Backpacking Food Bars 2.0

Even though it was posted over a year ago, I’m still receiving a surprising amount of interest in my Backpacking Food Bars.  I’ve refined the recipe a bit and taken it on another trip, so I thought I’d share an update.  This new version is significantly more nutritious and tastier than the previous iteration.

The purpose of these bars is to provide a concentrated form of nutrition (specifically calories, carbohydrates, and protein) in a low weight, low volume package that’s easy to carry and stable across a wide range of temperature and moisture conditions.  The overall cost is lower than most commercially available food bars, and the recipe is infinitely customizable, allowing you to create bars that suite your own palate and nutritional requirements.

Step 1: Tools and Ingredients

Tools:
• Half cup measuring cup
• Food processor or cutting board and knife
• Bowl
• Spatula
• Jellyroll pan
• Grease for pan
• Oven

Ingredients:
• Protein Powder
• Glutinous Rice Flour (may have to hunt through local Asian grocery to find)
• Dried fruit (I used raisins)
• Nuts (I used walnuts)
• Peanut butter
• Sweetened condensed  milk
• Water

Comments

[gilliana]

I thought this was a lovely idea, so I thought I'd try, too. I am gluten-intolerant, so here's my gluten-free version. It lasted on in a Tupperware container on the counter for 3 weeks just fine and probably would have lasted longer, except people (including me) kept sneaking just a little bit. I used banana for the fruit base, pecans, cashews, and sunflower seeds for the nuts, and raisins, dried blueberries, and dried cherries for the fruit.

GLUTEN-FREE HIKING BARS
This recipe doesn’t use eggs, so it is allowed to lick the bowl. The combination of grain and chickpea gives a complete protein.

• ¼ cup amaranth flour
• ¼ cup chickpea flour
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• ½ tsp guar gum
• ½ tsp calcium carbonate (=600 mg calcium) - optional
• ¼ tsp sea salt
• ½ cup sunflower seeds or chopped pecans, cashews, and/or other nuts/seeds
• ½ cup dried fruit of choice, chopped if needed to the size of raisins or a bit smaller
• 1 mashed banana or ¼ cup apple sauce
• ¼ cup honey
• 1 tsp vanilla
• ¼ cup chia seeds or flaxseeds
• ½ cup peanut butter

 Preheat oven to 325oF. Grease the bottom and sides of a 9 x 9 inch baking pan.
 In a large bowl, whisk together the amaranth flour, chickpea flour, cinnamon, guar gum, calcium, and salt. If at all lumpy, run the flour through a sieve.
 Chop any nuts, seeds, or dried fruit that needs chopping. Add to the flour mix and stir well.
 Mash the banana in a medium-sized, falt-bottomed bowl. Add the honey and vanilla and stir well. Add the chia seeds and beat with an electric beater.
 If the peanut butter is cold, put it in a small glass or ceramic bowl and heat it for about 30 seconds in the microwave until it is soft. Add to the banana mix and cream or beat together.
 Add the peanut butter mix to the flour-fruit-and-nut mix and stir until combined.
 Spoon the dough evenly into the baking pan. Use the bowl of a spoon to swirl and pat in delicate circles until the dough is spread out evenly and about 1” thick. A spatula helps to get all the dough out of the bowl and off the spoon.
 Bake for about 45 minutes, until the surface of the bars is lightly browned, the bars have separated slightly from the sides of the pan, and a probe inserted into the middle comes out dry. Put the probe in at an angle so you don’t scratch your baking pan.
 Let cool completely before turning the baked dough out onto a cutting board and cutting into 16 bars.

[doctressjulia]

Great! Wondering about a gluten and dairy-free version of this. I'm gonna try your recipe!

[ZombieMonkey]

I'm wondering if Coconut Water may be a good substitute to regular water. Not sure on it's bacterial resistance, but it is a staple for the deserted island (though can cause diarrhea in large doses). It tends to contain more potassium per ounce than a banana, which is important for muscle exertion, and other electrolytes. Also other super foods such as Acai berries (which can be found dried as well), soy nuts (there is even a soy nut butter), and the like can add some nutrition density. The big trick is having the nutrition needed for physical activity. But so far great stuff

[vref_guy]

I made these for an overnight hike when I climbed Katahdin. They were great and my hiking partner found them tasty enough to ask for the recipe. Thanks for posting this.

I used Vanilla flavored Body Fortress Whey protein sold at the biggest box store there is. The rice flour wasn't as difficult to come by as I expected. I greased the pan and used parchment paper which was probably over-kill but the brick came out with no trouble. I divided it in half and frozen one portion which I plan to thaw this weekend during another hike.

[kelociraptor]

Hello and thanks for this great instructable. I am trying to veganize your recipe without compromising nutrition. I hope you don't mind the contribution.

I substituted pea protein for whey protein, almond butter for peanut butter, wheat germ for glutinous rice flour (I couldn't find it), and virgin coconut oil for sweetened condensed milk. I warmed the coconut oil to liquefy it. Because there wasn't really a "bonding" agent in my mix, there wasn't enough to make a good batter, and it never solidified. It tasted good, in a bowl, and it was easy to clean up since I used parchment paper, but it didn't turn out.

For those of you interested in trying those ingredients:
1. Coconut oil is watery thin when melted. I recommend melting it (on very low heat) first; it's going to melt in the oven anyway. Adjust the amount of water if using coconut oil instead of condensed milk - I used no water.
2. Almond butter is a fine substitute for peanut butter, but it usually has no added sugar, and it's generally thicker than PB. I added it to the coconut oil, warming it up to soften it before adding it to the dry ingredients.
3. Wheat germ isn't enough of a bonding agent on its own.
4. Pea protein is more expensive (but better in many ways) than whey, so if you aren't vegan and cost is an issue, you can find whey widely available for a lot less.

This combination of ingredients is not sweet AT ALL since there's no sugar in the coconut oil or the almond butter. I added cinnamon and liked the combination of cinnamon and the occasional burst of dried cranberry, but others may want to consider adding a dry sweetener.

For my next batch, I'm going to use quinoa flakes instead of rice flour or wheat germ, which would keep the recipe gluten free. In this form, quinoa has a consistency/taste similar to very sticky oatmeal, and since my issue was "too runny" I think it will be my solution. Also, since it's easier to digest as flakes, the quinoa adds calories, carbs, fiber, protein, calcium, and iron to the recipe.

I'll let you know how it goes and post photos/nutrition info if it works. Has anyone else tried to make this recipe vegan?

[Grand Wanderer]

Intriguing. Thanks for adding so much information to the discussion. I was dubious about wheat germs potential as a bonding agent, so thank you for saving me the trouble of testing that. I know plenty of people have mentioned almond butter, but I can't say that I've ever seen it in the store. Where did you find it?

[Weaselteats]

I know Costco here in Oregon carries almond butter. May be the same for you?

[RIverredd]

Try using parchment paper for lining the pan. Comes out easily, and bakes well. The wax paper coating tends to be absorbed into your food while cooking, but the parchment paper doesn't have a coating. Readily available as well..

[AdSapien]

Thank you,
This was an amazing weekend activity. I threw two batches together; one Date/Coconut and one Raisin/Apricot, and they both turned out great.

Is there any possible substitute for the peanut butter? Secondly, has anyone thought about molasses?

[Grand Wanderer]

I'm glad you enjoyed the bars. I hope they served you well.

There are many possible substitutes for peanut butter, it simple depends on your rational for needing to remove it. Nutella or any other nut butter is a prime candidate. Melted chocolate or caramel are possible options as well.

I'm not too sure about molasses. The bars are already a little sweet for my taste, so molasses certainly wouldn't help that. I'm also not sure how it would bake. Since it is thinner than peanut butter, you may want to use less water in the recipe for example.

[suayres]

Another addition to up calories, fat, and flavor would be sesame seeds--preferably toasted. Many years ago, I made up a couple pans of a recipe very similar to yours for a friend who was going on an ice-climbing expedition, and I recall sesame seeds being a very important ingredient. He told me that, particularly on ice-climbing hikes, it's very easy to become, well, constipated. And not only does the sesame do what I mentioned, it helps to keep one regular. So, you might want to consider that!

[Grand Wanderer]

(scribbles down note to try this) Trail constipation is terrible, though on my Appalachian Trail trip I had the opposite problem. The toasted flavor would also be another element to make things taste earthier and less like candy.

I actually up whole, raw quinoa in the recipe this time around, but I don't mention it in the instructable because I don't think I got any nutrition out of it. Mainly because it came out, well, whole.

[shadowmistife]

You can pop your quinoa so that it comes out of the shell and you can absorb it better.

http://www.ehow.com/how_7363618_pop-quinoa-like-popcorn.html

[koldham]

if you want minerals, just get the mineral supplement pill of choice and crush it up in the mix before you bake. you wont taste it at all.

[Suzanne in Orting]

You should be able to find True Lemon, True Lime and True Orange in any large grocery store. They are a powdered citrus juices which you could add to the batter to take down the sweetness without the changing the consistency. The zest from fresh citrus would also add a little bitterness. I've used True Lemon to brighten the flavor when I make lemon meringue pie if I didn't have fresh lemons. I add it both to the filling and to the meringue.

Suzanne in Orting, WA

[Grand Wanderer]

That's a pretty good idea. It would be a bit less risky than the vinegar I used to try and cut the sweetness this time around.

[Suzanne in Orting]

A tip as well: if you take some of the flour from the recipe and mix it with the dried fruit as you chop it, it helps mitigate the stickiness.

[Grand Wanderer]

Brilliant!

[dbierlein]

I gave this a go and came out with some very tasty bars. However, I used Oatmeal and ground it into flour, then used the protein, peanut butter, SC Milk, water, and finely chopped Pecans instead of Walnuts (as I already had some) to make a base. Then I split it into 3 and added extras...one batch had caramel and dried apple, another had coconut, dried banana and dried pineapple, and the third was chocolate and caramel. The "Hawaiian" one came out the best consistency...more like bars. Think I need to reduce the liquid on the other two.

However, one question: What protein powder do you use that you get 128g of Protein a cup? I bough cheaper stuff ($25 a big jug) and only get about 56g per cup, but even if I go up to the $50 a tub stuff it only has 24g per quarter cup scoop, and that's the most i could find. Everything else came in close, so I'm wondering if I need to double my protein powder. Would certainly help stiffen up my other two recipes...Thoughts?

[Grand Wanderer]

I like your methodology. Where did you find the dried apples? I wanted to make an "apple pie" version of the bars but couldn't find any apples.

You could probably resolve the consistency problem in you other batches if you eliminated the water. I added the water to the recipe because I didn't have enough emulsifying ingredients. You melted caramel and chocolate is already fulfilling that function, making the water unnecessary.

I was a bit too lazy for my own good when I put the spreadsheet together and just copied the 128g figure over from the previous version of the bars (you caught me). Pulling the canister that I used this time out of the cupboard I can tell you that it is Six Star Pro Nutrition's "Whey Protein Plus, Elite Series" Vanilla Cream flavor. $18 from Wal-Mart. It has 30g protein per quarter cup serving. So 120g per cup.

If you decide to go off-recipe (strongly encouraged, especially if you find a way to beat me in nutrition, taste, or portability) I highly recommend creating a spreadsheet to track your nutrition numbers. Doubling your protein powder will have a significant negative impact on your calorie and carbohydrate numbers. You're diluting the other ingredients with protein powder. That's the delicate balance you have to strike every time you fiddle with the quantities.

[dbierlein]

It was your apple pie idea that inspired me to even look for the apples ;-) I found then at a store called Sprouts. They bill themselves as a farmers market but are really a chain much like Whole Foods. The apples themselves were not totally dry...more like portabella mushrooms but tougher.

I'll have to look for some higher protein powder...think that's what I'm missing. And good thought on the water.

Best part about it all is my kids and wife all like them...that makes them a winner!

[Grand Wanderer]

hahaha, I wish I could get MY wife to like them. She is deeply suspicious of all of my "experiments" and even though she can't find anything specifically objectionable in this batch she says she has to dislike them on principle. It looks like you've been able to inspire a bit more trust in your crew.

[suayres]

And, how about adding flaxseed meal? It's yet another nutritional powerhouse, loaded with omega-3s, fiber, protein, and such. Its flavor is neutral, so you likely wouldn't notice it when added in.

[baldmosher]

I would always add electrolytes (table salt is a pretty good alternative) - effective rehydration should be part of the whole process. You could consider adding Diaoralyte powder, or similar? But that might add yet more sweetness and fruit flavour. I guess there must be a non-flavoured alternative.

[Grand Wanderer]

Once again, something that never occurred to me, but probably should have. The theme of this instructable seems to be "dietary supplements as cooking ingredients." I'll have to look into picking something up and seeing how it contributes to the nutrition and affects the flavor.

I'm all or experimentation, but at some point a line does need to be drawn between what goes into the bars and what you pack in the food pouch next to the bars. I'll know that we've crossed that line when someone suggests putting a pocket knife and tent pegs in the recipe.

Or maybe a spin-off instructable for custom packpacking beverage recipe is in order.

[srilyk]

Great, now I want an energy bar with a pocket knife in it >.>

[wpople]

I would recommend doing the wheat germ instead of the flour for the fiber content as it would add much of the same binding consistency as the flour.

If you wanted to do the chocolate try doing it on the stove instead of the oven that would get rid of the burnt taste so you would start with the chocolate once melted add the peanut butter and other wet ingredients and then add all the dry stuff and mix quickly as it will start to clump together then spread over a pan that is lined with greased wax paper. The wax paper will get it out of the pan the the grease will help the paper peel off. This i very similar to a recipe and technique I have for another recipe.

Another way to do the chocolate would be to drizzle some on the top while cooling.

I like seeing people create recipes and look forward to trying this one.

[Grand Wanderer]

You would be hard pressed to compete with glutenous rice flour for binding capacity. It's the pectin or gelatin of the flour world. Still, I'm willing to try anything. Wheat germ provides a lot more healthy nutrition too. I always feel guilty eating glutenous rice flour (usually in the form of mochi) because its a lot of empty calories and carbs.

In the first version of the bars I did something very similar to what you're describing (melted chocolate, caramel, peanut butter, and SC milk together in a double boiler). I made several batches, and somehow it all came out tasting burnt. I blamed the chocolate, but it could have been my boiler technique, my baking time/temp, or a host of other factors. The chocolate on top is a very good idea I hadn't considered though. It would just have to be pretty dark chocolate to survive my 100F 98% humidity test scenario.

The wax paper (someone also suggested foil) is a very good idea for eliminating the sticking problem, and simplifying cleanup.

[wpople]

I made a batch once that didn't have any Carmel or condensed sugar. So maybe that is the difference. I want to try a recipe that uses honey that may be another idea to consider.

[mgcasella]

I want to try this but grease the pan with coconut oil. I wonder if it will enhance the flavor and get some extra MCFA's into the protein bars? Just a thought :-)

[prince-of-weasels]

Sounds like you are trying to re-invent 'pemmican'.http://www.natureskills.com/wild-foods/recipe-pemmican/

[baldmosher]

I don't know what these taste like, but the commercial protein bars I've tried are like chewing cardboard (or at best, dried, tasteless beef) but with a hint of sweetness and cocoa. These sound positively delicious in comparison

[Grand Wanderer]

It depends on how much you like sugar. I've got quite a sweet tooth, but like i said, even I think they're a bit too sweet. Interest in this instructable may crash after I make this analogy, but it tastes a bit like a fruitcake cookie. Partially I think because of the raisins. However they do are infinitely better than your average commercial protein bar.

[rgbarnes]

Use Brewers Yeast or Primary Grown Yeast for for the nutrition booster. It contains all of the "B" vitamins in proper balance. It also contains all of the amino acids in proper balance. Most of the necessary minerals are also present in proper balance. Use less of this than the other ingredients. An eighth of a cup would be plenty and not overpower your other flavors. I personally like the taste of Brewers Yeast in water, but many people do like the taste and it must be disguised. (Brewers Yeast is not the same as baking yeast)

Vitamins "A", "D", and "E" are not present in the yeast, but should be well represented by your other ingredients. "A" can be obtained from prunes in place of or in addition to the raisins. "D" in the milk products, "E" in the grains, If you find them lacking adding Flax seed and Oats will improve the "E" and provide other benefits..

Using Xanthan Gum will help to bind the ingredients together without resorting to gluten, which you say some of your friends cannot eat. Oats will also help as a binder.

Consider using virgin coconut oil as your only oil, search Google for benifitsl

[Grand Wanderer]

This is fantastic info. I've never looked for brewers yeast, or xanthan gum. Where do you find them? Do any standard brick-and-mortar stores carry them, or is it more of an internet order thing?

[SilverBullit]

Care for real challenge? What can you make for someone with a peanut allergy/intolerance? If this can be attained, it would be invaluable. Thanks

[blueyedcookie]

If it's just peanuts, what about other nut butters? Such as almond, hazelnut....etc.

[Grand Wanderer]

How wide is the allergy? All nuts or just peanuts? If it's just peanuts, replace the peanut butter with Nutella and you're set. My brother and I actually ate a lot of Nutella when we went out hiking this time around.

[dbeck2]

My son is allergic to all tree nuts as well as peanuts. We use Sunbutter, made from sunflower seeds, as an alternative. Much better tasting than soy nut butter. Of course, he is also allergic to eggs and milk, so this recipe would still need some amendments. Does anyone have any suggestions?

[serena3]

Have you tried dried cranberries for a fruit filler.

[Grand Wanderer]

I used cranberries in my previous version and they worked quite well. I was in hurry when I put these together so I just used the raisins I had on hand.

[ANGELPF]

Thank you for the addition.
How long do you think this bar would be edible?

[Grand Wanderer]

I experimented a bit with my previous version and never reached a point that I could specifically point to as "spoiled." Even after about three weeks it never molded, it just got too dry to be appetizing. Even at this point though, if you've got a camp stove and water just boil it up into something like malt-o-meal.

Tests on the current version are still underway. In a week or two I'll take a bite out of the bar sitting on my counter and see how it's doing.

[bentoboxie]

I find that protein powders are out of my budget, so I was thinking if I could use egg whites and soy beans?

[Grand Wanderer]

What price point are you finding for protein powder? I got 2lbs of bottom of the barrel stuff from Wal-Mart for $16 and it provided all of the nutrition values I wanted from that particular ingredient.

[mwuchevich]

as for the vitimin. try getting some low cost multivitimin and crush and add.. think that they suffer the tolerence of the oven well since it had to come from somewhere. and some are left in food after cooking. good instr btw.

[Grand Wanderer]

That's an interesting possibility. You don't often think of food supplements as cooking ingredients, but of course that's already what I'm doing with the protein powder. I don't know if the vitamins would denature at 250F or not.  Someone suggested using a food dehydrator instead of baking the bars, which might leave more nutrients intact.

Wheat germ is one of my prime candidates for a high nutrition ingredient.  Nutrition data here.

I really need to track a wider range of nutrition facts in my current recipe (iron, calcium, B vitamins, dietary fiber, etc.) and compare them to the daily recommendations to see where I fall short.

[mwuchevich]

the only reason that i suggest that you include vitamins is the fact from how you have presented your instructable you are intending to create a hiking food supplement that is low in volume and high and in nutrition that will cover a longn hike something like 2-3 weeks... other wise just some carbs protien will last less than two weeks until you return to civilization and can start consuming 'normal' food

[ak08820]

I suggest leaving vitamins out of the bars. They will make the bars smell awful and 'medicine like'. That is the reason why I don't like some of the bars availble in the market. It is not too difficult to swallow a multi-vitamin tablet a day, e.g. Centrum to get the vitamins.

I wonder what is the texture of the final product. Is it like a cookie or like a tootsie roll or in between? The rice flour also seems to be helping in setting the mixture into a solid form by absorbing the water in the condensed milk, etc. If the texture is too dense, ground or whole rice crispies could be tried to absorb the water and make the bars easier to chew.

[Grand Wanderer]

Texture was actually a significant problem in my previous version. They were dry, hard, and crumbly. This new iteration is surprisingly soft and moist like a dense brownie. I've got a bar sitting open on my counter right now just to see how long it will stay that way in the air.

Right now the batter actually forms air pockets during the backing process that I would like to try to get rid of. Density is one of the primary goals (provided it's still palatable). You don't want to pack air if you can eliminate it.

[blueyedcookie]

For the binding, you could try cold milled ground flaxseed, and or brown rice syrup. Ground flaxseed works just like an 'egg' in providing the 'glue' to hold it all together, plus you get all the good nutrients it provides. Steel gut oatmeal is always good as well. Agava syrup would work for sweetness, and not cause the blood sugar flux because it doesn't impact it; and of course honey is beneficial as well as cinnamon. Great tutorial and recipe.

[baldmosher]

This seems an unnecessary overcomplication when you could just as easily take multivitamins with you in tablet form and throw one in your mouth as a dessert!

[ysabet]

@biddingsites has got me wondering about making a savory version of these rather than a sweet version-- I wonder how they'd taste if you made a batch with some chopped-up salmon jerkey, pecans and a little garlic? Not sure how they'd mix with the peanutbutter, but if I got some nonsweetened PB from one of the local healthfood stores it might just work. Might even try adding some bacon to a batch that'll get eaten quickly.

[danny6114]

The national brand aluminum foil with the release built-in could work as well. In fact you could use the foil to make the baking vessel and no cleanup!

[serena3]

These look great and I am going to try them. Try baking them on parchment paper, you can grease it if you want but I would try no grease first. Parchment paper works great and makes for easy clean up. I use it all the time with cookies or roasting veggies.

[bentoboxie]

Do you think instead of using so much sweetened condensed milk you could use some bananas or apple sauce? This is just a theory, maybe you could validate it for me? Thanks for the awesome instructables.

[Grand Wanderer]

I'm glad you like it, and thanks for the suggestion. I intentionally stayed away from fresh and wet ingredients (he says after putting half a cup of water in the recipe) because I was concerned about the risk of spoilage or molding. Keep in mind that these bars are intended to be carried in a backpack for a week of two in 100F and 98% humidity.

The sweetened condensed milk (hereafter called SC milk) is hard to replace for a number of reasons. First, it provides 789 calories, 133 grams of carbohydrates, and 18 grams of protein per cup. It's concentrated food. Second, it provides an effectively shelf stable liquid that allows the recipe to form a smooth batter and bake into homogenous bars.

I looked into using evaporated milk, but it only has a fraction of SC milk's nutritional numbers and I don't believe it's quite as stable. Using honey obviously wouldn't solve the sweetness problem. I suppose if you have a lot of time you could boil down plantain bananas or green apples into a fairly stable liquid without being too sweet, but I don't know if you could quantify the nutrition reliably. I'm still hoping that someone can clue me in to a nutrition, shelf stable liquid that I'm just not thinking of.

[duxallinarow]

That was a thorough, understandable answer. By keeping SC you are also keeping an easy-to-source ingredient, which those of us who aren't near big market cities appreciate.

[buenasolas]

I was reading your comments, and thought I might suggest coconut oil. It's fat, so it's calorie dense at 9kcal/gram and stable. It's also an medium chain triglyceride(MCT) which is metabolized easily for energy. The high fat content would also make you feel full, and since it's metabolized slower than carbs, it would provide longer satiety. It's solid at room temperature, but melts easily, but I imagine that mixed with the other ingredients that it would solidify a bit more.

[Grand Wanderer]

Genius! One of the problem I have whenever I rearrange my recipe is dilution. Almost any new ingredient I add brings down the average on at least one nutritional element. But coconut oil is so calorie dense it might work. I'll have to crunch the numbers, but if I scrap the sweetened condensed milk and replace it with the coconut oil and wheat germ I might average out ahead. And as you mentioned, melted coconut oil can also replace the important mixing/homogenizing function of the semi-liquid SC milk.

[baldmosher]

From a structural point of view I'd expect coconut oil to weaken the bars' strength, compared to condensed milk, especially when warmed to above 30°C. Could be a good option to try out though.

[buenasolas]

Yeah, I wasn't sure. I mix cocoa powder & coconut oil, and then freeze it to make low-carb chocolate. But even at room temp it's more solid than just the coconut oil, but that's not saying a whole lot.

[baldmosher]

You need the protein to react with the fats and sugars and to start to solidify, otherwise the resultant block will melt in warm temps. Glutinous rice flour should help with the overall binding, but it'll also make it brittle. A drop of glycerine and xanthan gum (etc.) can help with that. It's the same principles that make wheat-free baking so difficult.

[baldmosher]

Point being that the sugar and the milk protein in the SC milk will be key factors in chemical binding when the bars are baked. You could perhaps try dried egg whites as an alternative binding agent.

[Grand Wanderer]

One thing I neglected to mention in this version of the instructable is that my brother and I have competing food bar recipes. In his version he uses oatmeal and shredded coconut to facilitate binding in a mud-bricks-and-straw kind of way. This goes against the streamlined spirit of my recipe, but it is another option if you find the bars won't hold together properly. t Plus it adds some respectable nutrition.

[WYE_Lance]

Thanks for taking the time to improve and share this recipe. Packing food for backpacking can be quite a hassle and weigh too much. I'll definitely be trying your Instructable when I go camping this summer!

[Grand Wanderer]

Fantastic! Please let me know how it goes. I only have so many opportunities to field test it myself, so more data is always helpful.

[biddingsites]

Great info! Something we can try in the mountains where I live. You may want to include bits of smoked/dried meat to the mix before baking (yes, it's safe.) You can add some extra protein, plus some good smokey flavor!