Here's a nutrition breakdown of the mixture I currently put together for breakfast on both backpacking trips and kayaking expeditions. I premix this and carry it in bulk to save space. I carry the whey protein separately, and add it to my breakfast mix daily, followed by cold water. The whey protein tastes a lot like dehydrated milk, but my body seems to process it better than milk.

I've been thinking about revisiting this, and I'm looking for suggestions:

Diana’s Granola Breakfast Mix

(2 boxes) FlaxPlus Nature’s Path Organic Granola.
Rolled oats, evaporated cane juice, soy oil, brown rice flour, pumpkin seeds, flaxseeds, oat syrup solids, sea salt, molasses, rice bran extract, cinnamon

Each box = approximately
5 cups
300 g total,
Total fat 50 g 50x9= 450 (x2) = 900 calories
Carbohydrates 210g 210x4= 840 (x2) = 1,680 calories
Sugar 50g
Dietary Fiber 30g
Protein 30g 30x4= 120 (x2) = 240 calories

1 box) HempPlus Nature’s Path Organic Granola
Rolled oats, evaporated cane juice, soy oil, brown rice flour, flaxseeds, hemp seeds, oat syrup solids, sea salt, molasses, rice bran extract,

Each box = approximately
5 cups,
300 g total,
Total fat 50 g 50x9=450 calories
Carbohydrates 200g 200x4=800 calories
Sugar 50g
Dietary Fiber 30g
Protein 30g 30x4=120 calories

(1-20 oz. bag) Dried Wild Blueberries

Each bag = approximately
3.5 cups,
560 g total,
Total fat 0 g
Carbohydrates 476g 476x4=1904 calories(I used the package number of 1960)
Sugar 392g
Dietary Fiber 70g
Protein 0

(1-8 oz. bag) Dried Berry Medley (blend of cherries, blueberries & strawberries)

Each bag = approximately
1.76 cups
227 g total,
Total fat 0 g
Carbohydrates 190g 190x4=760 calories
Sugar 121g
Dietary Fiber 15.8g
Protein 5.28g 5.28x4=21 calories

(2-4 oz. bag) Dried Raspberries

Each bag = approximately
.94 cups
113 g total,
Total fat 2.83 g 2.83x9=2 (x2)= 50 calories
Carbohydrates 90.4g 90.4x4=362 (x2)=724 calories
Sugar 65.1g
Dietary Fiber 19.8g
Protein 2.83g 2.83x4=11 (x2)= 22 calories

2 cups raw pecans= approximately

224 g total,
Total fat 160 g 160x9= 1440 calories
Carbohydrates 32g 32x4= 128 calories
Sugar 8g
Dietary Fiber 24g
Protein 24g 24x4= 96 calories

Totals for Granola mix
Volume = 18 cups
Calories:
Fat 900 + 450 + 0 + 0 + 50 + 1440 = 2,840/9391 = 30.2%
Carbs 1,680 + 800 + 1960 + 760 + 724 + 128 = 6,052/9391 = 64.4%
Protein 240 + 120 + 0 + 21 + 22 + 96 = 499/9391 = 5.3%

Total calories from granola mixture (For 1 cup) 9,391/18 = 522
(For ¾ cup) 9,391/24 = 391

Daily Breakfast will include ¾ to 1 cup of the dried granola mix & 20 grams (2 scoops) organic whey protein powder concentrate. The one I currently use is Whey to Health:
http://www.sourcenaturals.com/products/GP1812/
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total calories whey protein 80
Protein 16 grams

Note:
The fat and carbohydrates in this protein are negligible, so the addition of the whey protein will only significantly add to the daily protein intake
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Portion approx (1 cup) 9,391/18= 522 calories
Total whey approx +80 calories
Total daily breakfast calories 602 calories

Edited by DianaV on 09/05/2011 14:52:59 MDT.

Thats very similar to a recipe I've used for a long time when making breakfasts for backpacking and bike touring. I also add dry milk though to make it into more of a cereal. The whey protein is great though because it gives you a boost to start the day.

Sounds like a delicious mixture too. You could switch up the nuts and fruits. Maybe use freeze-dried peaches and some toasted walnuts and perhaps even some chopped candied ginger for a bit of zing. With the cereals as a base the combinations are practically limitless.

Edited by Laurie_Ann on 02/18/2011 06:12:07 MST.

Something about the wording of "oat syrup solids" scares me a little. Kind of like when I see "fractionated" or "hydrogenated" on a package.

Chris,

One of the changes I'm currently considering making to my breakfast mixture is the cereal base (partly because of the added sweetner). One possibility is making my own granola from steel cut oats and/or other whole grains, such as amaranth or quinoa. If anyone has experience with doing that, I'd love to hear about it. When I make oatmeal at home, I use steel cut oats. To add sweetness and flavor, I add a fresh apple and cinnamon.

I looked up oat syrup solids on the web, but I couldn't find as much information as I would like. It seems preferable to adding a genetically modified ingredient, such as high fructose corn syrup.

Here's a small excerpt from one of the web sites I found:

"Food companies wanting to avoid the GMO concerns associated with corn syrup and the negative connotations of refined sugar can choose from a wide range of alternative sweeteners. These include organic sugar and evaporated cane juice, rice syrup, barley malt, tapioca syrup, wheat and oat syrup, honey, fruit juices, molasses, maple syrup, brown rice syrup, and agave..."

"...What genetically modified crops are currently grown?
The majority of corn, soybeans, cotton, canola, sugar beets grown in the United States are GM. Fifty percent of papaya grown in Hawaii is GM. Small amounts of yellow “crook neck” and zucchini squash are also GM. "
Info

Edited for link

Edited by DianaV on 02/25/2011 12:52:11 MST.

"One possibility is making my own granola from steel cut oats and/or other whole grains, such as amaranth or quinoa"

I'm a big fan of steel cut oats, but considering how long they cook I'm curious how you're going to use them in granola (which I assume you're eating raw).

Making your own grain mixes for granola is great. I like to pop the amaranth first as it adds a nice texture but the process can be a bit fiddly. I also like to use rolled oats, toasted quinoa flakes, and sometimes oat or wheat bran. I add seeds such as pumpkin, sunflower, flax, or chia. I always add a selection of dried or freeze-dried fruits. The thing about making your own is you can control what sweetener goes in. I've used everything from homemade pomegranate syrup to maple syrup, brown rice syrup or agave nectar. A syrup from a reduction of apple juice/cider and cinnamon works beautifully too.

Will,

I'd have to cook the granola if I used steel cut oats. I found a recipe on-line (the link is below) that I thought I might try with a few modifications. For example, one thing I'd probably leave out (at least in the first attempt) is the maple sugar. And I may or may not use the apple juice concentrate (I might substitute a different type of organic juice) instead.

http://www.food.com/recipe/steel-cut-maple-granola-388602

Diana, thanks for the link. It hadn't occurred to me that you could bake the SCO. I'd assumed they need to absorb a lot of water - the liquid provided by the maple syrup and juice concentrate may be just the amount needed. I wonder if it might be a good idea to line the cookie sheet with parchment paper so that it doesn't require power tools and explosives to get the cookware clean. Please post your results.

Why don't you take the steel cut oats, cook it, then spoon the wet mix onto your food dehydrator. Dry it overnight, and you ought to get little oat crystals.

--B.G.--

Will wrote: "The liquid provided by the maple syrup and juice concentrate may be just the amount needed...Please post your results."

I decided to go ahead and give making the granola a try (see the link in my previous post), but with some significant changes. I did not use the maple syrup called for by the other recipe; in its place I used concentrated coconut cream. One of the main changes I made was to use full-strength apple juice instead of juice concentrate (because I thought additional liquid would be needed), another was to use quinoa instead of wheat germ. I spread the mixture onto a (1/2 inch deep) cookie sheet, and baked it for 45 minutes at 300F. When I tasted the granola, I found that (to my taste) it still needed more liquid. So I added 2 additional cups of full-strength apple juice, and cooked it for about another hour. I was pretty happy with the results after adding the additional liquid (the granola came out of the pan easily without using parchment paper).

Bob wrote: "Why don't you take the steel cut oats, cook it, then spoon the wet mix onto your food dehydrator. Dry it overnight, and you ought to get little oat crystals."

I am currently away from my main home base (which is true about 3/4 of the time), and my dehydrator is not traveling with me. But the granola in its present state should be fine for a week (if stored in a refrigerator), so I won't invest in a second dehydrator. When I return to my home base, in a couple of months, I will start getting ready for some long trips. Then I will try dehydrating whatever recipe this evolves into.

Here are the ingredients I chose for my first attempt:

1 cup steel cut oats

1 cup "quick & easy" steel cut oats (still whole grain, but ground into pieces for quicker cooking).

1/4 quinoa

1/2 cup coconut cream concentrate

1/2 cup raw, unshelled pumkin seeds

1/3 cup sliced raw almonds

2 tablespoons cinnamon

1 raw unskinned Granny Smith apple, cut into small pieces

1 raw unskinned Braeburn apple, cut into small pieces

1 cup fresh apple juice (3 cups total after adding 2 additional cups)

Thanks for the comments and suggestions. I'm still open to additional suggestions for changes. One thing I want to revisit at some point is the ratio between carbs, protein and fat.

Edited by DianaV on 02/20/2011 05:56:22 MST.

sounds yummy... let us know how it works out. I've never attempted to dehydrate steel cut oats so I am very curious.

After eating the granola recipe for a few days now, I'm going to make a couple of changes to it.

I love pumpkin seeds unshelled, but I'm finding them too chewy for the granola mix.

For now, the changes I'll make are these: add one more fresh apple, and switch to shelled pumpkin seeds.

In a couple of months I'll experiment with the recipe again, then dehydrate it and post the results.

I will still use the basic breakfast mixture (see the first message of this string, the granola is only the base), so the final results will have more nuts and dried fruit.

Edited by DianaV on 02/22/2011 16:32:37 MST.

Diana... one way you can enhance the flavor of the shelled pumpkin seeds is to toasted them lightly or roast them on a cookie sheet. You can even put some cinnamon on them while you are roasting them.

Your recipe really does sound delicious and I like the idea of having a base.

Laurie,

I've been a big fan of raw nuts for a long time, so for the large batches of granola I'll make (and dehydrate) for my expeditions, I will probably leave out all of the nuts out until after the granola is cooked. But for this small batch (and other small batches I'll make while I'm away from home), it's easier to add the nuts up front.

I'm guessing that you know this already, given your profession, but while we're on the subject of roasted nuts, I just want to throw in a word of caution. Some think that roasting nuts forms Acrylamide and free radicals.

I haven't done much research on this subject because I generally eat my nuts raw, so I don't know if the above statement is true. But to be on the safe side, roasting nuts at a low temperature may be a good idea. According the website at the following link, ..."Roasting your nuts in an oven where the temperature is kept at around 160 degrees Fahrenheit will give you that roasted nut flavor without destroying the health benefits..."

http://www.ehow.com/how_4783327_organic-nuts-vs-roasted-nuts.html

"Acrylamide formation doesn't begin to occur until temperatures rise above 240 degrees Fahrenheit and free radicals generally don't form until temperatures go above 170 degrees Fahrenheit..."

Information about Acrylamide can be found on these websites:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acrylamide

http://www.fda.gov/food/foodsafety/foodcontaminantsadulteration/chemicalcontaminants/acrylamide/ucm053569.htm

If I am not mistaken the studies surrounding this were on commercially roasted nuts and convenience foods.

I toast, very quickly, in a dry frying pan just until the nuts become fragrant and the internal temperature is probably around 150°F to 160°F at a guess... they aren't hot enough to burn the mouth but hot enough to take on a little flavor from the toasting.

I'd be interested in FDA or Health Canada articles related to the home-toasting/roasting of nuts if you have any on hand. I really don't put much faith into Wiki's considering anyone can edit them.

I did find that a study (FDA) listed dry roasted peanuts as having between 27 and 32 ppb (parts per billion) which compared to a graham cracker which has between 552 and 647 ppb.... makes me wonder if it is of a health concern. That said, I am always interested in learning more, so thank you for mentioning it.

edited to add... I'm going to forward this to my food science geek friend. I use the term "geek" most affectionately. He knows things about food I really don't want to know... lol.

Edited by Laurie_Ann on 02/23/2011 13:26:40 MST.

I find a lot of peanuts and almonds in commercial food. So, when I am mixing up something by recipe, I tend to add other nuts for variety. This would include English walnuts but rarely Black walnuts. I never liked pistachios or pumpkin seeds. I think macadamias are kind of unhealthy because of saturated fat.

I guess that leaves pecans and hazelnuts.

What are some other good nutty suggestions for recipes?

--B.G.--

Laurie,

I'm not very concerned, and I'm not worried about the nuts I baked with the granola at 300 F. But I did want to mention it in the event someone who's not aware of the issue (and who would be concerned if they were) decides to try the experimental recipe in my earlier post.

I use toasted (at a low temperature) whole almonds to make biscotti, because for that type of recipe they taste a lot better than raw almonds do.

Still, I'd be very interested in hearing if your food science "geek" friend comes up with any information.

Edited by DianaV on 02/24/2011 00:38:17 MST.

I know for raw foodies it is important to keep temperatures low when dehydrating because of the science behind eating raw. This information about nuts is very interesting - I love the fact that I am always learning new things about the foods we eat.

Speaking of black walnuts. We have a gorgeous, century-old tree in the backyard. When the nuts hit the roof of my neighbour's shed it almost sounds like a gunshot. I had the bright idea that I would gather the green orbs containing the nuts and spread them out on the patio to dry. I hadn't accounted for the squirrels having a buffet and the husks of the nut staining the patio stones. Oops. Thankfully the winter snow and spring thaw took care of the staining or I would have never lived it down.

Walnuts are one of my favorite nuts and I make a brown butter and walnut sauce for pasta that is super easy (even on the trail). I enjoy that they have protein and good fats to help us add calories on the trail and I love nut butters, such as almond butter.

Now where were we.... granola. It will be neat to see the progression of your recipe. With your permission (and credit given to you), I'd love to mention your methods in the workshops I am teaching this summer.

I grew up with a gigantic Black Walnut tree. It works best to leave the green walnuts (in the husk) in the lawn and let the sun work on them for a while. When the husk has turned dark, you rake them into a paved driveway and drive a car over them a few times. That starts to knock the husk off. Once you get the entire husk off, you stack up the many bushel bags of the hard nut and let them dry a bit more, like in a cool basement. Now, the hard part. You have to crack the nut shell, and it generally takes a good hammer smashing them on a brick, and that makes a mess. Good luck with the nut pick in getting the nut meats out halfway intact. But, they can't be topped.

If you end up with Black Walnut stains on hands or anyplace else, use bleach. You can get the stain off your hands within several days.

--B.G.--