effect on your sympathetic nervous system as norepinephrine. It keeps your body awake, your eyes in motion and your fingers fast. Foods containing considerable amounts of tyramine include meats that are pickled, aged, smoked, fermented, or marinated (fish, poultry and beef), most pork (except cured ham), chocolate, most cheeses (except ricotta, cottage cheese, cream cheese and neufchatel cheese), sour cream, yogurt, shrimp paste, soy sauce, teriyaki sauce, tempeh, miso, sauerkraut, snow peas, avocados, bananas, pineapple, eggplant, figs, red plums, raspberries, peanuts, Brazil nuts, coconut, and processed meat (sausage).

Vitamins! Flinstones chewables (children's vitamins) give quick and lasting pick-me-ups. Like gulping a 5 hour energy, except that vitamins are actually good for you and won't give you the shakes after your second day awake.

Eat oatmeal for iron and energy. Use dried fruits (cranberries, figs, cherries) and apples for sweetness.

Stabilize your blood sugar. Keeping your blood sugar even will do more to keep you awake than freebasing pixie stix. Apples, oranges, cashews, whole grain breads and whole grain pasta are good for this. Keep the bread and pasta in moderation, though... Too many carbs will put you down for the count. Eat once every three hours. Eating more often and in smaller portions helps keep you supplied with a steady amount of fuel and also keeps your blood sugar even. Getting up to move around and prepare food will also help keep you alert.

What about vegetables? Tomatoes, carrots, and other brightly colored vegetables are good for energy. If you like peanut butter on your celery, then celery is good too. Leafy vegetables should be eaten in conjunction with other things. In other words, some lettuce on a sandwich is a good thing.

If you're going to order delivery, get sushi. If you can't get good sushi delivered, move.

Consider making a large amount of soup as something you can have warm on the stove or quick to heat. Good candidates are things like Fish Chowder and Ribolitta.

[Fuse]

I will have Bawls.

[Jeyk]

Nice post.  Thank you.

[likwidtek]

Very awesome.

[Erathaol]

There you have it, folks.  There are now no excuses.  If you crash on us during release week, it is entirely your fault and you should feel ashamed of yourself!

[Longboard]

Thanks Dr OZ!

[Sared]

I really like this thread. Good thinking Ratio! Here I thought I was the only one who stayed awake during Nutrition!

I'll add more later, but this was the first recipe card I could find. It's been in my family for generations, and is one of my first standbys for gaming food.

Makes: 1 dozen

1 2/3 C flour
1 C sugar
1 T pumpkin pie spice
1 t baking soda
1/4 t baking powder
1/4 t salt
2 large eggs
1 C plain pumpkin (1/2 can)
1/2 C (1 stick) butter, melted
1 C chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350. Grease muffin cups. Mix flour, sugar, pie spice, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in large bowl. Break eggs into another bowl. Add pumpkin and butter to eggs and whisk until well blended. Stir in chocolate chips. Pour over dry ingredients and fold in w/ spatula just until dry ingredients are moistened. Scoop batter into cups. Bake 20-25 min. Turn onto rack to cool. Store in freezer bag.

I didn't add how much chocolate chips you should use, because it can vary from person to person, so eyeball it. I normally do two and a half handfuls (big wookie hands). Also, before sealing up the bag, make sure to let them rest and let out the heas+moisture, otherwise they'll come out of the bag soggy. Enjoy!

[Sared]

2 boxes macaroni and cheese
1 stick butter
1 C milk
1 can sweet peas
1 can sweet corn
1 can tuna
1 can cream of mushroom soup

Prepare macaroni according to package instructions, melting butter into cooked noodles completely before adding in cheese packets and milk. Keep on low heat and add cream of mushroom soup until mixed in. Drain tuna and vegetables and add in, blending thoroughly before adding each ingredient. Portion and refrigerate in separate Tupperware containers.

This recipe is stupid easy to make. I've made it during a raid, with mono, while fucked up on nyquil. Throw the water on to boil, toss in noodles, give it a quick stir, set to medium heat and come back to it in ten minutes. Please also take note of what was said regarding carbohydrates. Too much and you'll fill up and pass right the fuck out. I'd suggest an apple to go with this, or any other soft fruit that does not require peeling.

[Manic Velocity]

I eat like a bird.  A bottle of tonic water and a bag of sunflower seeds is all I need.

[Ghisteslwchlohm]

Water is the one thing that lets you run longer than anything else. Drink a lot. And by a lot, I mean at least three times as much of it as you just thought of.

Dude, great informatioin. The thing is, I normally drink 2.5 liters of water a day. I'm not sure if three times that amount is healthy. How much water does it take to OD?

[Ratio]

Average people can process 10 liters a day. Unless you've got something that might make you hyponatremic--in which case... Well, you'd know about it since you'd have to have some type of water retention disorder.

2.5L is healthy.

edit:

Let me clarify that. An average person can process 10 liters of water over a 24 hour period. Once. If you drink 10 liters of water a day for a week, you'll be dead or in the hospital because you will induce hyponatremia in yourself.

[Ghisteslwchlohm]

FACT: Hyponatremia is my new favorite word.

[Lithium]

I thought that only existed in the game Oregon Trail.

FUCK, I died of hyponatremia...

[Tbone]

Well, I got some energy drinks and the ingredients to make Sared's casserole for easy meals. Also got sandwich stuff, applesauce, chips - stuff to get me through for a couple of days, hopefully!

[likwidtek]

Average people can process 10 liters a day. Unless you've got something that might make you hyponatremic--in which case... Well, you'd know about it since you'd have to have some type of water retention disorder.

2.5L is healthy.

edit:

Let me clarify that. An average person can process 10 liters of water over a 24 hour period. Once. If you drink 10 liters of water a day for a week, you'll be dead or in the hospital because you will induce hyponatremia in yourself.

LOL so glad you're back in dude.  heh.