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I’ve spent the better part of of two years coming up with the perfect backcountry breakfast … I hate oatmeal … like, with a fiery burning passion. I’m pretty sure my Scottish grandmother considered disowning me over this.
I’ve watched with envy as fellow hikers have stumbled through their morning routine doing nothing more than boiling water, adding it to both coffee and a packet of oatmeal. And voila – breakfast.
No thinking, just caffeine and food. It was a dream.
I struggled because I find loading up on pasta makes be feel “boggy” on the trail. I tried a couple of potato based breakfasts, but was never quite satisfied with how they made me feel. I was not convinced they had the nutritional content I needed to get started on a big hiking day.
Last summer … I finally found a winner and the best part is, it’s gluten-free.
I hike with a food thermos for rehydrating my meals and I saw a post over on Backpacking Chef about rehydrating fruit in the thermos overnight, for breakfast. He placed cold water and dried fruit in his thermos before hanging his food bag. In the morning, open the thermos, pour the water into a cup and enjoy.
The fruit rehydrates really well overnight and is a nice, bright way to start the day.
This sounded promising. The idea of having a fresh fruit in the morning, with fruit juice to boot … I could get behind that.
But just fruit wouldn’t be enough. I needed to find something to go with it.
Unrelated to breakfast (I thought) I also learned that dehydrating hummus and then rehydrating on the trail was super easy and efficient. See process for dehydrating hummus below.
Tada! We had a winner.
The combination of fresh fruit in the morning with the protein of hummus on crackers or flat bread is a really satisfying mix. I can eat relatively quickly while drinking my coffee.
Or, go without coffee (gasp) and there’s no need to boil water at all.
How To
Dehydrating hummus is easy peasy, with just a couple of changes to a traditional hummus recipe.
In a food processor I blend together chic peas, roasted garlic, lemon … and water. Leave out the olive oil. I have heard from others that they have dehydrated store-bought hummus and it’s been fine.
I make up a bigger batch, in this case I used two cans of chic peas which made three trays. I’m thinking about three to four portions per tray.
Into the dehydrator it goes. I put it on at 115° for 24 hours. That’s overkill, but I want it to be completely dry. It will be brittle and chunky.
I bust it into a powder in a Magic Bullet (a blender or food processor would work just fine).
On the trail I add oil and water, mush it together in the bag, cut off a corner and squeeze it onto a cracker.
Hi.
It was fun reading about your breakfast menu. I’m not going to try it though, I love porridge in the morning. But it would make a fun snack.
If you’re concerned, and rightly so, about (gasp!)not having coffee in the morning, here’s a thought that’ll probably make you gasp even more: I like Nescafe Rich Blend instant coffee (two gasps!). I can shoot a spoonful of the coffee crystals back, amd chase it with water. It’s not a proper ‘North American Coffee Ritual’ event, but it does get caffeine into me easier than an IV. Even if you have boys that can show how to insert an IV. How is it you may ask? Well, let’s rank it as an ‘acquired taste’. :>)
I like how you write
Peter Johnson
Kenora, Ontario
Hahaha … I can actually see myself doing that. It seems more efficient. Thank you for the compliment on the writing, that means a lot to me.
love hummus on the trail!
Me too! Can’t believe how satisfying a meal it is.
This sounds so interesting. Thanks for sharing 💞
Thank you! I can’t believe how well it works.
Hi Sarah,
OMG I completely cannot stand anything oatmeal or portage like. Ever since I was a baby I just could not stand it (as my mom likes to tell me).
“Please, sir, I DO NOT want any more.”
So being gluten-free I shed no tears for not being able to eat this stuff anymore.
But this looks quite *YUMMY*! I may actually try it since I’m trying to add more fruits to my diet.
Thanks so much for sharing!
Nadalie, It’s All You Boo
I totally understand! It’s nasty. LOL
This actually looks pretty good, I might have to try it!
I actually keep dehydrated hummus on hand around the house now. It’s super easy to rehydrate for a quick office lunch.
Love the thought put into this perfect breakfast. I’m not much of a hiker but I enjoy the time with nature. Thank you for sharing.
this is a genius idea with both the fruit and hummus, can’t wait to try it on the trails myself. thanks for sharing!
Dehydrated hummus and fruit – brilliant! I go camping a lot. I may do this just to save space in the cooler. Not to mention, I could eat it when the cooler food runs out.
Nice! My husband and I go on hikes all the time. I will have to try this next time we go!
I think you have came up with a great way to have breakfast and not carry as heavy as a load when hiking. I love the idea of hydrating many of the foods. I have never tried it.
This is such an interesting idea! Hummus and fruit are awesome, so why not take them as a snack on a hike? I actually do like oatmeal though but not the instant kind. Has to be rolled oats and not overcooked, or it’s mush. Lol!
Really good post. I used to hate oatmeal when I was a little girl, now I love it for how convenient it is.
That’s awesome, what a clever idea! Will definitely try
xx nicole
http://www.nicoleparise.com