Cooking and Recipes for Lightweight Backpacking

High Sierras Cookbook

Everyone has their own idea as to what constitutes a great breakfast. We have made a simple list that focuses on a 3 - 4 ounce breakfast. The Calorie/Weight Ratio is a way of quantifying a comparative value for different foods.

Product	Serving Weight/Size	Calories/ Serving	Cal/Wt Ratio
Granola [1]	3.0oz (85g) 2/3 cup	400	133
Milk powder	1.0oz.(28.3g) 1/3 cup	90	90
Raw Sugar	0.2oz.(4g) 1 tsp	15	75
TOTAL	4.2	505

Grapenuts^®	3.0oz (85g) 3/4 cup	392	130
Milk powder	1.0oz.(28.3g) 1/3 cup	90	90
Raw Sugar	0.2oz.(4g) 1 tsp	15	75
TOTAL	4.2	497

Flavored Oatmeal (1min)	3.0oz (85g) 2 pkgs	300	100
Milk powder	1.0oz.(28.3g) 1/3 cup	90	90
Raw Sugar	0.2oz.(4g) 1 tsp	15	75
TOTAL	4.2	405

Cream of Rice^®	3.1oz (88g) ½ cup	340	109
Milk powder	1.0oz.(28.3g) 1/3cup	90	90
Raw Sugar	0.2oz.(4g) 1 tsp	15	75
TOTAL	4.3	445

Cream of Wheat^®	3.0oz (85g) ½ cup	320	106
Milk powder	1.0oz.(28.3g) 1/3cup	90	90
Raw Sugar	0.2oz.(4g) 1 tsp	15	75
TOTAL	4.2	425

Red River Cereal^® (5min)	2.8oz (80g) 1/2 cup	300	107
Milk powder	1.0oz.(28.3g) 1/3 cup	90	90
Raw Sugar	0.2oz.(4g) 1 tsp	15	75
TOTAL	4.2	405

Quaker Oats^® (5min)	2.8oz (80g) 1 cup	300	107
Milk powder	1.0oz.(28.3g) 1/3 cup	90	90
Raw Sugar	0.2oz.(4g) 1 tsp	15	75
TOTAL	4.2	405

Coach’s Oats^{® [2]}	3.0oz (85g) 2/3cup	319	106
Milk powder	1.0oz.(28.3g) 1/3 cup	90	90
Raw Sugar	0.2oz.(4g) 1 tsp	15	75
TOTAL	4.2	424

Wheatena^®	2.9oz (82g) 2/3 cup	300	103
Milk powder	1.0oz.(28.3g) 1/3 cup	90	90
Raw Sugar	0.2oz.(4g) 1 tsp	15	75
TOTAL	4.1	405

Corn Meal (Polenta)[3]	3.0oz (85g) ½ cup	500	163
Milk powder	1.0oz.(28.3g) 1/3 cup	90	90
Raw Sugar	0.2oz.(4g) 1 tsp	15	75
Total	4.2	605

Variety is important when making your food choices. Granola is a popular backpacking food because it has a high calorie to weight ratio, however it is not always fun to eat day after day for a week. There are many non-cereal breakfast options, such as a slice of pumpernickel bread (2.0oz) with two slices of cheddar cheese (2.0oz) and ½ beef stick (0.5oz) for 400 calories.

[1] Stats from Franny’s Granola^®Note that “lowfat” granola has approximately 226 calories in a 3.0oz serving.

[2] A smaller portion of Coach’s Oats (2.2oz (61g) 1/2 cup) will weigh less, but the calories will drop to 242.

[3] With corn meal, the typical 3.0oz breakfast can be cut 2.3oz (6 Tbsp) and the calories (375) will be higher than most 3oz. serving of breakfast cereal. Note: Be sure to taste test corn meal before you go backpacking.

Breakfast