I often make granola but especially like to do so before tramping. Granola is full of goodness—oats, nuts and seeds to keep you going. If you need to, you can pack it into smaller serves for a tramp. These happily work themselves into useful empty spaces in your food bag.
I usually bank on 1 cup per serve, which is very much on the greedy side, but allows me to start the day happy. Add a few bits of smashed chocolate and you’ve got a breakfast for frontcountry royalty.
I credit Jamie Oliver with my recipe for a batch of granola:
- 250g rolled oats (use gluten-free oats for a GF meal)
- 150g mixed nuts
- 50g seeds (I usually use linseed, sesame seed and sunflower seed)
- 50g desiccated coconut
- A sprinkle of cinnamon
- A dash of nutmeg
- Good drizzle of maple syrup or honey
- Good drizzle of olive oil
- Dash of vanilla essence (optional)
Method
Heat the oven to 180°C. As it warms, combine all dry ingredients in an oven tray and sprinkle the mixture with the cinnamon and nutmeg. Add the maple syrup (or honey), vanilla essence and olive oil, and stir with a wooden spoon. Use enough oil so that the mixture is covered and holds together. Pat it down with the wooden spoon and pop it in the oven.
The granola should take about 20 minutes to bake. During this time, bring it out of the oven several times to stir, pat down, and pop in the oven again.
Many people like to spoil granola with dried fruit. If you’re one of these people, add your dried fruit to the mixture just a few minutes before the granola comes out of the oven.
Serve it up with your trusty milk powder and water. Sprinkle with chocolate for good measure.
You can make this gluten-free if you use gluten-free oats.
Frontcountry food assessment
Portable factor: Easy. The granola can be bagged in portions and fills up redundant space in your pack.
Faff factor: Zilch. There’s no faffing here, as all preparation is done at home. That means you can save your stove for the all-important breakfast coffee!
Gourmet factor: 5/5. Granola is delicious in any case—and what frontcountry tramper would begrudge chocolate at breakfast?