Breakfast recipes on the trail can be hit or miss for some people. While some hikers prefer to walk and eat, others prefer waking up with a full breakfast to keep them going in the morning. Before I became a distance hiker I wasn't much of a breakfast eater. After I got into my trail routine, however, I quickly realized that if I wanted to have any kind of energy before noon I needed to eat a few times in the morning. In 2015, when we were setting out to do our thru hikes around the east coast, it was very clear that I'd need to make breakfasts for myself as NoKey definitely falls into the "walk and eat" category of backpackers. I found myself focusing on flavors I loved and that's where this recipe came from.
Back in the day, well, back in 2008 when I first started backpacking, there was a brand of commercial foods called Enertia. They had an amazing breakfast I loved called Cherokee Rice Pudding and it was a sweet breakfast you could eat hot or cold. I knew when I was setting out to create breakfasts for myself that Cherokee Rice Pudding would need to be recreated. Sadly, Enertia was bought by Coleman several years ago and the food brand was phased out. Since I couldn't find the ingredients online I recreated my own special version of Sweet Breakfast Rice.
Sweet Breakfast Rice (2 servings)
1/2 home dehydrated basmati rice, cooked in vanilla almond milk before drying
1/4 cup dried tropical fruit of your choice (I love to mix it up!)
2 tbsp slivered almonds
1/2 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
At home, mix all ingredients together in a small mixing bowl making sure to evenly distribute all flavors. Split in half amongst two zipper bags and seal.
On Trail: Add ingredients to your cook pot and bring to a boil. Let sit until cool enough to eat or until you reach desired texture.