Rations for walking the Kepler Track...

 ...Vitamins for Victory...

I'm off soon to tramp the Kepler Track in Fiordland National Park from the 22nd-25th of March (in two weeks time). I've been finalising the preparation for what will be my last of the Great Walk including the food I intend to take with me. The track is three nights and four days so I have prepared breakfast, lunch and dinner meals for the duration of the tramp. 

Looking towards Mt Luxmore from the Te Anau foreshore...

I thought it might be informative for you to see what I am taking with me to fuel me through this adventure. I am following my golden rule of 500-700gms of food per day with a mix of carbohydrates, protein, fat and sugar to sustain me. 

My daily rations for the Kepler Track in late March

BTW...I always find my blog posts about tramping food (i.e. food porn.....and now we add the cream fraise...) are the most popular ones. You dirty beggars...you just want to peep at me vittles !!!!

My food rations for a three night Great Walk...

I have talked about my tramping menus a number of times now so I will not go into too much detail. Basically my method is to pack homemade daily rations in a zip lock plastic bag with all the food I will be eating on that day. This actually helps to control your daily food weight and makes it easier to avoid eating all your food in the first couple of days.

 

All my Kepler Track rations set out on the table...

These rations go into a lite weight sil-nylon bag I use for my food and only get taken out when I arrive at my destination for that night. The bag keeps everything together while also providing some protection from moisture seeping into or out of the food. 

My 13 litre sil-nylon bag can hold 7 days of food...

I have been using this same bag for my on track food storage for over five years now....it is still going strong.

Day 1: Te Anau to Luxmore:

The first day features a long walk and a big climb right at the end.. when I get to the hut I will be tired and hungry so something easy to prepare seems in order. Instant Mac n' Cheese can be cooked in under five minutes and it is always one of my trail favorites. I will add some chunks of Baby-bel cheese and a sliced up bierstick for more flavor. 

Ration Pack One.....Mac n' Cheese main

Ration contents: 645 gms (total weight)

Dinner: Kraft Mac n'Cheese, Chicken Cup-o-Soup, Hansells Peach Iced Tea mix, Whitakers Sante Bar

Breakfast (for next morning): Cream of Wheat (sugar, milk powder and dried fruit), 3 in 1 Nescafe coffee with sugar, Jack Links steak bar

Daily snacks: Raisins, peanut brittle bar, Snickers (not seen), Pure hydration drink mix

Accessories: Salt, pepper, Aquatabs, sugar sticks, Chux Cloth, thin plastic freezer bag, pot scrubber, 

Each of my ration packs hold a snack sized zip-lock bag with a range of condiments inside...salt, pepper, sugar and a 3 in 1 coffee for the next morning. I am not a big coffee drinker but I do like some with my breakfast in the morning. Not that my lovely partner Karen would call it coffee...more like muck and rakings off the floor!

Hey...it's hot...it's brown...it's sweet...I'm good to go!!!

The condiments pack in this homemade ration...

 I also include Aquatab water purification tablets as a back up if my Sawyer Squeeze water filter gets broken. This is just about the only redundant item I carry...the only other item is several fire-starting methods...a lighter, matches and a ferro-rod. 

Day 2: Luxmore to Iris Burn:

Day two is a six hour trip across the tops with two emergency shelters along the way so I will be able to stop at one of them for some food, a drink and respite from the elements. I am carrying freeze dried meals for the second and third nights of my trip. 

I have my favorite Backcountry meal Beef Stroganoff for dinner on day two. 

Ration Pack two: FD Beef Stroganoff main

Ration contents: 645 gms (total weight)

Dinner: Backcountry FD Beef Stroganoff (sml), Trident chicken simmer soup, Vitafresh navel orange drink mix, Whitakers Sante Bar

Breakfast (for next morning): Instant Porridge (sugar, milk powder and dried fruit), 3 in 1 Nescafe coffee with sugar, Jack Links jerky bar

Daily snacks: Le Snak, muesli bar, fruit leather bar, Pure hydration drink mix

Accessories: Salt, pepper, Aquatabs, sugar sticks, Chux Cloth, thin plastic freezer bag, pot scrubber, 

I have started using one serve Backcountry meals as I found the two person serves too large to eat in one sitting. I tend to rotate my freeze dry companies...Radix is the best followed by Absolute Wilderness, Outdoor Gourmet and Backcountry. This time around I had Backcountry meals as I brought a few in the Hunting and Fishing summer sale. 

Condiments pack for this ration...

I am also using the Trident brand Asian simmer soup packets...they are great as they are light and full of flavor. I like the Thai Chicken Noodle and Tom Yum Goong flavors. You can actually just add these to a half pot of hot water and leave them to rehydrate as they contain rice noodles. No cook time is necessary...

Day 3: Iris Burn to Moturau:

Day three is a big walk down the valley of the Iris Burn River....16 kilometers of mostly flat travel over 5-6 hours. I am hoping to get to the hut early so I can do the 45 minute side walk down to Shallow Bay Hut on Lake Manapouri. I might just visit it on the way out to Rainbow Reach on the last day...I haven't decided yet. 

Ration Pack three: FD Sweet n' Sour Lamb

Ration contents: 597 gms (total weight)

Dinner: Backcountry FD Sweet and Sour Lamb, Tom Yum Goong simmer soup, Vitafresh Lemon Iced Tea drink mix, Whitakers Sante Bar

Breakfast for next morning: Instant Porridge (sugar, milk powder and dried fruit), 3 in 1 Nescafe coffee with sugar, Jack Links jerky bar

Daily snacks: Jack Links steak bar, cashew nuts, muesli bar, Vitafresh hydration drink mix

Accessories: Salt, pepper, Aquatabs, sugar sticks, Chux Cloth, thin plastic freezer bag, pot scrubber 

I have Backcountry Sweet and Sour Lamb for dinner this night and Trident Tom Yum Goong soup. This is the last night of my trip so if I am hungry I may eat my emergency food as the last day is a relatively easy 1-2 hour walk to the road end. I would be unlikely to need it after day three...

...condiment pack with this ration...

I like to have some protein for sustained energy with my breakfast...I used to eat cheese but now I usually have a Jack Links steak bar or jerky stick. I buy the 3 in 1 coffee sachets from Asian food markets and they always seem to have a range of flavors and brands. Oldtown and Nescafe both go down well, Oldtown tastes like coffee with condensed milk in it. 

Day 4: Moturau to Rainbow Reach:

The last day is a short one....only 1.5-2 hours of walking from Moturau Hut to the pick up point at Rainbow Reach. I will be carrying breakfast for this day and a couple of snacks but no food for a midday meal as I will hopefully be back in Te Anau before lunchtime. 

Day four: snack pack for the short day...

Ration contents: 160 gms (total weight):

Daily snacks: Raisins, peanuts, Jack Links steak bar, Cheez-it crackers

Accessories:  Aquatabs (4)

I like to rotate my snacks to stop food fatigue and favor a savoury mix over sweet. No trail mix...I cannot stand the stuff anymore and these yoghurt covered apricot muesli bars are just about the only I will eat. I will also eat any left over lunch items on the last day as I will want to use it rather than throw it away. 

...all the items in the snack pack for day four....

That is the main load-out of food I will be carrying on the Kepler Track but there are a number of supplemental items I will have with me on this trip. 

Supplementary items.....

I always carry a few supplementary items with me when I go out on a multi day tramp. There are items you don't really want to portion out or those that you may or may not use but still need to carry. 

 I usually pack my food bag in the bottom middle of my pack so it is not readily to hand unless you deep dive into your pack. You want to keep your pack contents dry so opening it on trail especially in a rainstorm is not something you want to do.  

My lunch will be crackers and Biersticks....or wraps..

I will pack my lunch items in a separate plastic bag and store it at the top of my pack outside of the pack liner bag so I can access it when I need too. I haven't decided on wraps or crackers to go with my lunch time cheese and salami...I will let you know which.

...and some Babybel semisoft cheese...

Next is an emergency days worth of food in case I get stuck in a hut because of extreme weather or some other calamity. Not a full ration...this usually consists of a packet of oatmeal, a 3-1 coffee, some muesli bars and a freeze dried or lite main meal. I'm taking more than usual on this trip as there are often snow falls on the Kepler Track at this time of the year. 

My emergency rations for the Kepler Track

Emergency food: 380 gm's total weight

Breakfast: Instant porridge packet

Lunch: Cup-o-Soup, muesli bar, peanut brittle bar

Dinner: Backcountry FD Lamb Fettucine (sml)

The emergency ration is at the bottom...

I often use couscous, instant potato or polenta for emergency food as all of these are low bulk and low weight. Rice noodles and Ramen are also a good choice or you can take a small freeze dried meal. 

A variety of breakfast items I have used before...

Some items I have used for tramping mains in the past....

I always carry a brew kit with tea/coffee/sugar substitute for daytime drinks. I will be carrying my Firemaple Ti stove and a 100gm gas canister with me on the Kepler Track at a total of 145 gms...

My brew kit...Chanui Earl Grey is my tea of choice....

Jon's cook kit including the Ti stove and small gas canister...

I have also started to carry an assortment of instant soup packets for those colder days out on a track. I noticed one of the people doing this on the Paparoa Track...they had an assortment of flavors in a small bag so I am going to try it out. I have Tomato, Cream of Mushroom, Dutch Curry Rice and Pumpkin in this pack. 

Supplementary soup packets from Continental & Maggi....

...each daily ration also contains a simmer soup...

I am hoping for a successful trip and a fitting end to my Great Walk tramps after nearly 30 years of working through them. I may revisit a number of the tracks in the future but I think it might be time to start ticking off those other classics like the Greenstone-Caples, Rakuira Northwest Circuit, Hollyford, Richmond Alpine Track and Tararua Southern Crossing....

Postcript: the leftovers.....

Well my trip to Fiordland was a success with the Kepler Track finished and the final of the ten Great Walks ticked off my to do list. It was a great trip and I thought I would have a look at the food items I did not use on this trip. 

Soup, tea and crackers on arrival at Luxmore Hut, Kepler Track

There are always food items left after every trip...sometimes you over estimate how much food you will need or you didn't feel as hungry as you thought you might. Sometimes you are so tired you just cannot be buggered to eat everything. The Kepler Track is actually quite a hard track especially the first two days with huge climbs and descents over the day. I arrived at both Luxmore and Iris Burn Huts knackered so I wasn't all that hungry.

Tucking into a soup and freeze dried meal at Luxmore Hut, Kepler Track

If we look at the food left over from the trip it is basically my emergency rations and some drinks that were not used. I was expecting rainwater tanks at Forest Burn and Hanging Valley Shelters but there is no water at either of them. This meant I had to conserve water for drinking and not use it for hot or sweet drinks. I also ate less snacks on the track as the last day was a short one and I basically didn't have time to stop and eat them as I was in a race to catch the 10am shuttle. 

No water at Hanging Valley Shelter...

I ate all my freeze dried meals over the Mac n' Cheese...they are easier to prepare and do not require as much clean up. The extra Cup-o-Soup were a good idea and one I will continue from now...I used them in favor of the Trident simmer soup. Things I would have liked....I saw several people eating Mandarins on the track and they looked good...I might take some with me next time I venture out. 

The ration items I did not eat on the Kepler Track

As expected I think I more or less had the right amount of food with me...I have been at this lark for a while now so I think I'm getting good at planning menus.

Every track an adventure...every hut a palace...every meal a banquet...

Tramping Food: Ideas for breakfast when tramping

 Breakfast is the cornerstone of your day...

It can be argued that breakfast is the most important meal of the day when you are out tramping or otherwise engaging in some outdoor pursuit. Hard physical activity means your body will be working to keep you going and food is the fuel that keeps the engine running.

Enjoying a brew at East Hawdon Bivouac in 2015

In your everyday life you might be able to get by with the most minimal of morning meals or you may skip breakfast altogether. Doing this while engaged in demanding tasks is a recipe for poor performance or failure. You need a good mix of carbohydrates, protein, fats and sugars to keep you going so the food you consume must have enough of and the right ratio of each of these. 

Massive hill climbs burn plenty of energy...McKinnon Pass Track

Additionally the food you take with you will be dictated by your tramping style. Are you a late riser who cannot move without a full cooked breakfast or a ultra lighter who doesn't want to carry a cooker or pot? Is morning coffee a requirement before you can think straight? Do you mind eating on the way or do you need to sit down while you eat? Questions like this will influence what you eat, how you eat it and what gear you require to prepare it. 

Meal preparation often means dirty dishes...

Personally I am fairly easy when it comes to my needs, I am willing to adapt to overcome if you like. I like a hearty breakfast in the morning and enjoy tea or coffee but I am totally happy to just eat on the go if required. I would prefer to carry as little weight as possible so whatever I eat must be made with a minimum of equipment. I don't like cleaning dishes in the morning so I prefer meals from the bag. 

Tucking into a Backcountry meal at Mid Robinson Hut in 2015

All of these factors have influenced what foods I carry not just for breakfast but for all of my tramping meals over the years. 

My top menu items for breakfast...

Here is a short list of my top breakfast meals I use eat when I am out tramping. All of these have been used multiple times and all will see you through the first couple of hours of any tramping day. These are listed in the order that I have tended to use them in the past. 

Porridge/Instant Oats/Cream of Wheat/Oatmeal:

An oldie but a goodie and my favorite outdoor breakfast meal is stick to your ribs porridge. Easy to make, light weight, tasty and filling Porridge is the most common morning meal you will see people eating in the backcountry. A good hearty bowl of porridge has all the fats, carbohydrates, sugars and protein you need to keep you going for the first 2-3 hours of the day. 

Porridge/Oatmeal is the number one tramping breakfast...

Personally I like to use the Uncle Toby's instant oats sachets...I place two packets in a sandwich sized Ziploc bag with dried fruit, a tablespoon of milk powder, sugar and a pinch of salt. I just add boiled water to the bag, let sit for 5-10 minutes and eat. I will have it with a salami slice or three for a bit more protein...washed down with tea or coffee.

Porridge oats in a Ziploc ready to go..

As well as porridge and oats I also like Cream of Wheat (or Cremota to the other olde folks out there...) which is a finely cut version of oatmeal from the United States. It is much creamier and I find it more palatable but it is hard to find here in New Zealand. I occasionally see it at Asian food warehouse's and it can be brought online. I comes in many varieties my favorite is Maple Brown Sugar and Cinnabon.

Cream of Wheat is delicious...

You can make porridge from scratch and it will taste better but it requires a lot more effort, time and creates a lot of mess. Don't bother...leave the homemade stuff for home and just eat the instant oat packets. 

Mixing up some oatmeal in the field...

Quick tip...chuck a knob of butter in your porridge if you have it...or some brown sugar as both make it much more unctuous and flavorsome. Chia seeds and the such may be added if that is your thing...

Other Cereal: Muesli/Granola/Just Right

My second most carried breakfast meal is cereal with milk powder and sugar added to it in a Ziploc bag. Have it hot or cold it is really up to you but I personally find the milk powder dissolves best with hot water added to it. You can make the milk separate but I just cannot be bothered and it is all going to mix once you eat it anyway. 

Tucking into some cereal on trail...

Typically I will use some form of commercial muesli usually something like Uncle Tobys, Hubbards or Sanitarium here in New Zealand. My preferred is Just Right as it is a much lighter form of muesli. I will sometimes add extra dried fruit for a bit more body as well as nutmeg, cinnamon and sugar for flavor. It doesn't need to be muesli/granola though...I have seen people eating all kinds of cereal including Weetbix, Nutrigrain, Cornflakes and even Fruit Loops.

Eat it from the bag to save on clean up time, dish washing and mess. 

Kellogg's Just Right cereal...

Backcountry Cuisine make a very fine version of both Porridge Supreme and Muesli with Yoghurt that make for very simple morning meals.  The muesli with yogurt is delicious and is a easy way to eat with the minimum of fuss and preparation. 

Backcountry Porridge Supreme...just add hot water

Both these can be prepared by simply adding water to the bag and waiting 10 minutes for it to fully hydrate. Again you can eat it straight from the bag to save on clean up. 

Hot meals: Bacon and eggs anyone?

If you have the time and the inclination then a lovely meal of hot bacon and eggs, fried egg sandwich or pancakes with bacon is the perfect way to start a long, hard day of tramping. With a piece of bread it will give you the full spread of everything you need to make you body work to its full potential. Anything you can make at home can also be made out tramping with a bit of thought. 

A feed of Bacon and Eggs camp style...

Other excellent options are scrambled eggs (fresh or dehydrated) on a wrap, omelets, baked/refried beans, Kedgeree (fried rice and oily fish), canned spaghetti/beans, steak sandwich, burger patties, precooked sausages/frankfurters fried on bread or a wrap, mashed potatoes with cubed ham/salami/fried bacon etc. Look for items that cook quickly without a whole lot of preparation required. 

Breakfast Burrito's are muy bueno!!!

 

You can also consider eating freeze dried meals for breakfast and not just the all day breakfast versions. I have eaten many of the Backcountry Cuisine meals as a breakfast item...go for the smaller one person serve so you do not feel too full. Backcountry, Absolute Wilderness and Radix all make breakfast items including scrambled eggs, baked beans and Cooked Breakfast. Try all of them on a tortilla or wrap...with or without Tabasco as you see fit.

Absolute Wilderness Bacon Mash is great for breakfast...

Some people like to eat left overs from the previous night but I would recommend you NOT do this. Without refrigeration you are much more likely to get food poisoning so I would only eat freshly prepared hot foods. Leaving a pot of food on the bench is also likely to attract insects and vermin...pasta alfredo with a medley of Rat urine is not a taste you want to try...

Don't tempt him with your left overs!!!

You are probably going to need a frying pan for some of these hot meals..look for a light weigh camping fry pan at your local outdoor store. MSR, Jetboil, Kovea and TOAKs all make good ones. 

The Jetboil frying pan...decent kit!!!

Some huts have fry pans in them but you can never be sure...take your own if it is required for the meal you intend to make. 

Breakfast bars, OSM, Pop-Tarts and their ilk:

A lot of trampers will just eat bars for breakfast...this is a good option if you just like to get up in the morning, pack your gear and get on trail. Bars can be eaten while on the go and there is no food preparation or cleaning to slow you down in the morning.  

A selection of hikers energy bars....

I have seen people eating many different bars...things like Natures Valley, Em's Power Bars, Bumper Bars and Clif Bars. Some people like the special protein rich items like Aitkens Bars, Lara Bars and OSM's etc. These are all perfectly fine items to eat for breakfast but they are also high in sugar. You will get a sudden rush of energy off these items but it will quickly ebb away. I also tend to find all of these bars a bit dense and overly sweet for my taste. 

OSM bars are popular in New Zealand

Other people will eat pre packaged items such as Pop-Tarts, Honey Buns, Cinnamon Scrolls, muffins,  individually wrapped cakes, biscuits and buns. Pop Tarts can actually be eaten un-toasted although they do not taste as good...still pretty tasty though and one packet of Pop Tart contains a whooping amount of calories.

Pop Tarts are one breakfast option...cherry!!!

I do eat bars and Pop Tarts (cherry/strawberry is my preferred flavor) but I prefer to take dark fruit cake or fruit bread for a fast breakfast item. There is a type of dense European style fruit loaf sold in supermarkets here that is perfect for tramping. Rosedale fruit loaf is firm so does not squash and is chock full of fruit and delicious with or without butter. 

Rosedale fruit loaf is great tramping food...

I also love Mrs Freshley's Cinnamon Swirl Buns, even if it gets 'squot like a pumpkin' it still tastes good....

Delectable Mrs Freshley's Cinnamon Swirl Buns

If you are eating any of these items which are not specifically made with protein added have some cheese, dried meat, beans or milk powder to up the protein levels for sustained energy release.   

The no cook breakfast:

'No cook' or 'cold cook' are methods of food preparation gaining in popularity in recent time. Both have come out of the long trail community where the weight of cookers, pots and ancillary equipment is discarded in favor of more miles walked. Less weight will always mean an easier passage...

A late breakfast of filled rolls at Anapai Bay, Abel Tasman NP

Energy bars are also great 'no cook' meal ideas

No cook is just that...no cooking or complicated preparation is required in these meals. A typical no cook meal will be some form of carbohydrate such as bread, wraps, crackers, muffins or bagels. To these will be added meat, cheese, pate, spreads (jam/honey/nut butter), salad, fresh vegetables, fruit, olives, sun dried tomatoes etc. 

Pate and spinach wraps at John Tait Hut

Really you are only limited by your imagination here...anything you could also have for lunch is good for a 'no cook' breakfast. The best no cook breakfast I have ever had was some crusty bread, hard boiled eggs, salami and half an avocado washed down with orange Raro. 

Let me tell you...it was damn fine eats!!! 

Hard boiled eggs last 2-3 days if handled carefully...

The advantage of the no cook breakfast is that there is no complicated preparation involved...you get up, eat your food and get on the trail. There is little to no mess to clear up...no pots to wash, cutlery to scrub etc. It is a menu well favored by European trampers especially those from Holland, Germany and Austria as this is what they typically eat for breakfast in those countries anyway. 

Typical 'no cook' tramping breakfast...

'Cold cook' or 'cold soaking' is when you place some food into a container of some sort and soak it with cold water for a length of time in this case overnight. Generally cold soak enthusiasts carry a plastic jar or container to soak their meals in but Ziploc bags can also be used to save on cleaning. The water rehydrates the meal and while it is cold it will still be perfectly good to eat in the majority of cases.

 

Rissoni and Orzo pastas make good cold soak meals

Any meal that can be made with hot water can also be made with cold water including rice noodles, pasta, polenta, couscous, buckwheat, instant potatoes, muesli, porridge and dehydrated meals. Rice can be done this way but I usually find it is still a little crunchy and will make you thirsty through the day. Ramen noodles are a very effective cold soak meal as is porridge or oatmeal. 

Ramen are classic cold soak ingredients

I have tried it,,,didn't really like it. I like to have a hot drink with my breakfast either tea or more commonly coffee 3 in 1 sachets. If I am boiling water for a drink I might as well use it for my meal as well. It is another option for you to keep in mind. 

Other breakfast options...

In addition to my usual suspects here are a couple of meal ideas I have used over the years to varied success. Some of these still get the occasion foray while others were tried the one time and discarded as they did not meet my particular needs in some fashion. 

O-Meal Range:

O-Meals are a new addition to the Kiwi trampers pantry...these are pre made and packaged meals that Hunting and Fishing have started selling. These meals are in retort pouches with a FRH or Flameless Ration Heater pack which heats your meal through thermo-chemical action.  You simply place the meal pouch in its bag add the chemical pouch and about 100ml of water and in 3-4 minutes you will have a piping hot meal.

The O-Meal range of retort pouch meals...

There is a variety of meals but the ones that interest the most are Spaghetti with beef sauce, Oatmeal with Brown Sugar and Hashbrown Potatoes. I have tried all of these and they are excellent in particular the Hashbrown Potatoes. The hashbrowns are excellent with salami sticks, a sausage or two, bacon, frankfurters or just on their own. 

O-Meals Hashbrown Potatoes..damn fine vittles!!!

The downside are price (around $15 per pack) and weight (200gms) but if you can overlook these factors they make an important and useful addition to the breakfast pantry. 

O-Meal Hashbrown Potatoes

The Oatmeal is good but at $15 per pack it makes no sense when a 12 pack of Uncle Toby's sachets is about $4.00. See my article about the O-Meal range I posted earlier this year. Any of the various meals will also be great for breakfast as most of them are based around beans. 

Breakfast Couscous:

 Couscous is an excellent meal starter for trampers as it just requires hot water, salt and a little oil to prepare. Super light, super simply it is something I often carry for dinner meals as should you as it is so versatile.  

Couscous is a perfect tramping base...

I tried out sweet couscous for breakfast after reading about it on a long trail blog from the US. It is meant to recreate a meal enjoyed by many people in North Africa of a morning. To the basic couscous is added fruit (raisins, chopped apricots and dates), nuts, sugar, sweet spices (Cinnamon/Nutmeg) and coconut milk or yogurt powder. Add hot water, stir and let sit for 5-10 minutes. 

My breakfast couscous was similar to this...

To be frank I just didn't like the taste...I found the savory couscous and sweet fruit just didn't suit my palate. You should give it a go as many people feel it is Ambrosia of the Gods...

Rice pudding/Creamed rice:

Creamed Rice AKA Rice Pudding is tailor made for breakfast meals...it is filling, tastes damn fine and it has all the carbs, protein, fats and sugar you need for a busy day. It is one of those desserts I remember fondly from childhood as my mother used to make a killer rice pudding in the day. I have taken rice pudding tramping several times and will continue doing so going into the future. 

Classic homestyle rice pudding

I have used a variety of methods of preparing rice pudding...I have a couple of homemade recipes using instant freeze dried rice, coconut milk powder, sweetened condensed milk, vanilla and dried fruit. I have used canned rice pudding and rice pudding in shelf stable individual pre packed cups. All of these work but most have some negative point...wasteful packaging, weight issues, inefficient hydration etc.

Ambrosia is the best canned rice pudding

The best way to add rice pudding to your menu is by using the freeze dried packs made by Absolute Wilderness. They have three rice pudding meals in their range: Apples on Creamed Rice, Cocoa and Banana Pudding and Mocha Creamed Rice. I have tried all three and they are high quality and totally delicious. 

Absolute Wilderness Apples on Creamed Rice

The Apples with Creamed Rice from Absolute Wilderness

All of these are easy to prepare...just add hot water, stir and sit for 10 minutes..eat it right out of the bag! 

Precooked bacon:

Is there any finer food than bacon...I don't think so. Cooked bacon is good for up to two days if you wrap it tightly in tin foil and store it in the coolest part of your pack. Fry half a dozen rashers per person at home, wrapped it and add to bread, wrap or bread roll at camp. If you want it warm put the wrapped bacon on the edge of a fire, on top of a wood burner or suspend it over your cooker for a couple of  minutes turning it frequently. Don't burn yourself and BTW the HP sauce is optional.

Classic bacon butty...

A bacon butty and a big mug of sweet milky tea is a perfect way to start any day...

I am always looking for ways to widen my breakfast options as I find this the most difficult meal to plan without menu fatigue. I hope this gives you a few ideas for tramping breakfasts you can try the next time you head out..good tramping and good eating everyone.