No big day in the saddle—or a long wander through the woods—should begin on an empty stomach. Luckily, you don’t have to settle for those underwhelming instant oatmeal packets or a sad handful of GORP to get moving. Pack this quick‑cooking, flavorful alternative to mushy oats and you’ll start your morning with something hearty enough to actually power you up.

Ingredient Spotlight: Couscous is a camp‑kitchen MVP. It’s versatile, packed with energizing carbs, and made from tiny semolina pasta pearls that cook in minutes. All it needs is a soak in boiled water, which saves both time and precious stove fuel. I use it often as the base for savory dinners too—it’s one of those ingredients that earns its spot in the feed bag.

1 cup couscous

1/3 cup powdered milk (for dairy-free use soymilk powder)

1/2 cup sliced dried apricot

1/3 cup sliced almonds

1/4 cup ground flaxseed

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ginger powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

At Home: Place couscous, milk powder, almonds, flax, brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger powder, and salt in a zip-top bag. 

At Camp: Bring 2 cups water to a boil in a camp pot. Add couscous mixture, cover pot and let sit 5 to 10 minutes. Stir up everything before eating.

For single servings, use 1 cup of boiled water for half of the couscous mixture. 

Here’s an easy way to level up basic camp ramen. This curry‑infused noodle soup is packed with flavor, helps replenish your energy, and gives you a hydration boost at the same time. If you happen to roll past a farm stand or grocery store, grab a few fresh veggies to toss in—bell pepper, spinach, slaw mix, diced carrot, radish, whatever looks good. And don’t skip the lime; a quick squeeze adds a bright hit of acidity that takes the whole dish up a notch.

Ingredient Spotlight: Lightweight pouches of wild salmon are widely available and perfect for adding recovery‑friendly protein to your meal. If you prefer a plant‑based option, swap in cubes of shelf‑stable smoked tofu instead.

1 bouillon cube

1 tablespoon sesame seeds

1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon ginger powder

1/4 teaspoon cayenne powder

2 packets ramen noodles 

2 pouches of salmon

At Home: In a small bowl, crush the bouillon cube. Mix in sesame seeds, curry powder, garlic powder, ginger powder, and cayenne powder. Place the mixture in a small zip-top bag or other small portable food container. Pack ramen and salmon separately. 

At Camp: Bring 3 to 4 cups water to a boil in a camp pot. Add the spice mixture, stir to dissolve and then place the packets of ramen noodles (discard the seasoning packet they come with) in the pot. Heat noodles for 1 minute over a low heat, turn off heat, and then let noodles soak for a couple of minutes. Stir in salmon. 

For a single serving, use 2 to 2 1/2 cups of boiled water for a single ramen packet.

I know I’m not the only one who starts fantasizing about pizza the moment a big day in the saddle wraps up. Sadly, the local delivery guy tends to draw the line at “remote forest clearing, look for the tent by the big rock.” So this meal steps in as the next best thing. This meal captures all the cozy, familiar pizza vibes—just without the pepperoni or actual cheese. It’s a delicious plant‑based way to refuel your adventure, even if you usually lean toward the carnivore side of things.

Ingredient Spotlight: Textured vegetable protein (TVP) is produced from defatted and dried soybeans. It’s a boon to bikepackers as it provides a shelf-stable and rather flavorless source of protein with a meaty texture. As a bonus, a quarter cup serving has about 13 grams of protein. 

Instant rice is white rice that is partly precooked (parboiled) and then dehydrated and packed in a dried form similar in appearance to that of regular white rice. Minute Rice is the most popular brand. Despite the cooking instructions saying to simmer the rice for a few minutes, it cooks (softens) adequately by adding the grains to boiled water and then letting them soak for a few minutes. Easy carbs to restock your energy reserves. 

Nutritional yeast is a deactivated form of the microorganism Saccharomyces cerevisiae with no leavening powers (please, don’t try to make a loaf of sourdough with it) that is produced by culturing this strain of yeast on a sugar-rich medium, like molasses, for several days. The distinctive cheesy flavor profile of ‘nooch can largely be attributed to its abundance of naturally-occurring glutamate, an amino acid that interacts with specific taste cells in the tongue to unleash an umami wave of flavor. This makes the yellow flakes a good option for infusing lightweight cheese-like flavor into a range of camp meals without the worry of hauling around real cheese in a hot bike bag for a number of days.  

1 cup instant white rice

1 cup textured vegetable protein

1 teaspoon dried oregano or dried Italian seasoning

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

3 tablespoons nutritional yeast

1/3 cup finely chopped dry-packed sun-dried tomatoes

At Home: In a bowl, toss together all of the ingredients. Place in a zip-top bag. 

At Camp: Bring 2 cups water to a boil in a camp pot. Add rice mixture, stir, cover, and remove from heat. Let stand for 10 minutes and then fluff mixture with fork.

For a single serving, use 1 cup boiled water for half of the rice mixture. 

What better way to cap off a great day of adventuring in the wilds than with this hot chocolate that also happens to confer recovery benefits. If you are dairy intolerant or fully plant-based, you can now find dairy-free milk powders. This drink alone is reason enough for me to bring along a Bivo insulated bottle, as I’ll use this to keep warm drinks like this nice and toasty. 

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1/4 cup chocolate or vanilla protein powder

3 tablespoons milk powder

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon cayenne

1/8 teaspoon salt

Home: Place all of the ingredients in a large bowl and mix well. Divide among 2 zip-top bags for transport.

Camp: To make a hot chocolate, place the contents of a bag in a mug or a bivo insulated bottle. Add about 1 cup boiled water and stir well until most of the clumps are gone.