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Sophie The Lionhart
Sophie The Lionhart

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Developers turn more than pizza and coffee into code, what do you consume to code

The old adage goes, "A developer is a machine that takes in pizza and coffee, and outputs code.", and while that is a fun little quote, if it were the truth, most devs wouldn't live past 35.

Many of us are very busy little developers, and have trouble getting the time to grab breakfast or lunch, and an even harder time grabbing something that's good for the brain. So my question is, what are your go to foods for quick, no-time dev sessions? Also what techniques do you use to stay hydrated?

Top comments (67)

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sudiukil profile image
Quentin Sonrel

My main fuel is tea. I try not to eat while coding, or even 35 would be quite hard to reach ahah.

When I'm tired I have a tendency to use (and abuse) energy drinks too. I noticed that a cigarette really helps me focus, but I'm not a regular smoker so I usually don't do it.

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bbasile profile image
Basile B.

cig in front of the screen... i did that daily when younger and i can't say how many times i got this damn smoke in the eyes, the hashes on the keyboard and everything becomes sticky. Really bad practice. Vap is much better, although you cant keep the stuff in the mouth but that's exactly how you got the smoke in the eyes so well nvm.

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samuraiseoul profile image
Sophie The Lionhart

Which kinds of tea? Also hot or cold?

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sudiukil profile image
Quentin Sonrel

Mostly green or black but I enjoy white and oolong as well, I just love tea and there is too much awesome teas to stick to one kind only!
As for hot or cold: mostly hot, sometimes cold in the summer but it takes more time to prepare so... laziness kicks in.

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samuraiseoul profile image
Sophie The Lionhart

I just have never been able to get into hot drinks. I even had a hard time with soup until I studied abroad in Korea.

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sudiukil profile image
Quentin Sonrel

Well you can still try cold tea, it's awesome too!

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samuraiseoul profile image
Sophie The Lionhart

I like cold tea, but as you said, its a pain. Have you ever tried to cold brew tea? If so how did that go?

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sudiukil profile image
Quentin Sonrel

Never tried it, no, I'm not sure the result would be great.

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samuraiseoul profile image
Sophie The Lionhart

Just did some googling, looks VERY promising actually.

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desolosubhumus profile image
Desolo Sub Humus 🌎🌍

I just reuse my old Kevita bottles, add cold water and a tea bag, cap it, stick it in the fridge, leave it overnight, and drink it the next day. It's not gourmet by any means, but it's easy and tastes great on a hot day.

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sudiukil profile image
Quentin Sonrel • Edited

<tea-hipster-mode>
Ugh. Tea bags.
</tea-hipster-mode>

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desolosubhumus profile image
Desolo Sub Humus 🌎🌍 • Edited

Eh, well, you've got to go with what's available, so it's tea bags or nothing for me. Well, unless I get confirmation on some of the native plants that started creeping into the yard - I may have a ton of sage tea one of these days.

And hipster mode? I mentioned brewing it in a Kevita bottle, so I think we've got that covered. It's all good.

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stargator profile image
Stargator

Breakfast: Oatmeal (from loose granola mixed with almond milk), banana, pineapple tidbits, and flax seeds

Lunch: Recently, just an apple. But I have had quinoa mixed with chana masala, just quinoa, veggie sandwich, and a veggie wrap.

I drink water and have increased my chewing of gum to balance my need for snacking without the snacks.

If I had snacks they would be black bean tortilla chips with hummus, pretzels (order of preference: minis, nuggets, sticks, big sized pretzels), chocolate bars, or peanut butter bars.

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samuraiseoul profile image
Sophie The Lionhart

Wow, you eat way healthier than I do! Do you bring that from home though especially the lunch stuff or is there somewhere close for you to get that?

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stargator profile image
Stargator

Since I am vegan and we just bought a house. I make my own food aside from the store-bought chana masala, hummus, pretzels, and candy bars.

The oatmeal is easy, I prep that a few days in advance and then take out small portions. Then each morning I assemble it in a container and take it with me. I could assemble it in the evening, but I just don't have that in my routine.

Making my own food has definitely helped reduce my food expenses for the month and since I've made it a habit it's easy to follow through.

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samuraiseoul profile image
Sophie The Lionhart

I didn't realize oatmeal kept. I didn't like it as a kid but maybe I'll give it another shot. Also, is your name related to SG-1? If so, it's always nice to meet another Stargate fan, there's too few of us.

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sudiukil profile image
Quentin Sonrel

I'm a Stargate fan too :D

(yes, this post has no other use than saying that)

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samuraiseoul profile image
Sophie The Lionhart

There are literally dozens of us!

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stargator profile image
Stargator

There are millions if us!

I'm a fan of SG1, SGU, and SGA in that order.

I am actually in the process of deciding whether or not to use my real name and/or change my GitHub username to something that resembles my name.

I haven't decided. The biggest fears I have is loss of name recognition and disassociating what I've contributed on other projects from the new name.

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samuraiseoul profile image
Sophie The Lionhart

Name changes are hard, I would say don't bother changing it unless you become like twitter famous or something. But I'm not super famous, so no reason to listen to me!

Also SGU before SGA? Rare to see that preference! Anyways, is going vegan part of your journey to ascension? :P

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stargator profile image
Stargator

No journey to ascension as far as I know. Just got some alone time happened to read some online articles about it and for ethical reasons decided to make the change.

Figuring out a way to have sweets was very helpful in keeping me on track.

As far as I SGA, I still like all the shows of Stargate, I just was ready for a show with a different formula than SG1.

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desolosubhumus profile image
Desolo Sub Humus 🌎🌍

I tend to go for a strange combination (but not all at once) of coffee, tea, kombucha, salads, and whatever my husband plans for dinner, with a bit of heat added by me. I can't help it if I grew up on chilies. I also can't help it if he can't handle habaneros, much less ghost peppers.

TL;DR Caffeine and spiciness.

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samuraiseoul profile image
Sophie The Lionhart

Work him up. One capsaicin molecule, then two, then three, increasing by one a day until he can handle spicy food! It may take a long time though.

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desolosubhumus profile image
Desolo Sub Humus 🌎🌍

Well, it's been 20 years, and he's still in the ketchup is hot phase. The weird part is that we lived in Korea together for a year - he should be used to it after that. Gochujang on all the things...

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samuraiseoul profile image
Sophie The Lionhart

Has no excuse then lol. Were you teaching there? I studied there for 2 semesters.

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desolosubhumus profile image
Desolo Sub Humus 🌎🌍 • Edited

I was stationed there for 3 years, actually. US Army...

He was allowed to stay with me for only 1 year of it, though.

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samuraiseoul profile image
Sophie The Lionhart

Cool, Yongsan?

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desolosubhumus profile image
Desolo Sub Humus 🌎🌍

No, Weagwan and Uijongbu, actually. Where did you go for your 2 semesters?

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jackharner profile image
Jack Harner 🚀

For me, it's cannabis. Give me a couple puffs and a blank text editor and I can usually pump out something awesome. It just gets me so focused and in the zone I'm way more productive.

Coffee also helps as a workplace friendly alternative.

Give me a little of both and who knows what I could accomplish!

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samuraiseoul profile image
Sophie The Lionhart

Haha living the sober life here, but that's an interesting method. I would just eat 100 chicken nuggets and pass out if I tried to code while high.

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jackharner profile image
Jack Harner 🚀

It's definitely the thing I am most disciplined about. If I wanna be high all the time, I HAVE to be productive while I do it. Can't slip into the lazy stoner bum stereotype.

After a while it became normal and if I get stoned and don't do anything, I'm usually thinking about what to do and then that makes me want to go do it.

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samuraiseoul profile image
Sophie The Lionhart

That's some next level discipline there.

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jackharner profile image
Jack Harner 🚀

Yet somehow I can't get myself to the gym 3 times a week! [Crying_while_eating_a_pizza_emoji.png]

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maestromac profile image
Mac Siri

A lot of gum! gets my brain going real fast.

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ravernkoh profile image
Ravern Koh

Would really love to do this too! Unfortunately I live in Singapore...

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maestromac profile image
Mac Siri

Wow, TIL gums are banned in Singapore. 😞

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ravernkoh profile image
Ravern Koh

Not gum itself. The sale of gum is banned.

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samuraiseoul profile image
Sophie The Lionhart

Does your jaw not tire after a while? Also I find gum makes me super hungry after a bit of chewing.

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maestromac profile image
Mac Siri

Depends on how furiously I want to get stuff done, but generally my jaw doesn't get tired. Gums used to make me hungry but I've been abusing it so much it doesn't produce that effect on me anymore 🤷🏼‍♂️

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stargator profile image
Stargator

I chew gum too while coding, but it just makes me thirsty, then I drink water :)

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samuraiseoul profile image
Sophie The Lionhart

I'm a big fan of Uncrustables(frozen pre-made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches) for a quick breakfast. Unfortunately though if I don't have leftovers, the chance of a healthy lunch, or lunch at all are slim. :(

I try and keep sparkling water around and drink it liberally but if its gone I often forget to drink enough water. Normally due to a lack of a water cooler(getting one though).

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jackharner profile image
Jack Harner 🚀

I don't know what your tap water is like, but for the longest time we had one of those Brita things that screws on over your kitchen faucet like this. Instant delicious filtered water.

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samuraiseoul profile image
Sophie The Lionhart

We talked about getting one but our sink in the office sucks, like the actual sink unit, not the water, and we can't really fix it, so we're gonna get a cooler that hooks into the water line from the sounds of it as long as the building owner agrees.

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jackharner profile image
Jack Harner 🚀

Oh ya, a water-line fed cooler is probably the way to go then. At my work we use one of those 5 gallon jug coolers and refill our jugs at the closest place with quarters out of our massive gumball machine (The office is part retail store, so the staff aren't the only ones funding our water).

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kayis profile image
K

In the heat, smoothies, especially from frozen fruit with mint.

Also, italian salad, almost every delivery service has it here in Germany. It isn't as heavy as a full meal, but more than a regular salad.

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pdrmdrs profile image
Pedro Paulo Paiva de Medeiros

In my country, especially in my state, there is a snack called "Tareco", which is some kind of bite-sized wheat and butter cookies. I can easily eat a whole sack of these in a regular day of work.
To make a combination, I just get black coffe or water, whatever it is available to get to work at the moment.

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samuraiseoul profile image
Sophie The Lionhart

Interesting, they look a lot like Nilla wafers here in the ol' USA. But ours have vanilla flavoring and are the most important part of banana pudding....

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pdrmdrs profile image
Pedro Paulo Paiva de Medeiros

These Nilla wafers looks delicious too, :3. I need to remind me to prove some when I get the chance.

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alanmbarr profile image
Alan Barr

Usually my go to is coffee but I do like tea. Lots of tempting snacks at work but I try to stick to non processed foods. Usually nuts, carrots, grapes, yogurt. Sometimes I cheat and eat potato chips or m and ms

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itsasine profile image
ItsASine (Kayla)

Fun fact: I hate pizza. Anything with tomatoes, really. (except ketchup, but that's sugar and vinegar so it doesn't count)

  • Breakfast: Nothing. Sleep.
  • Lunch: Jimmy John's or Panera take out since I can order online and pick it up when I remember to. If I need to work on homework over lunch instead of taking it at my desk, I'll get something from one of the other eateries in the area and dine in with a laptop
  • Dinner: One of the eateries in the area or a convinience meal at home
  • Drink: Mountain Dew or beer

This week for groceries I bought little breakfast cookies to dip into coffee at my desk at work for breakfast and turkey and cheese for lunch. So we'll see how this goes. I won't get my new drink tumbler in the mail until Wednesday, but I need to figure out how to cut out pop by the end of the year since I dislike being chubby.

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avalander profile image
Avalander

For me it's porridge, cereals with cold milk (oat milk, I can't even stand the smell cow milk) and mocha tea.

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samuraiseoul profile image
Sophie The Lionhart

What kind of porridge? Also what is mocha tea? I was under the impression that mocha was chocolate flavored coffee.

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avalander profile image
Avalander • Edited

I meant matcha tea, sorry 😅too similar words. It's oat porridge, I boil a measure of oats with a measure and a half of water until the oats absorb all the water, some times I add some honey, and then I pour it into a bowl and add oat milk.

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samuraiseoul profile image
Sophie The Lionhart

Isn't that oatmeal? Lol sounds good though. And understandable, matcha and mocha do sound similar!

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avalander profile image
Avalander

I think in UK people tend to call it porridge.

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coolbalance profile image
Gregory Bruce

Canada it's oatmeal porridge. 555 (thai for laughing hahaha). Love how the world is different and the same.

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codemouse92 profile image
Jason C. McDonald • Edited

I love coffee, so the adage is quite true on me. However, although I'm immune to most of the effects of caffeine (doctor-confirmed), I do have to be extra mindful of my hydration.

I've noticed that, if I keep a cup or mug of anything in front of me on the desk, I will instinctively drink from it, and refill it whenever it goes empty. Thus, instead of keeping my coffee mug there, I keep a water glass. If I'm bored of that, I'll switch to a mug of herbal tea.

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wizkid_alex profile image
Alex Oladele

I'm a young developer so my answer might be different, but I typically go for tea and candy. Caffeine upsets my stomach so I really stick with green tea, and I usually eat Skittles or Mike and Ike's or gobstoppers

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jfrankcarr profile image
Frank Carr

Coffee? Yes, please. We have a very nice coffee machine in our new office that's great. I have to pace myself so I don't get a caffeine buzz. I also have to avoid the settings that make a sugary latte or the like.

Speaking of sugar and carbs, I used not to be careful with my diet. I'd eat almost constantly all day long as I coded. This caused me to develop health issues because I was 100 pounds overweight. I decided about 2 years ago to get rid of that excess baggage so now I'm about 90 pounds lighter and feeling better.

I mainly did it by eating healthier, low sugar and low calorie, and exercise. Most of my meals during the day were protein shakes with fiber to add bulk to make me feel full. While I'm not quite as strict now, I make sure that I maintain a limit on the amount of sugar, carbs and calories I eat so that I won't bounce back up.

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arielleslie profile image
Ariel

I get by mostly on mixed nuts and diet coke (in addition to the standard pizza and coffee). I also keep a loaf of bread in my desk and a jar of nuts 'n' more for my chocolate craving and added protein.