BWCA Breakfast Ideas? Boundary Waters BWCA Food and Recipes
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IowaFishinGuy
senior member (81)senior membersenior member
  
12/24/2017 09:35AM   (Thread Older Than 3 Years)
Hello everyone, and Merry Christmas Eve!

I'm currently planning my first BWCA trip for Spring 18 right now, and I am brainstorming meal plan ideas. I will be base camping, and centering the trip around fishing, so I plan on eating fish for supper at nights, and trying to find good ideas for a filling breakfast to get thru the day til supper, with a light midday snack packed in the canoe.

At home I am usually a bacon & eggs kind of guy, but I don't think that will work for the trip because I do not plan on bringing a cooler to keep fresh food all week, so I am looking for alternatives. I was thinking oatmeal or pancakes, the "just add water" kind. Was possibly thinking maybe some fresh fruit, but that also will be unwanted weight and a little bulky.

Any new ideas or recipes will be greatly appreciated. Thanks
 
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12/24/2017 10:47AM  
I just eat a cold cereal, usually muesli, sometimes granola. Ones with lots of nuts, seeds, fiber, some fat and protein - about 600 calories. It saves fuel and prep/clean up time and holds me over better than pancakes. Lunch/snacks is a ProBar Meal bar and mixed nuts.

I'm not familiar with any of the dried egg products, but many use them along with pre-cooked bacon, hash browns, etc. It's more trouble than I want to go to, but I usually have oatmeal at home and eggs only occasionally.
 
12/24/2017 12:41PM  
I like instant oatmeal with dried blueberries or cranberries and coffee for most of my breakfasts.

But I also like to mix it up by making a bacon and egg and cheese sandwich using Ova Easy Eggs, Brownberry Multigrain Sandwich Thins, Oscar Mayer Thick Cut Fully Cooked Bacon and a slice of cheese.

Brownberry Multigrain Sandwich Thins

Ova Easy Eggs

Oscar Mayer Thick Cut Fully Cooked Bacon

I like to warm up a couple of slices of Oscar Mayer Thick Cut Fully Cooked Bacon in my small fry pan on my gas stove. The already cooked bacon leaves a small amount of bacon grease in bottom of pan. Then I scramble up a couple of Ova Easy Eggs in the pan. When eggs are done ... I toast my 2 Sandwich Thin slices right on my gas stove burner and when toasted I put on the cooked eggs and bacon and top with a slice of cheese .... VOILA ... an awesome bacon/egg/cheese sandwich. Tastes great and so very quick to make.

Easy cleanup too as the bacon grease coats the fry pan and minimizes the eggs sticking to the pan.

Ova Easy Egg crystals are about as close to "real" eggs that you can get. I like the way the sandwich thins pack vs. bread. The sandwich thins shelf life in the bush seems to be a bit longer than bread too. You can use the thins for peanut butter and jelly and walleye fish sandwiches too.


 
12/24/2017 02:13PM  
Spring? We generally do late May/early June. We freeze bacon,sausage,steak,butter... in a 'block' , wrap in newspaper layers and paper bag. Nest this in center of food pack kept in shade and have never had problems with it for at least three breakfasts. Fresh sausage and steak are first as bacon keeps longer. Vacume sealed country ham keeps too. We rehydrate dried hashbrowns and use ova easy eggs for a hearty breakfast. No cooler needed. We usually divide a #10 can of Mountain House "Breakfast Skillet #" for morning five and on. Powdered milk and instant oatmeal,cream of wheat,rice........pancakes,cornmeal pancakes ...........
 
OldFingers57
distinguished member(4990)distinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished memberpower member
  
12/25/2017 05:55AM  
We do either:

- Oatmeal
- Grits
- Powdered eggs from either Cache Lake or Mountain House or Ova Easy egg crystals
 
bobbernumber3-mobile
Guest Paddler
  
12/27/2017 06:32AM  
How big is your group? If solo, keep it simple. If a group of 4 or more, put some effort into nicer meals. Meats and eggs keep fine in the spring as OverTheHill mentions. Nothing like bacon sizzling in the frying pan on a cool BWCA morning!
 
boondock
senior member (56)senior membersenior member
  
12/27/2017 02:06PM  
I've made omelettes in a bag, mix scrambled eggs, cheese, ham etc and pour into the packit gourmet bags, then boil the bags until done. On one of our trips I had a couple of extra omelettes and put them in the cooler with dry ice and they froze. I tried boiling those frozen bags the next day, they took longer but tasted the same. I think that would be something relatively easy premake, freeze and prepare on one of the first couple of mornings.

The packit bags do not contain BPA or dioxins and are FDA approved for storing and boiling food in. There are similar bags on Amazon that are less expensive.
 
Northwoodsman
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12/27/2017 03:09PM  
+1 for Ova Easy eggs and precooked bacon. Dried or FD vegetables in the Ova Easy eggs adds a nice touch. Even freeze dried cheese rehydrates nicely for an omelet or scramble. Pack It Gourmet sells a couple different shelf stable cheese products. Freeze dried hash browns, Spam singles, Pack It Gourmet or Camp Chow biscuits & sausage gravy, cinnamon fry bread. Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day so I don't skimp here. Go for the protein to help you through the day.
 
12/27/2017 03:18PM  
boondock-

Do you have a link to the bags similar to the Packit bags on Amazon?
 
Jackfish
Moderator
  
12/27/2017 04:46PM  
Did you look at the Breakfast recipes thread? There are 52 posts there.
 
boondock
senior member (56)senior membersenior member
  
12/27/2017 07:52PM  
ShieldnSeal was the brand, they are a vacuum bag with a built in zipper

boonie: "boondock-


Do you have a link to the bags similar to the Packit bags on Amazon?"


 
IowaFishinGuy
senior member (81)senior membersenior member
  
12/28/2017 12:36PM  
Thanks for the input. I will have to check out the Ova Easy eggs. I have never heard of that brand. Can they be found at the local grocery store, or better yet, found online? I'm glad to hear positive reviews on them because I was a little wary on trying powdered eggs. haha.

My other idea was pita bread for PB&Js because they appear they would pack better than actual bread. I could use them if I wanted for sandwiches for lunch, too. May have to check out the sandwich thins instead.
 
12/28/2017 03:40PM  
Ova Easy eggs are great. I rehydrate all the fixins for a good scramble skillet type breakfast, onions, mushrooms, peppers, hashbrowns, sausage, burger, etc... and then add it to the eggs after adding the water. If you like the idea of breakfast burrito, bring along tortillas. They keep the whole trip and take up very little space.
 
mc2mens
distinguished member(3311)distinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished member
  
01/24/2018 01:58PM  
We usually bring oatmeal (assorted flavors), pancake mix, maple syrup in a small nalgene bottle, pre-cooked bacon (cook it at home and freeze till it's time to go), and dried blueberries. The blueberries are a great addition to either the oatmeal or pancakes. The pre-cooked bacon is great. Just heat it up on a fry pan - no grease.
 
Duckman
distinguished member(528)distinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished member
  
01/25/2018 06:37PM  
Ova Easy eggs and a spam single.
 
01/29/2018 08:16AM  
Breakfast was always our main meal of the day. It was rare for us to ever do a quick breakfast. And we are bacon and egg kind of people, so we took real eggs and bacon. I was thrilled when they came out with the pre-cooked shelf-stable bacon and that was always included. Throw away the cardboard box and take the envelopes of bacon. It keeps fine until opened, and be sure to use it in two days. We never took a cooler.

Eggs will be fine if you cook them well, scrambled or in a baked item. They don't need refrigeration in the spring, just don't let them sit out in the sun. If you live where pasteurized eggs (the brand is Davidson's in our area) are available, that is one option, or get them at a farm where they haven't been washed. But we took supermarket eggs and never had a problem. We double-wrapped the egg cartons in brown paper grocery bags and duct-taped them under the stern seat of the canoe so that they rode out of the sun and were not jostled. No broken eggs--worked a lot better than those plastic egg carriers. I always had broked eggs in those.

If you are afraid of fresh eggs or want more than a couple dozen, the Ova Easy crystals are the best powdered eggs I have ever found.

For milk, Nido powdered milk is the best tasting--it is whole milk and is great on cereal, or in baking. Adds a richness that the non-fat powdered milk doesn't have. Good on granola or oatmeal.

Pancakes are great, especially if you are traveling during blueberry season, but that isn't spring. I like the Krusteaz Honey Wheat, as it has more taste and more fiber, and is water-only, so it is a very easy mix. Adding chopped pecans to the batter makes them especially good, too. And we did take the weight of REAL north country maple syrup. I will not compromise on my syrup.

Bisquick is handy for making bannock-type biscuits for breakfast. Just as easy as the pricey fry-bread mixes, and in my opinion, better anyway. Or I have used my Jello-mold oven and made coffee-cake with a Jiffy cake mix and a homemade cinnamon/butter/pecan streusel topping, or even corn bread from a mix.

We ordered the little packets of almond butter and really good jelly from Packit Gourmet. Again, cost more than taking tubes or larger containers, but with just two of us, it was convenient and easy.
 
Frenchy
distinguished member(1065)distinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished member
  
02/01/2018 02:42PM  
I started bringing fresh eggs last year. They kept fine and were a big hit with the group. I also love cheesy grits with pork sausage. I do dehydrate the sausage to carry.
 
schweady
distinguished member(8070)distinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished memberpower member
  
02/02/2018 12:52PM  
We have always been all about the fresh eggs, bacon, sausage, pancakes, French toast (not necessarily all on the same morning...) and still enjoy making big breakfasts over the fire on leisurely mornings on days we are staying in camp. But if anyone is looking for a great quick breakfast, involving just boiling some water, my wife and I give 5 out of 5 stars to Mountain House Breakfast Skillet. Tastes just like my very own Scrambled With Everything.
 
02/03/2018 08:54PM  
Ova easy eggs, either scrambled and boiled in a bag, or omellettes. Pre-cooked bacon. I have also added some shredded and dehydrated beef to the eggs, then wrap in tortilla shell.

Bagels are quick and easy.

If you have more time another simple breakfast is biscuits and gravy. I buy powdered country gravy, and when I make it I add some home dehydrated pork sausage (recon before adding to gravy). For the biscuits I buy add water stuff, and fry them in a lightweight nonstick pan. Little or no oil needed.

Pancakes have never worked for us. And while the others will eat oatmeal, I really have a hard time choking it down.
 
Lotw
distinguished member (307)distinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished member
  
02/08/2018 08:01AM  
We eat a lot of golden grill hash browns in the back country and not just for breakfast.
Add Ova easy eggs and spam singles and you have a great meal.

Most days it’s grab a cliff bar and get out fishing.
 
BnD
distinguished member(810)distinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished member
  
02/15/2018 03:24AM  
I spend quite a bit of time planning food and I would say it all depends. If we’re single portaging, traveling quite a bite and/or need to be on the water early AM I stick with instant oatmeal. If we’re gonna double portage, base camping in just a couple places and/or don’t need to be on the water early I bring pre-cooked bacon, ova easy eggs, dehydrated hash browns, pancakes, biscuit mix, gravy mix, pre- cooked and dehydrated sausage. The pancakes and syrup and the biscuit mix really adds weight to your pack fast. Pre cook all your bacon and save a bunch of time, stove fuel and pack weight ( 1# of bacon cooks down to about 0.33#). Skies the limit your call. No two groups pack the same. My overall philosophy about backcountry camping and adventure is I’m can eat like a king when I get back, get by while Im in and not carry so much pack weight.
 
BuckFlicks
distinguished member(628)distinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished member
  
03/09/2018 03:29PM  
I've never been a big breakfast guy. I love breakfast, I just don't like to go to the effort in the morning. There's already enough trauma having to get up, get out of the tent, and pack up that making and cleaning up after a big breakfast just seems like added torture to me. But... breakfast for dinner is a big player in our house. This recipe used to be a favorite of mine and I have always wondered if it could be modified for camp use:

Egg, bacon, pancake casserole


My favorite camp breakfast is easy. Split bagel and a little hockey puck sized JIF peanut butter container, couple pieces of pre-cooked bacon.
 
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