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Breakfast for a non-cooker
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May 21, 2011 at 7:59 pm #1274197
Last year I struggled with instant milk and granola for breakfast. Yuck. No more of that. This year I'm thinking more along the lines of pop tarts, bars, dried fruit. What can I add to this or would be better choices than I've indicated above? BTW This is for 1-4 nights out. I'm not worried about long-term nutritional planning since that'll never be a pleasure for me. I just want to eat things out of packages and not waste time cooking/cleaning. Thanks for you suggestions.
May 21, 2011 at 8:09 pm #1739486You may find that two granola bars are less messy than granola and milk, so there is less clean-up.
–B.G.–
May 21, 2011 at 8:17 pm #1739490I used to often eat a bagel with toppings. I wouldn't stress it too much, eat what sounds good :-)
May 21, 2011 at 9:56 pm #1739513Look at Sarah's site, http://www.trailcooking.com, then "recipes" then "breakfast." She has some great recipes.
For no-cook, I like the PB & Granola Wrap. For a longer trip, I might take Trader Joe's Almond Butter with Flaxseed instead of the PB, but you can buy small pouches of PB in some grocery stores for a shorter trip (I think Justin's Nut Butters). I measure out granola into small snack-size ziplocs and carry some honey sticks (like in a sealed plastic straw). You can easily play with the total calories in this by how much PB or honey or granola you add.
May 22, 2011 at 8:20 am #1739591"I call it the morning dose of self-loathing."
–Johnny Law on Pop-Tarts
May 22, 2011 at 8:39 am #1739596Steven, Starbucks also usually has honey packets on the counter ;-)
May 22, 2011 at 7:12 pm #1739844I make a blend of hammer nutrition sustained energy and chocolate protein powder in a liter of water
Easy 500 calories in a great tasting shake.
Heat the water if your chilly or drink it cold if not.
I think hammer has some of the best powdered products going.
May 22, 2011 at 7:22 pm #1739847My go-to bar for breakfast is Honey Nut Cheerios or Cinnamon Toast Crunch "Milk and Cereal Bars" – good with a little nutella or peanut butter spread on top! Quick and easy and I got so sick of pop tarts – after awhile they all taste the same and I find them really dry.
May 24, 2011 at 7:35 am #1740436My breakfast has evolved from coffee/hot chocolate and either oatmeal or grits to something much quicker and better tasting: PackIt Gourmet's Jump Start Fruit Smoothies
They mix in the ziplock bag using cold water and I'm able to drink them right from the ziplock without any mess. Add water, shake, and drink.
May 24, 2011 at 3:00 pm #1740633we tend to use bars quite a bit because of the weight to caloric ratio and the sheer convenience… here are some recipes…
Blueberry Banana Energy Bars – This recipe can be very easily modified to create different flavors – Backpacker redid them as Cherry-Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars
Ellen’s Hunky Monkey Vegan Breakfast in Hand
May 24, 2011 at 3:13 pm #1740643Heavy European-style Muesli. Make it myself by the 20 L drum. LOTS of flavour and goodness.
Cheers
May 24, 2011 at 3:44 pm #1740655AnonymousInactiveGranola with Nido full fat powdered milk. I'm thinking of adding half an ounce of coconut cream powder this year for extra calories. I accompany this with an ounce of chocolate on the side.
Edited on 5/27: I tried adding coconut cream to my muesli this morning, about an ounce, and it was delicious.
Nutrition information as follows: Calories = 207
Fat = 19 grams
Protein = 3.4 grams
Carbs = 5.6 gramsFor those looking to increase the caloric density of their diet and relieve the boredom of cereal and milk, this is an option worth considering, IMO.
May 24, 2011 at 4:07 pm #1740664Meusli, yum, yum! Like Roger, I learned to appreciate it while traveling in Europe. You could tell what country I was in by what I had for breakfast! In the Germanic/Nordic countries, it was meusli and yogurt. In France, of course, the ubiquitous pain au chocolat (chocolate croissant to you non-francophones).
I use the Bob's Red Mill meusli. It's a local Oregon firm, but the brand should be available in most of the US. I found some in a Kroger market (health food section) in Ohio 5 years ago. I add dried berries, but of course it's even better with fresh huckleberries in season!
For a change, I alternate meusli with Grapenuts cereal. I package each serving seperately in a sandwich bag with dried milk. Add water, stir, eat, lick spoon, put sandwich bag in garbage bag and I'm ready to go. I know the milk is a little messier, but it gives me a shot of protein and (at my age) badly needed calcium to start the day.
I have also been known to eat a Kashi cereal bar or two when I'm really in a hurry. I have to avoid most energy bars because they are fortified with every vitamin and mineral known to man, including iodine which gives me horrible rashes.
May 24, 2011 at 4:49 pm #1740676Roger, give up the "Heavy European-style Muesli" recipe- what do you mix together and what quantities. Then what do you do with it?
May 24, 2011 at 4:53 pm #1740679I'd also like to see Roger's recipe, even though Bob's Red Mill is really close to what I ate in
Europe."Then what do you do with it?"
Eat and enjoy!
May 24, 2011 at 4:58 pm #1740688Mary- I mean what- i.e. add water (hot or cold) let it sit overnight or just a few minutes, etc.
I've had it a few times but it was at a time in my life that I didn't pay much attention to what was going on around me.May 24, 2011 at 7:49 pm #1740748I don't know what Roger does, but I eat meusli raw with milk, right out of the package. (Of course when backpacking I package it with dried milk and add cold water.) That's the way Europeans eat it. If you cook it, you basically have oatmeal with nuts and raisins. I detest cooked oatmeal; per my mother I started screaming after my first taste as a baby!
Meusli is especially good with the European version of blueberry yogurt, which (unlike our fruited yogurts) contains very little sugar.
It has been 10 years since my last trip, and I still miss European food! Interestingly, I actually lost weight over there, despite the cafe creme and pain au chocolat!
May 24, 2011 at 8:47 pm #1740774I eat four packs of the super cheap not very good for you oatmeal.
Just open them, add some water to the pouch, and consume.
There is no cleaning involved and as long as you stick to flavors that don't need to rehydrate (like dried strawberries,blueberries, etc) it tastes better than cooking it. I have even been known to have cold oatmeal at my house as a super easy snack.May 25, 2011 at 4:18 am #1740814My uncle was Swiss and he was the one who first introduced me to muesli. We eat granola a bit too. Now this isn't lightweight but I sometimes, on paddle trips only, make homemade yogurt to go on the muesli or granola. If only I could find a lightweight way to do that for backpacking trips (that actually has the right taste and texture)… lol.
I'm getting off topic though. Muesli is very simple to make if you can't find it in your local grocery store. Sometimes I make it just to use up those little leftover bits of dried fruit.
edited to add… someone mentioned Bob's Red Mill. It's a great brand across the board. Dorset Cereals has a delicious line of mueslis but I'm not sure if that is available outside of Canada or the UK.
May 25, 2011 at 5:40 am #1740833I use Bob's Red Mill Muesli at home and on the trail. When hiking I prepackage servings in zip-lock bags. At night open zip-lock and cover with warm water and reclose. Let the muesli soak overnight and in the morning I just eat it raw. I take an extra zip-lock to allow for the ability to double bag the muesli to prevent an accidental mess. In cold conditions I keep the zip-lock in my bivy, in the summer I hang the soaking muesli with other food.
May 25, 2011 at 6:18 am #1740839I grew up having Muesli and yogurt for breakfast. We'd let it soak overnight either in a bit of milk, or in the yogurt itself. I have not had it for years….maybe I should do that again. At home it's steel cut oats every day; soaked overnight and a quick cook in the morning, with either a bit of dried fruit and soymilk , or extra virgin olive oil.
On the trail it's quick oats with Nido and walnuts.
It would be hard for me to not eat something warm in the morning, but there are some great ideas here.May 25, 2011 at 7:15 am #1740853After staying in Europe a while I got hooked on muesli. Bob's Red Mill is really great, but really expensive, so for the last few years I've been making it in bulk just like Roger. I store the extra in the freezer in plastic ice cream pails. I only need to make it about every three months.
My personal mix is pretty simple and I get all the items in bulk at the local natural food store. The percentages change with what I can get at a good price, but here's what it has in it.
Rolled grains, several types (oats, rye, wheat, barley, triticale)
flax seeds
raw sunflower seeds
raw pumpkin seeds
raisins or currants (less sugar, more fiber)
cranberries
chopped dates
sliced almondsWe eat it raw with cold milk for breakfast every day at home. Sometimes I add a spoon of oat bran over the top. On the trail it's the same thing just we use a scoop of Nido and a bit of water and mix in the bowl. Nido or Milkman is imperative to use. If you're using nonfat dry milk then that's your problem right there. Icky stuff.
May 25, 2011 at 10:12 am #1740933As someone mentioned earlier you can soak this overnight if you prefer.
Strawberry Peach Muesli
This non-traditional muesli is from A Fork in the TrailMakes 2–4 servings
Muesli was one of my childhood favorites. This one has a summery flavor and travels well. You can serve it hot or cold.
2 tablespoons slivered almonds
2 dried figs
3 dried peach slices
1/4 cup freeze-dried strawberries
1/4 cup wheat bran
1 cup rolled oats
1/4 cup oat bran
1/4 cup wheat germ
1/3 cup coconut
1/4 cup sunflower seedsA dollop of yogurt or enough milk powder to make 1 cup milk
At Home
Toast the almonds in a dry nonstick frying pan until they start to turn golden. Set them aside and let them cool. Chop the dried fruit. Toss the fruit and the wheat bran in a large bowl to coat. Add the toasted almonds, rolled oats, oat bran, wheat germ, coconut, and sunflower seeds and mix. Pour the mixture into a ziplock freezer bag. Pack the milk powder with the other milk powder you will take on your trip. If you prefer yogurt, see the recipe on page 65 for Trail Yogurt.At Camp
Pour the muesli into a bowl. If you brought the milk powder, mix it with water and then pour the milk over the muesli. If you prefer yogurt and brought it, top with a dollop.Tip
You can use a good quality ziplock freezer bag instead of a bowl for this.May 27, 2011 at 12:16 am #1741702A nice slice of dark fruit cake. Plenty of sugar, fat and taste! Also no mess!
May 27, 2011 at 6:02 am #17417312nd the fruitcake!!!
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