Breakfast

[lyndoor]

Heated crumpets on a sheet of Glad Bake inside my MSR pot & added honey from little individual sachets, kinda like the little jam or tomato sauce sachets. You can buy these in the 'Spreads" section of the supermarket. Toast & raisin bread can be cooked the same way. Crumpets, though, while very filling are quite heavy.

[climberman]

However, real porridge is soooo much nicer, and if soaked in cold water all night, is just about as quick and easy in the morning. If soaked with some dried fruit, it's extra tasty too!

And with a few spices like cinnamon and vanilla in each, an extra dimension of morning yumminess is acheived !

[cams]

Any cereal in a ziplock with powdered milk. Just add water. I don't bother heating it. I tried one of the freeze dried back country hot breakfasts. Nearly barfed. At least with the dinner's the "meat" chunks are in small pieces and disguised by sauce and other stuff.

[ILUVSWTAS]

Lol. Yeh those breakfasts are awful! We couldnt even get a Quoll to eat one at Wilsons Bight!

I have 2 weetbix and powdered milk. Light and filling!

[Bap]

I make my own Breakfast bars, with Oats, nuts and dried fruit etc., bake them and then slice them up at home so all I need to do pull one out of my pack and eat it. By making them yourself at least you know what's going into them.

I rarely take Powdered milk on walks anymore as I can't stand the taste of it.

[Charlievee]

I'm also on the oatmeal crew. I put a cup of quick oats in a freezer bag, add a spoonful each of milk powder, brn sugar and sultanas/raisins/currants. A little chopped pecans is real nice too. Add the hot water, stir, let sit and you're good to go. On days when I've got the extra time I make my "bush bacon n eggs" with a couple spoonfuls dried egg powder (mixed with water to reconstitute) and chop an individual slice of spam (in the foil pouch) into dice and fry gently together in a little olive oil. Too heavy for every day, but a nice treat. I also like GOOD coffee and tea. I have a MSR mugmate but, I'm wondering if making cowboy coffee/billy tea and pouring it through a plastic strainer might be a lighter option. Regards. Charlie.

[Bush Walker]

There doesn't seem to be much of a discussion anywhere about "breakfast". As someone who likes to simply add boiling water, I find that my breakfasts are a bit boring. Some help is clearly required!

What suggestions are out there for spicing up the start of the bushwalking day?

I'm afraid that when it comes to breakfast simplicity is the key for me. The last thing I want to do is have to crawl out of my tent in the rain and wind, light my stove and then spend time cleaning breakfast pots afterwards. I used to take measured amounts of muesli and dried milk powder in snap lock bags and then just add boiled water to the bag in the morning and to a mug for tea. Now days I don't even bother to do that as I discovered that convenience is more important.

Breakfast bars (from the health food not the breakfast section) are just as nutritious as porridge or muesli and are a lot simpler. Why not boil up an extra thermos of hot water the night before and then you don't even have to light up your stove.

For some more ideas http://www.bushwalkingskills.com/2010/09/how-to-eat-well-with-little-effort.html

[Jellybean]

There doesn't seem to be much of a discussion anywhere about "breakfast". As someone who likes to simply add boiling water, I find that my breakfasts are a bit boring. Some help is clearly required!

What suggestions are out there for spicing up the start of the bushwalking day?

I'm afraid that when it comes to breakfast simplicity is the key for me. The last thing I want to do is have to crawl out of my tent in the rain and wind, light my stove and then spend time cleaning breakfast pots afterwards. I used to take measured amounts of muesli and dried milk powder in snap lock bags and then just add boiled water to the bag in the morning and to a mug for tea. Now days I don't even bother to do that as I discovered that convenience is more important.

Breakfast bars (from the health food not the breakfast section) are just as nutritious as porridge or muesli and are a lot simpler. Why not boil up an extra thermos of hot water the night before and then you don't even have to light up your stove.

For some more ideas http://www.bushwalkingskills.com/2010/09/how-to-eat-well-with-little-effort.html

I have to say, that's my preferred approach these days, if we're making an early start. (If we've got more time, I'll eat something more substantial).

[north-north-west]

Mine too.
And, of course, I always start early because morning is the best time of the day.

[CenVicCharlie]

Breakfast Bars for me too.

[Son of a Beach]

I've tried a variety of the breakfast bars and they're all too boring for me to use for regular breakfasts. There are two exceptions to this:

1. I will sometimes take them for days when I know I'll need an early start. These are a very quick breakfast, and can even be eaten while walking.

2. Home made brekky bars. My wife makes these awsome "honey oat bars", which I love, and these are also really good for brekky bars. She's also made another brekky-type bar from a Nigella Lawson book which was quite nice.

So other than these two exceptions, I avoid brekky bars. I like to enjoy breakfast, and in most cases am happy to take extra time and carry extra fuel to do so.

I usually boil water for a cup of tea first, then sip this while cooking either porridge (the real stuff from proper rolled oats with butter, salt, and milk, sometimes with fruit), never the packet stuff which just doesn't cut it, or for short walks, sometimes bacon and eggs on english muffins. Sometimes I'll take some sort of cold cereal (eg, weet-bix, muesli) for something different. The porridge is good, but anything gets boring for too many consecutive days.

PS. I forgot to add that I've just started taking home-made, home-dehydrated bircher muesli (thank to Food to Go for the tip). We had this for two days out of 6 on our last walk, and it was very good.

[ILUVSWTAS]

Haha, you really like your food im getting the impression Nik.

[Son of a Beach]

Yeah, I just wish I could cook better (ie, without having to follow a recipe book - or at least a memorised recipe).

[Orion]

We sometimes go with "Mum's Lemon Cake". It's made locally (San Francisco Bay area). You'd think it was a luxury item but it has enough fat to make it comparable to dry foods in terms of Joules per gram. Keeps well, holds it's shape in the pack. Similar (homemade?) quick bread recipes would do just as well I suspect.

Second choice is flat bread or pita (pide), toasted briefly on the stove, with Nutella in a squeeze tube (gotta warm it in the bag on cold mornings).

Third choice, cold cereal like granola, powdered milk, nuts, dried fruit.

Somewhere near the bottom is oatmeal. It's a great food, no question, particularly if you're a horse (or Scottish), but unfortunately I've had one bowl too many in my life (gag reflex).

[Bush Walker]

We sometimes go with "Mum's Lemon Cake". It's made locally (San Francisco Bay area). You'd think it was a luxury item but it has enough fat to make it comparable to dry foods in terms of Joules per gram. Keeps well, holds it's shape in the pack. Similar (homemade?) quick bread recipes would do just as well I suspect.
Second choice is flat bread or pita (pide), toasted briefly on the stove, with Nutella in a squeeze tube (gotta warm it in the bag on cold mornings). Third choice, cold cereal like granola, powdered milk, nuts, dried fruit.
Somewhere near the bottom is oatmeal. It's a great food, no question, particularly if you're a horse (or Scottish), but unfortunately I've had one bowl too many in my life (gag reflex).

I think the key is to have something that is high in energy for breakfast, doesn't crumble to easily or leave dirty pans and can be eaten inside the tent if the weather is bad.

Your choices all meet the criteria, especially if you don't heast the pitta bread!

Tell me more about the "Mum's lemon Cake" ? Photo, recipe?

[Orion]

Bush walker,

I don't have a recipe as I've purchased this cake. I imagine someone good at baking could reproduce it well enough.

Here are the data from the label...

Semifreddi's "Mum's Lemon Cake"

total wt: 425 g
energy: 7030 kJ

(that works out to 16.5 kJ/g which is about the same as dry sugar)

66 g fat
246 g carbohydrate
24 g protein

Ingredients: Enriched Unbleached Wheat Flour, Sugar, Whole Milk Yogurt, Unsalted Butter, Whole Eggs, Egg Whites, Lemon Zest, Lemon Juice, Vanilla, Baking Soda, Honey, Lemon Oil, Baking Powder



Looks better than oatmeal or breakfast bars, doesn't it?

[Bush Walker]

Bush walker,

I don't have a recipe as I've purchased this cake. I imagine someone good at baking could reproduce it well enough.



Looks better than oatmeal or breakfast bars, doesn't it?

It looks very appertising but how do you stop it from crumbling without having to take a big container to put it in?

[Orion]

It looks very appertising but how do you stop it from crumbling without having to take a big container to put it in?

A little bit of care in packing helps, but I tend to compress everything under high pressure in my pack. The bread is moist and dense enough that it has held up just fine. Your mileage may vary.

[Son of a Beach]

I often pack all (or some) of my food in a hard plastic container anyhow. That lemon cake looks good to me.

[srforum112]

Recently I made up daily porridge servings using one cup organic oats, two large tablespoons ground almonds, one tablespoon full milk milk powder and about one tablespoon rasins plus one or two whole dried banana's (much nicer than banana chips). I'd soak the porridge overnight and it'd be cooked within five mins at breakfast. Was delicious and very satisfying.

My friend had porridge mixture consisting of polenta,semonila, barley, silvered almonds and dried fruit. She said it was very tasty and satisfying. My two other walking companions (two males) had mountain bread with nutella each morning for breakfast and were quite hungry by lunch time.

Breakfast seems to vary quite allot between people, some just don't cope with eating too much early in the day.

[abowen]

Agree with Nik re fresh eggs. I have taken to carrying a couple of eggs for overnight walks. I hope that no one has posted this before, but came across this neat product that enables me to poach eggs without too much mess: http://www.chefknifes.com/poach_pod.htm (I have no commercial interest in this site - just googled under poach pods).
The silicon pods are light weight, no mess, and when you have finished - the boiled water can be used for a cuppa. They are a tad expensive and require a bit more fuel, but freshly poached eggs and a nice cuppa coffee sitting in the best outdoor 'dining' area more than outweighs the cons.
Can be found in most kitchen and homewares type stores.
Cheers
Andrew

[flatfoot]

Eggscellent! That may fit inside a JetBoil ... Although one wouldn't be enough for me.

[Son of a Beach]

Eggscellent! That may fit inside a JetBoil ... Although one wouldn't be enough for me.

They don't take long to cook. The second one can poach while the first one is being consumed. Better than cooking two at once, and one going cold before being eaten.

[rogo]

I have been experimenting with making a steamed cake on the track. Just like a commercial cake mix, mix up the dried ingredients at home, using egg powder. On the track add oil and water. I boil my little pot with the cake mix in a silicone cupcake and I use a tiny plastic biscuit cutter as a trivet. It works better than having the cupcake on the pot floor. Yes it take 10 to 15 mins of very gentle cooking but it is great to have proper food. I also carry fresh eggs for up to 3 days and lettuce is a must. I use the veg bags you can buy now that promises to keep veg fresh. Something to do with tiny holes and carbon. But I have had lettuce last 7 days before it looks like a chunky drink. Also I make cous cous with craisins nuts milk powder and sugar. Add boiling water and let it sit for 10 mins. Nice change to oats.

Re the lemon cake...try googling lemon pound cake. Looks like a pound cake recipe (leave out the yogurt). These are sturdy cakes but weigh a fair bit. I also will take cake with me for the first night and share with everyone. Great for making friends.

Ro

[ILUVSWTAS]

I have been experimenting with making a steamed cake on the track.

Ro

Feel free to join us on a walk if your ever in town.

[rogo]

yes Mr unpronounceable name I would love to do more walking in Tas. I was there last Jan and walked the OT then down in Fortescue Bay. I am over in West Oz. Next July I am doing the to Jatbula Trail NT. Maybe you could join us there LOL. If you do I promise to give you cakes. I am a chef and love playing with hiking foods.

[Macca81]

yes Mr unpronounceable name

hehe funny


ILUVSWTAS = I Love South West Tas