Quick and Easy Anti-Inflammatory Oatmeal in Two-Minutes

This quick recipe takes a backpacking breakfast staple and updates it with heart and muscle-healthy foods.

Ingredients:

• Plain three-minute oats (steel-cut grains are delicious)
• Powdered milk packets
• Brown sugar
• Toppings of your choice…we suggest chia seeds, pumpkin seeds, almonds, and dried cherries.

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Steps:

(at home)

1. Pre-package your oatmeal toppings together into small packets or a baggie. If you don’t want to mix your own, you can also buy fruit and nut trail mix and use that as your topping instead.
2. Put your oats into a trail-ready container, like a baggie or soft tupperware.

Steps:

1. Boil 1.5 cups water for every ½ cup of oatmeal (approximately one serving packet.) If you like firmer oatmeal, use less water)
2. Stir oatmeal packet into water, cover, and remove from heat
3. Add ½ tablespoon of powdered whole milk for every serving of oatmeal for extra creaminess and flavor, and brown sugar to taste
4. Let sit approximately three to four minutes
5. Mix in your toppings, and enjoy!

Get the grill going. We are using the portable firepit.

Once your water is boiled, pour in your oats.

Stir in milk for a creamier texture, cover and let cook.

Once your oats are ready, transfer them to your bowl.

Mix in your selection of dried fruits (can be pre-mixed at home with other toppings.)

Mix in almonds for an extra crunch.

Stir in brown sugar or alternative sweetener.

Mix in additional favorite toppings like dried strawberries.

Enjoy!

Recipe Notes:

• We love this recipe because of all the helpful properties of the toppings: chia seeds and dried cherries to reduce inflammation, heart-healthy pumpkin seeds, and protein-rich almonds – all perfect for hikers.
• If you’ve got a cooler, this recipe is a bit creamier and more flavorful with more whole, non-powdered milk. We recommend about a 2:1 water:milk ratio.
• You can use pre-packaged, pre-flavored oatmeal, but it makes it a bit less healthy.

Some general tips for all recipes:

• Make sure you have the right gear. Check in advance if your campsite has grills over the firepits and bring a portable grill if it doesn’t or if you’re using a backcountry fire pit.
• If you’re guerilla camping or camping outside of an established area, bring a portable firepit to cook in and easily move from site to site.
• Pre-measure to save space. If you’re backpacking, measure your spices in advance and put them in one small bag, rather than carrying individual containers.
• Before you begin cooking, get a consistent fire going with flames under the height of your grill. Having flames lap the side of your cooking container increases your risk of burning both your food and your hands.
• To prevent wildlife encounters, never leave dirty dishes sitting outside, especially overnight.
• Make sure to always thoroughly extinguish your fire before going to bed or heading to the trails. Never (ever) leave a campfire unattended.
• When cooking, place your pot on the sides of the fire; cooking directly over the hottest part of the flames is a good way to burn your food.
• Keep your wood dry. Avoid storing it on the ground

With our campfire cooking recipes, we’re confident mealtime will become the best part of your next camping trip. With tools like a portable grill that’s easy to fold up and carry on the trails, you’ll have no excuse for eating dehydrated food again. Happy trails!