Backcountry Breakfast: Superfood Style
Freeze-dried meals and nutrition in the camping and backcountry world have progressed lightyears recently. However, I can’t say the same in the breakfast department. They always seem to be the same old thing – some variation of oatmeal or granola or the classic freeze-dried eggs and ham. If you’re on a multiday hike, the Quaker instant oatmeal can get old fast and admittedly, I went through Peru on the Salkantay Pass carrying way too many pre-bagged protein powders just to have some added nutrition.
It wasn’t until a few years ago that my father and I were on the Appalachian trail and decided to experiment with creating power breakfasts to bring along on overnights. We discovered that packing your own nutrient rich and calorie dense breakfast is a lot easier than we thought. By using oats, nuts, seeds, unrefined oils, protein powder, and dried fruit, we were able to pre-make and vacuum seal individual breakfasts that could be completely customizable right down to portion size and personal taste. Since then, we’ve introduced this breakfast concept to all of our hiking friends and it’s now become a fun buffet style, “build your own” activity we do every trip.
Here’s the breakdown of everything.
Ingredients Used:
- Rolled oats
- Granola
- Whey protein powder
- Nut butter or PB2 powder
- Coconut oil
- Dried fruit (we usually opt for blueberries, dates, figs, mangos, goji berries, and pineapple. If you can score dark chocolate goji berries, I highly recommend.)
- Flax seed and/or hemp hearts
- Chia seeds
- Shredded coconut
- Honey or stevia/sweetener of choice
How to Pack It:
- Add to vacuum seal bag: all of the above ingredients that you’d like for your breakfast in the pre-measured quantities needed for you.
- Leave some room between the vacuum sealed edge and your food. About 3-4 inches at the top of the bag.
- Throw the bag in your pack and take it up a mountain
- Cut open vacuum sealer and empty in a cup or bowl with lid
- Boil water
- Add enough water to cover the ingredients, secure lid tightly
- Stir and wait.
- Enjoy! Bonus: Have with a hot coffee.