“Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.” – Lewis Carroll
I absolutely love camping. Road trips with the family mean you can pack as much as you want into the car boot and head off, but when it comes to carrying all of your own food and supplies on your back in a rucksack, or in bicycle panniers that you come to realise that every gram is sacred, and every square millimetre is too. We can have no empty bits of air taking up valuable space.
I was faced with this dilemma when it came to packing for our epic mountain bike cycle through the highlands of Scotland last summer. Eating out at cafes and restaurants can get quite expensive, so in a bid to keep expenditure down I created these little portable porridge sachets for our quick and easy affordable breakfasts.
I like milky porridge. I don’t mind those pre-made porridge sachets you can get in the supermarkets, but you can only buy the ones in the little cups that you just add water to or the tiny sachets in the boxes. The airspace at the top of the pots is a waste of space, to me. That space would take up valuable real estate in my panniers that could be filled with an extra pair of socks instead. Those little sachets usually need to be made with milk, and I didn’t fancy carrying around some UHT milk on our trip.
These little porridge sachets really worked a treat. I used a vacuum sealer to remove the air from them and to try and keep them as fresh as I could for our ten day bikepacking trip, but this isn’t entirely needed. A zip lock bag with most of the air squeezed out will do.
On day ten of our trip my cycling companion and I climbed Ben Nevis. The morning dawned with a lovely Scottish drizzle and low cloud, and so we adjusted our original climbing plans – opting for the safer mountain path instead of the carn mor dearg arete (the north face route) that we’d originally intended.
We started our morning with a bowl of hearty porridge – the last two sachets left, topped with the contents of our last two Real Handful sachets. With huge thanks to Real Handful for the samples they sent. These protein packed nutritious snacks helped fuel our cycle training as well as the trip itself.
Preparing the porridge is really simple. Just boil your kettle and pour about 120 ml over the contents of one of the sachets that has been emptied into your bowl. Stir well, cover for five minutes (while you make and drink your morning coffee!), stir again and enjoy!
This is just the sort of hearty Scottish food you need to get you going in the morning when you’ve got a mountain to climb. It took us five hours and nine minutes of total moving time (according to Strava) to climb up and down the mountain; we were on a mission. We spent about an hour stopping for breaks and chatting to people too (including a celebration swig of Shetland Reel Whisky from a hip flask at the summit!). You can read all about the climb in An Adventure to the Summit of Ben Nevis – The Climb.
Do you have any camping food tips? What do you usually have for breakfast while out camping or bikepacking? Let me know in the comments!
DIY Porridge Sachets for Bikepacking or Camping
Ingredients
for the porridge base
- 40 grams Scottish porridge oats
- 10 grams skimmed milk powder
- 10 grams light brown sugar
for the seed variety
- 1 tsp sunflower seeds
- 1 tsp pumpkin seeds
- 0.5 tsp chia seeds
for the nut variety
- 10 grams raw almonds coarsely chopped
for the cinnamon raisin variety
- 0.25 tsp ground cinnamon
- 15 grams raisins
Instructions
- Add the porridge oats, skimmed milk powder and brown sugar to a blender and pulse a few times so that the porridge oats are fine and everything is well combined. You still want a bit of texture, but you want it fine enough that the hot water will penetrate each grain easily.
- Add your choice of optional extras, stir well, place in individual plastic bags and seal. I used a vacuum packing machine to suck the air out of my sachets to maintain freshness, but this isn't required if you're not travelling too far.
- To prepare the porridge, empty the sachet into a bowl. Boil your kettle and cover the porridge in boiling water - approximately 120 ml. Cover your camping bowl with a camping plate, and leave to sit for approximately five minutes.
- Stir well, add any garnishes and enjoy!
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE
An Epic Adventure to the Summit of Ben Nevis – The Plans
Five Things to See & Do in Orkney in a Day
Bikepacking Through the Highlands of Scotland
Mountain Biking [Most of] The Great Glen Way
An Epic Adventure to the Summit of Ben Nevis – The Climb
OTHER CAMPING BREAKFASTS YOU MIGHT LIKE
Chocolate Cherry Energy Bars from Farmersgirl Kitchen
No Bake Superfood Granola Bars by Domestic Gothess
Chilli Spam & Eggs by Fab Food 4 All
Gluten Free Camping Breakfast Ideas by The Hedgecombers
Smoked Chilli Energy Bars by Tin & Thyme
SHOP THIS POST
Scott’s Porridge Oats
Summit Stainless Steel Bowl & Plate Set
Vango Compact Gas Stove
Light My Fire 2-in-1 Spoon + Fork
Real Handful Go-Go-Goji Berries
Real Handful Mixed Berry Crunch
Outwell Gastro Cook Set
Berghaus 3.1 Pro Tent
This is not a paid post and all thoughts and opinions expressed are our own.
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Daydream adventurer. Expat Canadian. Foodie. Calls Shetland home, for now. One eye is always on the horizon.
Shannen says
These look awesome! Will definitely be giving these a go.. however what are Scottish porridge oats ? I’m from Australia so wondering what the equivalent may be?
Elizabeth says
Quick cook porridge oats will work – small rolled oats, instead of the stuff that needs cooked for ages.
Shannen says
Awesome, thanks so much!
Harry Kramer says
Nice 🙂
I’ve been trying out simple, no-
cook ideas for an upcoming wild camping trip. From what I’ve read, it’s better to cook oats rather than eat them raw. So I use granola, which is about 60% toasted oats. I came up with this, which works well and is delicious.
100g of granola, 30g of coffee mate, a 25g scoop of whey protein powder. All chucked into a empty pot noodle pot (I detest Not Foodles, but the pot is useful for ‘cooking’ egg noodles and couscous) – add boiling water, cover and leave for about 10 minutes. The resulting porridge is delicious, healthy and contains nearly 700kcal and about 30g of protein – not bad for 155g. I use coffee mate rather than milk powder to bump up the calories – I’m a lean bean and it can be difficult to get enough kcals without resorting to junk. Adding a big dollop of peanut butter could push it up to something like 1,000 kcal and 35g of protein, but I haven’t tried this yet. Can anyone recommend any brand of instant noodles?
Elizabeth says
That sounds fantastic! Thank you so much for sharing your recipe – I’ll have to try it out on my husband who is also a lean bean! 🙂 I’m afraid I don’t do instant noodles either, but perhaps soba noodles would work? They only take a few minutes to cook. 🙂
Carla Rennie says
I love taking my own meals packed as small as possible when camping and porridge is a favourite. I use oatmeal as that’s what I grew up with and it cooks easier when only adding water without cooking. And with all that lovely fruit and the cinnamon to add flavour I’d ditch the added sugar. Fab idea though with nuts and fruit to keep you going longer.
Astrid says
What a smart idea! I’m definitely going to share these tips with my parents-in-law. Last year they completed the John o Groats to Lands End route.
They did mostly wild camping so had to keep most of their food on hand. Like you said, this gets heavy even if it’s split between 2 people.
And my mom-in-law is convinced all the bread they ate made her gain weight. So for their next bike trip to the Netherlands I’m sure she’ll love your plan for a healthy early morning breakfast!
Peachy @ The Peach Kitchen says
What a clever way to pack a healthy breakfast! It looks so delicious too. I will definitely try this when I go camping with my kids.
tauyanm says
thanks for this! now i know what to do when we go camping next time! i love milky porridge too! this will be a game changer! those mountain views are amazing!
CourtneyLynne says
Omg how handy are these porridge packets?!?! They look beyond delicious as well
Krystal // The Krystal Diaries says
I’m not a camper and I’ve never tried porridge before but I would probably try this at home. This looks like a great idea!
Emma white says
So cool and handy! My friend is always going camping so will be telling her about this as im sure she will find it very useful!
Ave says
Porridge sachets sound like a really great idea for trips where the items you can bring with you are limited. Real Handful sachets look delicious!
Elizabeth O. says
This is pretty cool and it’s perfect for camping out as well. I would love to make this ahead at home in case I’m going to be too busy to prepare breakfast in the morning! Thanks for the awesome idea!
Mary@Swimming Pool says
Awesome idea. I love it :). Gonna prepare for our next camp trip soon this month
Thank you.
Emily@ juicer healthy says
Love your ideas! You are amazing woman. I will try this for next camping. Thank you, Elizabeth!
Athena says
I don’t eat porridge or oatmeal but every other person in my house loves it. We also camp up to six months per year and are always looking for highly portable options. They will love this!
Bethany Stout says
This looks so yummy, who knew you could have such a yummy breakfast while outdoors.
Maryanne says
This is very helpful! I´m a picnic lover and this is very great idea
MishyV says
Oh this is great! And as we can see thanks to ur pics it’s really easy to bring it with u anywhere and u don’t need any special equipment 🙂
Sarah Irving | The Urban Wanderer says
What a great idea! I’ve even found that I can get non-dairy and soya powder for mine too. I love that these would work in Airbnb trips too. 🙂
Victoria Heckstall says
Oh my! That’s pretty amazing and smart idea! I know someone who travel a lot and she will surely love it
Camilla says
What a great idea to make your own yummy porridge sachets, sure to keep you going on a long trek! Thanks for linking to my Chilli Spam & Eggs:-)
Chloe says
Oats are so yummy, and always so filling! These are perfect for on the road or even for breakfast before work.
Tina Gleisner says
Loved your post as I’ve been carrying my oatmeal (US based) ziplock bags on trips for about 5 years now. I mix in walnuts just as I do at home but think I’ll add dried berries back in to make up for not having fresh apples on the road.
Azlin Bloor says
That’s such a fantastic idea, and being able to mix the flavours up is grand too! That scenery is just awesome, btw!
Anne Yedlin says
What an awesome idea. This is great for any outing one may take! Thank you for sharing.
Michelle @ Greedy Gourmet says
Such a fantastic idea, specially for camping. This is gonna be on my list the next time we go camping.
Jemma @ Celery and Cupcakes says
This is such a great idea. Not just for camping, but for making the weekday mornings easier too.
munchies and munchkins says
fabulous idea, would be great for when I go to festivals too. I love the quote at the top. x
Lauren M says
I love this idea! will definitely use it for our next camping trip. We are also keen to try some wild camping so this is perfect. I guess you can mix it up as well and try some different toppings.
Iga says
I am in a mood for a camping somewhere in the middle of nowhere. Ideally near by a lake. Have a fantastic day, Iga x
Ainsley says
These look great! I’ve used the pots and sachets for all of my previous camping trips,but will defintely give these a try.
GiGi Eats says
My sister and her husband backpack ALL the time – I need to share this with them!
Jonathan says
Sounds tasty! We’ll be eating a lot of instant porridge on our big adventure this year – and we’ll be adding some milk powder and scroggin to it, no doubt. I’m glad to hear it works a treat!
Sarah - Craft Invaders says
This is brilliant Elizabeth, one of those really obvious things to do once you see someone else doing it!
Ren Behan says
This is a brilliant idea Elizabeth, especially as you can customise your sachets with loads of healthy and tasty extras!
Johanna @ Green Gourmet Giraffe says
I love this idea – just wish I had some camping or cycling to do to use it in – but will just have to enjoy yours vicariously – and love the spoon fork too
Zoe at Splodz Blogz says
These are a great idea, I shall definitely try making these for the next time I go camping. Thanks for the idea!