Breakfast Bar?

[David H]

So on my longer hikes I really struggle to force down a fully cooked breakfast. I've resorted to Snickers for breakfast at times since it's really easy to get up and going and my hunger will come back late morning/early afternoon when I'll opt for something more substantial. I'm wondering if any of you have a recommendation for a decent breakfast bar? I'm not really interested in making them on my own, and the trail mix/gorp that I'll be bringing would likely be better to spread out later in the day. Cliff bars are a bit much for breakfast so any recommended alternatives out there?

[Ken Thompson]

There are some smaller Pro Bar meal bar that might work for you. I always get hungry after i start hiking. Never hungry first thing.

[Cayenne Redmonk]

I like chocolate chip cookies for breakfast.

[Rex Sanders]

I recently switched back to Bear Valley Mealpack/Pemmican bars http://www.mealpack.com/ from a cooked breakfast. Four flavors, reasonably health ingredients, about 110 calories/ounce on average. One bar is just right for breakfast for me.

Voted "Best All-Around Bar" by Backpacker magazine in 2005, so it must be good :-)

Usually available at health food stores, also online at REI and others.

— Rex

[Bogs and Bergs]

Probars have 350-400 calories in an 85 gram bar, organic whole foods that are minimally processed. Recognizable nuts, seeds and fruit in a dense little cake. Good fat and protein balance with the carbs. And no two bites of a bar are exactly the same, so they don't get boring. These things have become the foundation of my no-cook menu.

[Bob Bankhead]

+1 Probars – both the Probar Meal and the smaller Probar Fuel. Tree-hugging environmentalists will love the fact that they are all organic and non-GMO. Me, I just love the variety of flavors. While not ready to go completely cookless, breakfast now is.

See http://theprobar.com

There are four different Probar lines: Meal, Blast, Fuel, and Bolt.

Just be sure to try each flavor at home as they do not all taste as good as they might sound. We were very disappointed with the Koka Moca Meal bar. The Oatmeal Raisin, Whole Berry Blast, and Superfruit Slam were fabulous on a recent hike.

[peter vacco]

on a longer trip, i like to start the day with 8oz (yes.. a full 8) of granola. there is a brand out of the salinas area that is very good, lasts for at least a year without going rancid (important point when staging drops), and comes in affordable 2 pound bags.
then i slather it with nido and brown sugar.
ahh.. just the way to start a day.

in this way, "if" it comes to pass that the weather/wind does weirdness and i don't get to gnaw on something later in the day, it's still ok. not great.. but ok.

we have tried the "nibble all day" sort of affair. it may be healthier, but it is not practical for my ways.

eat when you got a good relaxing chance of it out of the wind in the tent. (it gives the hands another shot at warming up while you break camp) . then go out a crank some miles.

it's easier to get up early too, knowing that only a few moments away is a solid eatfest.

v.

[bayden cline]

The probar meal oatmeal bar is great. I am planing on taking a few along to have breakfast on my weeklong hike next month

[terry tiedeman]

I eat pro bars like the others here. I really like the peanut butter choc. chip. I got a bunch recently from steep and cheep for almost 50 percent off. I also eat Dr. Schultz superfood bars. They are packed with nutrition and he often offers specials like buy 1 box get 1 free. Mostly for breakfast I eat smashed up cold cereal (I smash it so it packs smaller) with freeze dried fruit and soy milk powder mixed with water. It's light on the belly fast and easy.

[John S.]

My current breakfast is one snickers bar and two packets of maple/brown sugar oatmeal (eaten cold). Target recently had the packages of 6 snickers for $3.00 (50 cents/bar). The nutrition label for a snickers bar and a peanut butter chocolate chip probar are below.

[Kent C.]

While there is a wide range of opinions, I can't say enough for Big Sur Bars. Nutritious enough, and palatability in spades. 3 flavors available, I prefer 'White Zest' by far.

http://www.bigsurbar.com/about.html

(not affiliated with company in any way, just a big fan of their product!)

[Ken Larson]

After using Bear Valley Mealpack/Pemmican, Big Sur and the other bars that have been mentioned for numerous years in various "fueling periods" with our three hungry boys throughout the US, Canada and Alaska, the wife and I decided to create a copy of the Bear Valley Mealpack/Pemmican ( [email protected]/bar) with an upgrade in taste. We developed our bar after much research and testing and called it the "BRICK" that I have previously posted. To boost the calories we included a liquid shake in addition (eg. Nature's Plus Spirunge-Tein High Energy Meal or Carnation Instant Breakfast Nutritional Drink with milk) for a very filling and healthy amount of calories to keep you going down the trail very satisfied at 121.17/oz……"Brick" 412.6cal @3.4oz & Instant Drink with milk 220cal @ 5.0oz. For some I know that 124cal/oz would just be a start calorie wise, but the combination above has been tested and found to adequately serve the old and young alike.
For you that want to give a try making the BRICK the recipe is below….. no matter how you change the recipe it will produce a great tasting bar. The Nature's Plus Spirunge-Tein High Energy Meal or Carnation Instant Breakfast Nutritional Drink can be purchased at a supermarket or health food store.

“BRICK”
Makes 12 bar
Calories 412.6/bar

INGREDIENTS
2 cups quick-cooking oats 1 cup all-purpose flour ¾ cup packed brown sugar
½ cup wheat germ
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ cup chopped pecans (or other nut of choice, unsalted)
¾ cup dried cranberries (or whatever fruit you prefer!)
½ cup dried blueberries
½ cup coconut
½ cup chocolate chips
½ cup vegetable oil
½ cup honey
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. Line a 13×9 inch pan with parchment paper.
3. In a large bowl, stir together oats, flour, brown sugar, cranberries, wheat germ, salt, cinnamon, pecans, cranberries, blueberries, coconut, and chocolate chips.
4. In a smaller bowl, thoroughly blend oil, honey, egg, and vanilla.
5. Using rubber gloves for this next step: pour into flour mixture into the large bowl, and mix by hand until the liquid is evenly distributed.
6. Press evenly into the prepared baking pan. Make sure it is packed in tightly.
7. Bake 25-30 minutes in the oven or until the edges are golden.
8. Cool completely in pan before turning out onto a cutting board and cutting into bars.

Notes:
• These bars take well to using applesauce or baby prunes as part of the oil.
• Brown sugar Splenda® works well as a way to cut back on the sugar content for diabetics.
• Any nut can be used, and feel free to change the fruit or add chocolate chips, etc to the batter!
• These bars have been made by a number of hikers on hiking forums, and the consensus is they are fang good!-no matter how you change the recipe!
• Egg can be replaced with Egg Beaters or flaxseed meal slurry as well.
• Consensus Statement: With homemade items try to eat your product within 3-4 days of baking it. Most homemade items can be frozen safely in advance (cut into individual portions, wrap, and store in large freezer bags.). Most frozen items are good for 1-2 months in a freezer.

[David H]

Great comments and suggestions, thanks folks.

[Paul Mason]

I think John Shannon has a good idea – for breakfast – you want simple carbohydrates and Snikkers provides it. Melting could be an issue. I also like Pop Tarts.

Snikkers don't make a good recovery food – 250 cals for 4 grams of protein is not a good ratio. There are Powerbars that provide 210 cals with 20 grams of protein.

[Jim W.]

Regarding the "BRICK": are the berries meant to be dried or fresh?

Also are you sure about that calories per ounce it looks more like 120 and not 70.
The recipe looks delicious and we are going to try it out for a trip next weekend.

[Ken Larson]

Jim…we usually use dried.
You are correct concerning the BRICK calorie/oz….. 121.7cal/oz
I'm sure you will take a liking to them.

[Jane Baack]

@Ken Larson: Would you check the "Brick" recipe, please. After the listing of pecans (or other unsalted nuts) what happens to the cranberries, blueberries, coconut and chocolate chips that are in the list of ingredients?? I didn't see them folded in with the flour mixture nor with the oil and honey mixture. ?? Also cranberries are listed twice-could you clarify these two points? Thanks. I'd like to make these for an upcoming trip with grandchildren.
Jane

[Jane Baack]

@Ken Larson: Could you please check your recipe for the "Brick" bars? After the listing for pecans in the ingredients list you list cranberries, blueberries, coconut and chocolate chips-when do these go in the mix? With the flour mixture? or the oil mixture? Cranberries are listed twice-do you usually use them twice or put in raisins as listed in the Directions? These bars would be terrific for an upcoming trip with our grandchildren. I'd like to make them correctly. Thanks for the recipe.
Jane

[Hiking Malto]

"So on my longer hikes I really struggle to force down a fully cooked breakfast. I've resorted to Snickers for breakfast at times since it's really easy to get up and going and my hunger will come back late morning/early afternoon when I'll opt for something more substantial."

So, are you surprised that you eat 280 calories and you get hungry several hours later. Eat a second snickers bar an hour or two later. Assuming you are hiking fairly continuous, you should be able to drip in the calories every hour or so. Many of the suggestions listed will work, it's increased calories, nothing more complex than that.

[backpackerchick]

Any of the Fruity ones go down well for breakfast. Not overly sweet. Full of whole foods. 400+ cals/bar. Easy to eat a couple of bars at once. Compact and easy to pack. Fairly durable. And vegan.

There is one called Art's blend or something that is good for brekky. Berry Blast and Superfood are good for bfast. You could smother pnut butter on them if you need more calories.

Peanut butter chocolate chip good for desert after dinner.

They do not have the gritty soy protein isolate that make cliff bars intolerable. Instead they are full of whole foods. And ProBars aren't nearly as sweet as Cliff bars.

California SunCakes are good too. Even blander. Harder to find. I order directly form company. http://www.suncakes.com Again nutritious whole food. My favorite are the Lemon Poppy. SunCakes and HeartThrive are pretty much the same except the size and shape.

I often eat a very watery porridge…maybe three or four times the normal amount of water. I premix the dry ingredients and put in single serving bags…instant hot cereals, dried fruits, nuts, seeds, soy milk powder (this is hard to find in its "pure" form, NOT soy protein isolate…ick…do not confuse). I spoon/drink it out of my cooker. Warms and hydrates.

[Jane Baack]

Ken L.
Thanks for the PM, for the clarification on the "Brick" recipe and for editing it in the above recipe post. Our family of hikers will appreciate these!

[Jeff Sims]

http://www.youbars.com

you pick the ingredients, you pick the nutrition, they make them, package them and ship them to your ft door. there are many cheaper and easier routes but I do have a friend that swears by these guys.

[M G]

This is brilliant!

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