In Ray Jardine's "Beyond Backpacking" he describes his way-of-life porridge. He says it consists of equal portions barley, oats, millet and corn, all in their raw "sproutable" state, germ and bran intact.

Where does one get truly whole grains like this? Ray says the only way to know for sure is to grind them yourself. But alot has changed since then, do places like Whole Foods Market carry this stuff now?

Edited by Lopez on 05/15/2010 22:30:13 MDT.

Our local Whole Foods has lots of whole grains, both in bulk and pre-packaged. In addition, Walton Feed (http://waltonfeed.com) and Honeyville Grain (http://honeyvillegrain.com) have good selections of hard to find grains.
Jim

Just a little shout-out to an Oregon company. Red Mill products are available here at many grocery stores, usually in the organic sections, but might be available elsewhere in the country.

FYI, I have no connection with this company, just following up on this thread.

Edit: including the link.

http://www.bobsredmill.com/

Edited by saparisor on 06/07/2010 22:15:07 MDT.

I use the Red Mill TVP, comes in a 10 oz bag. I think this is the most commonly available TVP offering; I live in the Pacific NW and my local grocery store carries it. I've been thru-hiking the AT this year and have found it to resupply in multiple grocery stores (larger ones, of course) along the AT/east coast.

The only catch is that even if you know what you're looking for, these things get squirreled away in weird places sometimes in grocery stores. In a larger store if I don't find it, I temporarily break the "guys never ask" rule and --- ask. And pretty much always find it as a result.

"Red Mill products are available here at many grocery stores, usually in the organic sections, but might be available elsewhere in the country."

Red Mill products are all over here, typically about ten feet from the ordinary baking flour. It isn't bad stuff.

--B.G.--

I detest hot cereal, but I'm really addicted to Bob's Red Mill Meusli! I've found it and other Bob's Red Mill products as far afield from Oregon as the Kroger market in Wilmington, Ohio. Look in the natural foods section.

Edited by hikinggranny on 06/08/2010 01:02:50 MDT.

Plenty of Bob's Red Mill products out here in the DC area.

+1 on BRM Meusli - I make mine FBC-style with some dry milk and a little brown sugar. Love it in the morning!

Bob's Red Mill Meusli +1

A great way to use this product both at home and while hiking is to soak overnight and eat raw. No cooking, no fuel, no cleanup.

On the trail;
1) prepackage servings in ziploc bags.
2) at night cover with tepid water and zip shut.
3) allow to soak overnight (keeping warm).
4) eat raw in AM either in camp or during morning break. No bowl required, eat directly from ziploc bag.

Why cook it? Ruins the stuff, IMHO! I eat it raw, like the northern Europeans do (that's where I learned to love the stuff!). Add some dry milk and freeze-dried berries to it in plastic bag; add water and stir just before eating!

Edited by hikinggranny on 06/08/2010 14:08:08 MDT.