Getting a good breakfast when outdoors is vital – you need energy to fuel the day, a boost of sugar to shake off the night’s stiffness and some protein to help your much needed recovery from yesterday. Oh, and don’t forget – easy to make, easy to pack in and easy to pack out. So what are the options? I have read about all kind of options and tried many of them and more: oatmeal porridge, various freeze dried options, protein bars, pancake mixes, bread with cheese/meat/sweet spreads/savory spreads – you name 
it, I tried it. Many of them taste great but are not the easiest to pack, or they are rich and tasty but won’t keep you for long. Porridge is the most often used but it is missing vital protein that can be boosted with protein supplements, but then again, this is the “synthetic” food realm, not my thing. If this is the case, what do I go for? I have ended up making my own “Super Breakfast” that looks less glamorous than most, but packs so much in it that you will easily be able to recover, have fuel immediately and in the long run; and enjoy a tasty meal that is super easy to pack.
Super Breakfast recipe
- 1 portion (I use 1/4 of a cup) of:
- Semolina (coarse ground)
- Chia seeds
- Nut of choice (walnuts, macadamia, cashew, peanuts, etc – natural but roasted) chopped roughly
- Dried fruit of choice (dates, dried mangoes/apples/bananas, apricots, berries etc) chopped the same size as the nuts
- 1 pinch of salt
- 1 tea spoon of brown sugar
- Pack all this in a small zip bag
To prepare: pour bag into a bowl, add 1-1.5 cups of boiling water, mix well, gobble down. This is such a simple breakfast that still has a variety of textures to make it interesting.
A few notes about it: This is a big portion (I eat a lot); my wife will eat roughly 50-60% of this portion size. I use only one kind of nut and one kind of fruit per serving as I find it nicer without having too many flavours to overwhelm things, and I also make a different mix for each morning so it feels like a different breakfast every day. You can “boost” this mix with even more protein by using a protein supplement, but I’m not a fan. Feel free to add spices as you like (cinnamon to an apple and walnut mix?). 
Nutritional values
The numbers below are rough estimates and will vary according to the nuts, fruit and the kind of chia and semolina you use, but it gives a general understanding: 
Though this is not a big competition to some of the pre-packed, high punch, freeze dried breakfasts (like this one), it is cheap to make, you know what is in it and can be as dietary specific as you want – from gluten free to vegan, you can also make it a fully organic breakfast.
Give this breakfast a go (you can even try it at home first) as I think the mix of chia seeds (which pop open when heated) and the semolina creates a really good slow burner with a great and easy to digest protein component. If you do try it, let me know how it went. Or even better, what is your super breakfast?