Canoe Camp Bacon Oatmeal
Oats, bacon, and raisins in one pot. The breakfast that gets you back on the water.
- calories
- 620
- weight
- 4.5 oz
- cal / oz
- 138
- protein
- 21 g
- serves
- 1, scales
- prep
- 2 min
- cook
- 5 min
- total time
- 7 min
- water
- 350 ml boiled
- cost
- $
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Breakfast
- Canister stove
- Liquid fuel
- Campfire coals
- Canoe / raft
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Backpacking
- Nut free
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Dump and stir
Ingredients
| Rolled oats | 3/4 cup | |
|---|---|---|
| Precooked bacon | 1 oz | shelf-stable pouch or real bacon bits, not the soy kind |
| Raisins | 1/4 cup | |
| Whole milk powder | 2 tbsp | stands in for the fresh milk you are not carrying |
| Brown sugar | 1 tbsp | |
| Cooking oil | 1 tsp | from the squeeze bottle in the food pack |
| Salt | a pinch |
Method
- Bring 350 ml of water to a boil. Dump in the oats, raisins, and salt.
- Stir for two minutes over low heat, or pull it off a campfire and let it sit covered for four.
- Off the heat, stir in the milk powder, brown sugar, and oil until no dry pockets remain.
- Crumble the bacon over the top. Stir once so some stays crisp.
- Wipe the pot with a heel of bread. That is the dishwashing.
Bacon and oatmeal is a standard canoe-trip breakfast, and it works because the two halves fix each other’s problems. Oats alone are cheap fuel with no fat and no salt. Precooked bacon brings both, and it keeps at ambient temperature, so the cooler stays shut.
The changes from the home version are the milk powder and the oil. Fresh milk is not happening on day five, and powdered whole milk rehydrates into something with enough fat to keep the oats from going gluey. The teaspoon of oil is not for flavor, it is for the calorie count on a long paddling day. Add the bacon at the end or it softens into the porridge and you lose the one bit of texture.
Packing
Oats, raisins, milk powder, sugar, and salt go in one bag per morning. Bacon rides in its own bag so the grease stays put. Number the bags and you can eat breakfast without opening the food pack twice.
Variations
- Skip the sugar and add a spoon of instant bouillon for a savory version.
- Swap raisins for dried apple and add cinnamon.
- Instant coffee stirred into the same pot afterward saves a second boil.
https://www.canoetripping.net/threads/my-solo-food-pack.613