Adequate Data: Fun Food & Drinks

These are a list of ideas meant to inspire creative thought.

Improvements

Add cinnamon to applesauce, pear sauce or oatmeal.

For an original flavor, put taco seasoning on carrots.

Add celery sticks to a low peanut butter jar for a quick to-go snack.

Bacon:
  • Bacon French fries: wrap fries with bacon before baking.
  • Bacon weave:
    • Weave and bake bacon at 400 °F to add to sandwiches or burgers.
    • Prop the weave up before baking to make a taco.
  • Bacon taco salad bowl:
    • Bake bacon on the underside of a muffin tin covered with aluminum foil.

Burgers:
  • Mac and cheeseburgers:
    • Put macaroni & cheese on a hamburger patty and cover with bread.
  • Blue cheese and jalapeño burgers:
    • Mix ground hamburger with blue cheese, jalapeños, peanut butter or anything else you want.
  • Put a thumb indentation in the middle of a burger patty to cook it flat instead of round.

Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches:
  • Add bananas to the sandwich.
  • Use maple syrup or honey instead of jelly.
  • Grill your sandwich.
  • To keep jelly from soaking into bread on sandwiches, spread peanut butter on both sides of the bread and put the jelly in the middle.

Junk food

Make batches of hot dogs in a coffee pot.

Microwave taquitos evenly by stacking cross-wise to each other in a square

Make tortilla shells by baking them on an upside-down muffin pan between the muffin holes.

Make your own tortilla chips:
  1. Cut corn tortillas into chips.
  2. Arrange on a baking sheet.
  3. Spray oil and sprinkle salt.
  4. Bake at 350 °F for 10 minutes.

Cheesy Chex Mix:
  1. Pour a mixture of the following into a glass pan:
    • Three cups Chex cereal
    • Two cups mini pretzels
    • A cup of cheese crackers
    • 3/4 cup of grated Parmesan cheese
    • 1/2 stick of melted butter
  2. Bake at 325° for fifteen minutes.

Fried Potatoes:
  • Cut potatoes almost all the way through.
  • Pour olive oil and butter over the top, then season with salt and pepper.
  • Bake at 425 °F for 40 minutes.

Fruit roll-ups:
  • Purée fresh fruit and spread thinly on parchment paper, then dry for 5–8 hours in oven for 170 °F.
  • Fortune cookie roll-ups — fold fruit roll-ups into fortune cookies.
  • Gusher blunt — roll Gusher candy inside fruit roll-ups.
  • Dessert sushi — wrap Rice Krispies treats, Swedish fish, and Twizzlers with fruit roll-ups.

Grilled cheese sandwiches:
  • Put cheese in between slices of bread, then place in a brown paper bag and use an iron on medium/medium-high setting for both sides.
  • Make batches by baking them between two baking sheets.
  • If you’re toasting sandwiches, put two slices in one slot to keep the inside untoasted.

Pizza:
  • Mix a cup of Greek yogurt with a cup of self-rising flour.
  • Pizza cupcakes — put pizza dough inside muffin tins, add whatever toppings you want, then bake.

Popcorn:
  • Popcorn pops better when stored cold (e.g., refrigerator).
  • Make popcorn from scratch:
    1. Dump half a cup of popcorn and butter or oil into a shallow metal bowl.
    2. Cover with foil and poke a few holes to let air escape.
    3. Use metal tongs or oven mitts on a range over medium heat.
    4. Stop when the popping slows and add salt to taste.
  • After preparing a microwave bag, open it slightly, hold it upside down over the trash can, and shake out the kernels.

Ramen noodles:
  • Make ramen in a coffee maker.
  • Cheesy ramen noodles:
    • Pour boiled water over the noodles, stir and drain.
    • Mix with 1/4 cup cheese and 1/4 cup milk.
  • Prison ramen (aka “The Spread”):
    • Mix any leftover food you have in a bowl or pot with generous amounts of broken-up ramen.
      • The original recipe in prisons uses a trash bag.
    • Add any spices you want.
    • Pour hot water over the mixture and let it sit for 10–20 minutes.

Tacos:
  • Bake taco shells to harden them and add rice and cheese when baking.
  • When making hard-shell tacos, put the cheese layer on the bottom for the meat to melt it and keep the taco together.
  • Wrap a soft tortilla around a crunchy one to hold everything together.
    • Optionally, add beans and cheese between the tortillas.
  • Portable taco salad:
    • Mix taco ingredients into a bag of Fritos or Doritos.

Creative ways to eat

Cut slits in corn dogs to stuff them with condiments.

Dip fries straight into a ketchup packet.

Unroll the rim of disposable ketchup containers to increase its holding capacity.

Make ketchup flow from a glass bottle by sliding a drinking straw into it.

Remove the metal bar from Chinese takeout containers to unfold them into plates.

If you have a large burger falling apart, flip it upside-down.

Pizza:
  • Make a pizza bib by flipping a pizza box around on your lap for the lid to cover your chest when opened.
  • Improvise plates by ripping a pizza box lid into quarters.

Tacos and burritos:
  • Eat tacos over a tortilla to make another taco when food falls out.
  • Hold your burrito in a coffee mug.
  • Hold your taco up between the tines of a fork.

Breakfast:
  • When eating pancakes, cut a hole through the middle and fill with syrup.
  • Pour the last part of a bag of cereal through a strainer or sifter to get rid of cereal dust.
  • Pour milk over an upside-down spoon to prevent it from spilling out.

Various snacks:
  • Portable snack pouch — reverse a hoodie.
  • Instant chip bowl — roll up the bottom of a chip bag inward until the chips are even with the bag opening.
  • Improvise a spoon out of container lids.
  • If a spoon’s weight keeps knocking over a yogurt container, rotate the spoon 180° to rest it.
  • Shake cans of mixed nuts before eating them for the larger ones to rise to the top
  • Pour Cheetos and Doritos into your hand or use chopsticks to prevent dust on fingers.
  • Microwave a Nature Valley bar for 30 seconds to prevent crumbs when you eat it.
  • Pringles come out more easily if you slide a piece of paper inside the container and slide out as you eat.
  • Sugarless gum breaks when folded in half, but sweetened gum bends.

Fruits and veggies:
  • Dip cauliflower in barbecue sauce.
  • Buy bananas in various degrees of ripeness to have a ripe one every day.
  • Remove strawberry stems by stabbing from the bottom with a straw.
  • Open bananas from the opposite side of the stem to avoid “strings” sticking to the banana.

Desserts

Store sweets better:
  • Keep ice cream soft by placing it in a sealed freezer bag.
  • Press on the top of the container to verify ice cream quality:
    • If it presses down, it was thawed and refrozen but was stored correctly if it’s solid.

Eat sweets better:
  • Eat popsicles without a mess by stabbing it through a muffin paper.
  • Use an upside-down colander to hold cake pops and popsicles.
  • Eat Hershey’s Kisses by pulling the foil and paper strip at the same time.
  • Turn a cupcake into a cupcake sandwich by breaking off the bottom and putting it on top of the cupcake.
  • Enjoying cookies:
    • To dunk cookies in milk, stab them with a fork.
    • Break up Chips Ahoy or Oreos and put into a bowl, add milk and eat it like cereal.
  • Eat ice cream in a sugar cone without a mess by placing a mini marshmallow or sprinkles on the bottom of the cone.
  • Soften overly hardened ice cream:
    • Microwave ice cream in ten-second bursts for about thirty seconds per liter.
  • Slice ice cream in half vertically to use it as a bowl.
  • Slice a hard ice cream cake by running a large knife under hot water before slicing.

Prep sweets conveniently:
  • Freeze cookie dough balls for when you want to use them later.
  • Oreo seasoning:
    • Crush the chocolate cookie part of Oreos into powder and put in a dispenser.
  • Use an ice cream scoop to evenly separate muffin batter into muffin trays.
  • Frosting:
    • Whip frosting in a mixer to double its size.
    • Instead of frosting, use ice cream barely warmed to spreadable.
    • Set a big marshmallow on top of cupcakes as soon as you take them out of the oven.
  • People tend to overcook brown sugar:
    • Throw a wet paper towel in the box, then cook in the microwave for 20–30 seconds.
  • Bake cookies in a muffin tray to keep them from spreading or becoming hard.
  • Bake pre-packaged cinnamon rolls on a waffle iron.
  • Make better chocolate cakes by adding a teaspoon of vinegar.
  • Melt chocolate easily:
    1. Cut chocolate into tiny pieces and place in a bowl.
    2. Heat by cycling fifteen seconds of heat with fifteen seconds of rest.
    3. Repeat until you’ve reached your desired consistency, lightly stirring when it starts melting.
  • When a Nutella or peanut butter jar is nearly empty, add ice cream to finish it off.
  • Slice cake with a hot knife to cut it perfectly:
    • Run the knife under hot water for a minute, then wipe it dry.
  • When you bake with butter and sugar, mix them into a cream to create an even consistency after baking it.
  • If a cake recipe asks to flour the pan, use dry cake mix instead.

Fruit desserts:
  • Caramel apple slices:
    1. Cut out the inside of half of an apple.
    2. Pour in hot caramel.
    3. Let it harden in the freezer.
    4. Cut into slices.
  • Chocolate bananas:
    • Dip bananas in chocolate.
    • Add sprinkles or crushed nuts.
    • Freeze until it hardens.
  • Chocolate strawberries:
    • Freeze chocolate and strawberries together in an ice tray.
  • Frozen bananas:
    1. Peel 2-4 ripe bananas and let them sit in the freezer for an hour.
    2. Slice up and put in a blender.
    3. If preferred, add chocolate chips or peanut butter.
  • Fruit popsicles:
    1. Put various fruits in a plastic cup.
    2. Pour orange juice over it.
    3. Set a popsicle stick in it and let freeze.
  • Hard smoothie:
    • Freeze a mixture of yogurt, strawberries, and pistachios.
  • Kiwi chocolate pops:
    1. Cut kiwifruit into one-centimeter slices.
    2. Stab each with a popsicle stick.
    3. Dip in melted milk chocolate.
    4. Freeze until chocolate hardens.
  • Nutella and bananas:
    • Mix Nutella with bananas, then spread onto bread
  • Nutella and strawberries:
    • Spread Nutella on French bread and add strawberry halves.
  • Nutella strawberries:
    1. Cut off the top of a strawberry and take out its core.
    2. Add Nutella and use the top as a lid.
  • Strawberry shortcake roll:
    1. Cut the crust off white bread.
    2. Roll up strawberry pieces inside the bread.
  • Yogurt strawberries
    • Cut strawberries in half, dip in yogurt, and freeze.

Cakes and sweetbreads:
  • Bacon cinnamon rolls:
    • Unroll cinnamon rolls before baking, then roll bacon back into them.
  • Coffee mug brownies:
    1. Mix sugar, cocoa, salt, cinnamon, and flour in a mug.
    2. Pour in water, vanilla, and oil.
    3. Mix until lumps no longer appear.
    4. Microwave for 100 seconds.
  • Coffee mug cookie:
    1. Microwave a tablespoon of butter or margarine for 30 seconds.
    2. Add 2 tablespoons of sugar, 3 drops of vanilla extract, and an egg’s yolk.
    3. Stir with a fork, then add 4 tablespoons of flour and chocolate chips, marshmallows, M&Ms or Oreos
    4. Microwave for 2 minutes.
  • Cookie bowls:
    • Bake cookie dough on an upside-down muffin tray and fill with dessert items like ice cream or candy.
  • Cookie pizza:
    1. Flatten cookie dough on a baking sheet and cover with a layer of Nutella.
    2. Sprinkle Oreo crumbs, sprinkles, marshmallows, caramel bits, peanut butter, coconut flakes, M&M’s or chocolate chips, then bake until melted.
  • Ice cream bread:
    1. Mix two cups of any flavor ice cream with a cup and a half of self-raising flour until you’ve moistened all the flour.
    2. Bake in a greased bread tin at 350 °F for 45 minutes.
  • Ice cream cone surprise:
    • Fill ice cream cones with sweet ingredients, wrap in foil, and bake or heat over a campfire.
  • Ice cream cupcakes:
    • Bake cupcake batter inside ice cream cones.
    • Alternately, set an ice cream cone on top of cupcake batter for it to rise into it when it bakes.
  • Kit Kat brownies:
    1. Pour half a batch of brownie mix into a cake pan.
    2. Set Kit Kats on the mix.
    3. Pour the rest over it and bake.
  • Lumps of coal:
    1. Crush up a package of Oreos.
    2. Mix in 5 cups of marshmallows.
    3. Add 4 tablespoons of butter and bake in a large tray.
  • Nutella cinnamon rolls:
    • Add Nutella on top of cinnamon rolls before baking.
  • Nutella cookies:
    • Mix a cup of Nutella, an egg, and a cup of flour.
    • Bake at 350 °F for 6–8 minutes.
  • Nutella S’Mores pizza:
    • Spread a thick layer of Nutella on flat crust pre-made pizza dough.
    • Sprinkle mini-marshmallows over the top.
    • Grill for 10–15 minutes.
  • Orange rind cinnamon rolls:
    • Prepare cinnamon rolls inside orange peel halves.
  • Oreo brownies:
    • Bake a mixture of Oreos, 5 cups of marshmallows, 4 tablespoons of butter.
  • Oreo kettle corn:
    • Mix crushed Oreos with popcorn.
    • Melt white chocolate and drizzle over the bowl.
  • Pancake muffins:
    • Pour pancake mix into cookie trays 3/4 full.
    • Push fruit or chocolate chips into the mix.
    • Bake at 350 °F for 12 minutes.
  • Peanut butter cup pie pops:
    1. Cut out dough into circles and sandwich a peanut butter cup in between two of them.
    2. Make ridges and then stab through with a popsicle stick.
    3. Pour caramel and chocolate syrup onto it, then bake.
  • Reese’s cookie brownies:
    1. Flatten cookie dough in the bottom of a muffin tray.
    2. Place a Reese’s cup or Oreo on top of it.
    3. Top with brownie mix to 3/4 full.
    4. Bake at 350 °F for 18 minutes.
  • Rolo-stuffed Ritz crackers:
    1. Set Ritz crackers on a baking sheet.
    2. Place one Rolo candy large-side down on each cracker.
    3. Bake at 350 °F for 3–5 minutes.
    4. Add another cracker on top and push down a little, then let it cool.

Ice cream and popsicles:
  • Ben & Jerry’s sandwich:
    1. Cut a horizontal slice out of an ice cream box.
    2. place the ice cream slice between 2 cookies.
      1. Alternately, use a cinnamon roll.
    3. Remove the paper.
  • Gummy bear popsicles:
    • Freeze gummy bears in Sprite with a popsicle stick.
  • Ice cream cake:
    • Stack ice cream sandwiches horizontally into a tower, then cover with frosting and syrup.
  • Nutella popsicles:
    1. Mix 2 cups of cool whip, 6 tablespoons of Nutella, and a cup of milk.
    2. Pour into popsicle molds and freeze.
  • Oreo ice cream:
    • Crush Oreos into a paper cup and pour in milk, then freeze with a popsicle stick.
  • Root beer float popsicles:
    • Let root beer freeze at an angle on one side of a popsicle mold.
    • Add room-temperature vanilla ice cream and freeze.
  • Wendy’s Frosty
    • Let three cups of vanilla ice cream soften in the fridge for an hour.
    • Blend the ice cream with a cup of milk and half a cup of Nesquik powder until smooth.

Roasting marshmallows:
  • Stuff candy inside marshmallows before roasting them:
    • Rolos Minis
    • Chocolate chips
    • Peanut butter cups
    • Strawberries
  • Unbend a wire hanger to roast marshmallows easily over an open fire.
    • Use a clean garden rake to roast many at once.
  • S’Mores
    1. Roast marshmallows.
    2. Set on a graham cracker.
    3. Add a square of chocolate, then cover again with another graham cracker.
      • Try Oreos or fudge-striped cookies instead of graham crackers.
  • Baked S’Mores:
    • Bake marshmallows in between graham crackers on a baking sheet, then pour chocolate over it.
  • Indoor S’Mores:
    1. Layer a pan with chocolate chips.
    2. Add a layer of thick marshmallows.
    3. Set on medium heat, then spoon onto graham crackers.
  • S’Mores cookies:
    • Make a cold S’More, then wrap it in cookie dough and bake.

Hard candies and other ideas:
  • Butterfinger bark candy bar:
    1. Microwave 12 oz of chocolate chips in a dish in 30-second intervals, stirring each time until completely melted.
    2. Spread melted chocolate on a foil-lined baking sheet.
    3. Microwave 20 oz candy corn in a separate bowl for 90–120 seconds, or until melted.
    4. Stir the candy corn rapidly, then stir in 1.25 cups creamy peanut butter, mix well to combine.
    5. Carefully spread the candy corn mixture over the chocolate layer.
    6. Microwave another 12 oz of chocolate chips in a dish in 30-second intervals, stirring each time until completely melted.
    7. Spread melted chocolate over candy corn layer.
    8. Refrigerate for about an hour until set, then cut with a knife or cookie cutter.
  • Cereal treats:
    1. Mix any cereal (usually Rice Krispies) and mini marshmallows into a greased bowl.
    2. Microwave for 30 seconds
    3. Let it harden for 1–2 minutes, then add toppings and mold into bars.
  • Chocolate bowls:
    1. Dip balloons in chocolate and wait for them to harden.
    2. Deflate the balloon and fill the bowl with dessert.
  • Jelly worms:
    1. Pack straws in a cup and tie together with a rubber band.
    2. Make gelatin mix or melt jelly.
    3. Carefully pour into the straws.
    4. Once the worms set, rinse with warm water for them to slide out.
  • Jello Oranges:
    • Cut oranges in halves and pull out the slices.
    • Fill the rinds with Jello and let them harden.
    • Cut them into slices.
  • Jolly Rancher popsicles:
    • Place popsicle sticks evenly on wax paper, set three Jolly Ranchers on the end of each popsicle stick, bake at 200 °F for five minutes
      Mint brittle — place mint candies next to each other on a cookie sheet and bake for five minutes
  • Toasted Starburst:
    • Roast Starburst candies over a fire with chopsticks.
  • Whipped Nutella butter:
    • Mix Nutella, peanut butter and whipped topping together.

Drinks

Prepare drinks easily:
  • Freeze the proportions of fruits for smoothies together in bags.
  • With a powdered drink, put a piece of tape across the container’s opening to run your spoon over.

Improve how you drink:
  • Tap the side of a shaken soda can to release built-up bubbles.
  • Sprinkle salt on a napkin or coaster to prevent the drink from sticking to it.
  • Sip your drinks instead of gulping to thoroughly enjoy them, especially if the drink is high-calorie.
  • Stab a straw through a muffin paper to keep flies away from a drink.
  • On a soda can, slip a straw through the tab to prevent it from rising out of it.

Ice tricks:
  • Freeze boiled water to make clear ice cubes.
  • Add fruit to water in an ice cube tray.
  • Avoid diluting your drink:
    • Wrap your drink in a wet paper towel and store in the freezer for 15 minutes.
    • Wrap your drink in a cloth and set under cold running water for 10 minutes.
    • Use frozen grapes.
    • Keep a pitcher cold by floating a plastic cup of ice in it.
    • Fill the ice tray with the drink itself or a good mixer.
    • Spray a can of compressed air upside-down on your drink.

Keep drinks ready in the fridge:
  • Shake up soda before refrigerating to keep it carbonated.
  • Empty a box of sodas into a fridge easily:
    1. Open one side and face it to the rear of the fridge.
    2. Open the other side once you’ve set it in.
    3. Hold the cans as you pull the box toward you.
  • Rip a 12-pack in half at its weakest point and stand both sides upright in the fridge.
  • Place a towel or paper towels under the back of a box of cans for them to roll forward as you grab them.
  • Make a can pyramid in your fridge by securing it with a binder clip.

Some fun drink recipes:
  • Apple cider:
    1. Hollow out an apple.
    2. Pour in apple cider.
    3. Add a lemon slice and a cinnamon stick.
  • Banana smoothie:
    • Put 2-4 peeled bananas in a blender.
    • Add chocolate chips or a few tablespoons of peanut butter.
  • Double chocolate chip frappé:
    • Blend 1 cup milk, 2 tablespoons of sugar, 1/3 cup chocolate chips, 3 tablespoons of chocolate syrup, 2 cups of ice, and 1/8 teaspoon of vanilla extract.
  • Gatorade:
    • Add salt to Kool-Aid.
  • Ginger cider:
    • Mix ginger ale and apple cider.
  • Healthy smoothie:
    • Blend 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon, 1/2 serving of protein powder, 3 ounces of yogurt, 1 cup of milk or water, 2 cups of fruit, and 1 cup of greens.
  • Mountain Dew Baja Blast:
    • Mix 75% Mountain Dew and 25% Blue Powerade.
  • Nutella hot chocolate
    • Combine Nutella and milk and heat in the microwave.
  • Rainbow mist:
    • Freeze water with various food coloring, add the ice to a glass in layers and fill with Sierra Mist.
  • Soda slushie:
    • Freeze soda for 3 hours to near-freezing.

Coffee

Make Oreo ice cubes:
  1. Crumble up Oreos into an ice tray.
  2. Pour milk over it and freeze.
  3. Add it to coffee when you want.

Make your own pumpkin spice latte:
  • Blend the following:
    • A cup of milk
    • 2 cups of ice
    • 3 tablespoons of canned pumpkin
    • 2–4 tablespoons of coffee
    • 1 tablespoon of pumpkin pie spice

Alcoholic Drinks

Goblet of Fire:
  1. Mix 1 ounce of vodka, 1 ounce of blue Curaçao, 3 ounces of lemonade, and a splash of Bacardi 151.
  2. Add a pinch of cinnamon.
  3. Light it on fire.

Holiday drink:
  • Freeze coffee in an ice tray.
  • Toss them into a cup of Bailey’s mixed with vanilla vodka.

Kool-Aid vodka:
  1. Put three different Kool-Aid flavor ice cubes in Sprite.
  2. Add 1–2 shots of vodka for the drink flavor to change as it melts.

Liquor popsicles:
  1. Fill cups with your favorite alcoholic drink.
  2. Freeze for two hours.
  3. Add a popsicle stick and lime/lemon slice across the top.
  4. Freeze for several more hours.

Martini:
  1. Mix 1 part dry vermouth with 4-5 parts gin.

Skittle vodka:
  1. Add a single flavor of Skittles to vodka to create that flavor and color drink.

Alcohol-based snacks

“Hard” fruit:
  1. Cut a hole in a fruit.
  2. Pour in alcohol.
  3. The fruit will absorb the alcohol.

“Hard” candy:
  • Mix vodka and candy in a container and let it sit for a whole day.

Marshmallow liqueur:
  • Dip roasted marshmallows in Baileys.

Portable Margarita:
  • Soak a watermelon in tequila.
  • Dip the watermelon in coarse salt.

Strawberry Margarita Jello Shots:
  1. Carve out the insides of strawberries.
  2. Mix Jello with tequila.
  3. Pour the mixture into the strawberries and let it harden.
  4. Roll the strawberries in salt and attach a lime wedge.