Breakfast should help support your morning camp activities. If you’re starting the day early with physical exercise like hiking or biking, a light breakfast that doesn’t bog you down is a good option, think yogurt, fruit, and granola. But if you’re waking up slowly with a family who wants to hang around the campfire, a breakfast of pancakes, eggs, and freshly brewed coffee might be the right kind of meal. The following breakfast ideas will help you plan for both quick and leisurely starts to the day.
Quick and Easy
If your stomach is growling on empty when you wake up in the morning, you’ll want to eat something fast. Just add hot water to store bought instant oatmeal packets or oatmeal packets you create with your favorite toppings mixed in for a filling breakfast.
Granola is another quick option to start your day. Make your own granola before your camping trip or bring your favorite brand along. Eat the granola dry, mixed with yogurt and berries, or as cereal with milk.
Fresh Catch
For some, fishing and camping go hand-in-hand. If you rise before the sun to haul a few fish out of the nearby lake, river or ocean, grill your catch right away, why wait for dinner? Serve grilled fish with a side of hash browns.
Limited Ingredients
Finding ways to reduce and re-use cooking ingredients helps keep your campsite “kitchen” streamlined. When making French toast and bacon, make the bacon first so you can use its grease to fry up the French toast. The results are tasty and economical. Just make sure to burn off the extra calories throughout the day.
Roll Up a Tortilla
Filling up a tortilla with grilled meat, sautéed onions and other toppings pull together a nutritious combination of foods to power through the day.
Grilling carne asada (marinated thin-cut sliced beef) and eating with a tortilla is a delicious, bare-bones version of a breakfast burrito.
If you’d rather crack open a few eggs and slice up more toppings, try these breakfast burrito and campfire taco combinations.
Traditional Camp Breakfast
When you think about camp breakfast food, you envision a tall stack of syrup-covered pancakes, right?
This no-muss-no-fuss pancake recipe makes delicious fluffy golden brown pancakes without the cooking spoon and bowl. Fry up some eggs, bacon or sausage to go along with this classic breakfast.
Another classic camping breakfast option is popping open a can of corned beef hash. If you want to make this savory mix of meat and potatoes a little more hearty, try this corned beef hash recipe that includes eggs.
Morning Pick-Me-Up
Just because you’re not at home doesn’t mean you should skip your coffee fix. Coffee will help wake and warm you on a brisk morning. Travel with packets of your favorite instant coffee or brew fresh grounds at your campsite with these coffee making tips.
Bring instant hot cocoa packets to help the kids warm up and wash down their breakfast. Prepare artisan hot cocoa mixes before the trip and enjoy in the great outdoors.
Eva Barrows is a San Francisco Bay Area freelance writer. Eva writes about local places, people and events on her website www.evabarrows.com. She founded the online literary journal Imitation Fruit in 2007 and has enjoyed promoting fellow writers and artists ever since.
