Raiding Food (the real stuff!)!

Raids can span over several hours or more, and snacks--even meals--are consumed during them. I do make an effort to keep generally healthy snacks in the house, but convenience and ease of eating the food are what makes a true "raid snack!"

• Healthy Stuff
• Drinks
• Junk Foods
  

Healthy Stuff

Baby Carrots
- These are a favorite of a few of those that I raid with (most notably the GM of vortex! Crazy carrot lady!). They can be purchased ready to eat, often in a resealable bag, and are just as good chilled as they are at room temperature after being left sitting on your desk for hours.

Bagels
- Plain bagels don't tend to result in too many crumbs, and you can spread it with some cream cheese if you have time or the inclination.

Soft Pretzels
- These can be found in the freezer section of some groceries, and can be quickly nuked up for a warm pretzel. Bit of mustard goes well, but like most condiments, too much will make things messy and could also negate the whole health thing ;)

Apples/Pears/Seedless Grapes/Berries/Bananas
- These fruits aren't as juicy/messy as many others, and can be munched without too much trouble. Cherries may work well too if you can deal with the pits. You can pre-slice the larger fruits if you want.

Dried Fruits and nuts
- Dried cranberries, raisins, banana chips, dried apples, apricots, mango, pineapple, etc. I especially love dried mango, though it can be very expensive per ounce! Some dried fruits and nuts may come with coatings of sugar or salts (or other flavors) that will require a napkin.

Popcorn
- Reduce the amount of butter/salt/flavorings to reduce the amount of finger residue. This will need to be prepared during a break, however, since you'll need to monitor your popcorn as it cooks to keep it from burning.

Granola Bars
- Go druid. Of course, those drenched in chocolate and sugars will be less healthy than those not!

Fruit Snacks
- though my jaw dropped when my preferred kind, Welch's, was relocated to the candy isle, while the stuff like Gushers were left next to the granola. I don't get it. >.> FYI, the "Florida's Natural" brand fruit snacks are rated highest for nutrition on that website.

Crackers
- Some may not be healthy, of course, but most brands of crackers are better than most brands of potato chips, I would think :D Some, like Cheez-Its, may still require a napkin to clean hands.

Cheese
- String Cheese, or even just a brick of cheese with a knife. Take the opportunity to try out new kinds of cheeses from your grocery store... harvarti's my current favorite. Just watch the saturated fat, cholesterol, and sodium contents, as this can vary between cheeses and brands.

Soup
- in a cup. Mugs work well. You won't want a very chunky soup with large pieces in it, though, unless you have time for utensils! I love canned tomato soup, though you can also mix up your own soup using canned veggies (with the liquid), broth, and small chunks of meat if you prefer.

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Drinks

Smoothies
- If you have a blender, mixing up a smoothie before raid-time is a great alternative to soda, and a way to consume those messy fruits that you may otherwise skip. You can find lots of recipes online.

Juice
- A better alternative to soda. It can be cheaper to get these as frozen concentrates. Try to choose juices with as high a juice percent as you can; the rest in those "juice cocktails" is just sugar/sweetener (corn syrup) and water.

Tea
- You can stock up on multiple varieties of tea bags. One of my favorites is White Pear. Many teas can be chilled as well, though would need advance preparation to allow cooling time.

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Junk Foods

Nachos
- I like to take Tostitos (restaurant-style tortilla chips) and layer them on a plate with shredded cheddar cheese, then nuke it for 30-45 seconds to make it gooey. You can usually avoid getting the cheese on your fingers, but the salt makes napkins necessary. Adding salsa/sour creme will make it much messier, however. Depending on your chips and cheese (and any other toppings), this may be more healthy than most other junk foods.

Potato Chips
- Avoid the cheese-dusted ones unless you don't mind getting your mouse/keyboard messy or have a large stash of napkins and time to clean your hands between munches and playing. Baked ones may be better for you, and likely will have less to dirty your fingers with.

Pretzels
- The bagged kind, they're hard and clean enough of a finger food that they're pretty good as a raid munchie. Some may come with flavored coatings, though... I do like the honey mustard kind!

Oreos (or other cookies)
- With milk. Om nom nom. Don't drop a soggy cookie on your keyboard. :3 Do note that it is usually cheaper to buy store-brand cookie dough (or even mixing your own dough) and baking your own warm cookies than it is to buy the pre-packaged varieties.

Snack Cakes
- These can be pretty expensive and usually very unhealthy, but I will admit that many taste really good and they can be so convenient.

Candy
- Gummy Bears, Skittles, M&M's, etc. Lindt Lindor Truffles are excellent, though individually wrapped.


~~ Have suggestions for the list? I'd like to keep it growing!~~