Breakfast Foods - No Cooking & No Refrigeration

Updated on June 05, 2012
S.B. asks from Keller, TX
16 answers

We are headed on vacation soon. We'd like to bring breakfasts with us in an effort to save a little money. We need foods that need no preparation - not even a toaster. We also need ideas that do not need refrigeration. My kids aren't huge cereal fans. They had thier first pop tart this weekend and they hated them. So far we have granola bars and bananas and peanut butter crackers on our list. Any other ideas?? We camp all the time, I should be better at this! TIA mamas and papas!

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So What Happened?

Great ideas, thank you! We are flying out Friday to Yellowstone for 8 days. We have a motel the first night because we get in late and then we have reservations in cabins in the park for the rest of the week. We were going to hit up Walmart or a grocery store before we went into the park. I think we can buy ice if we need at the park, but I am sure it won't be cheap. Food is pretty pricey, so we figured we could save some money on breakfasts and snacks. Since we are staying in cabins, that means no refrigerator and they don't allow cooking of any kind in the cabin. Hence the need for no prep no cook breakfasts! But I think we do have a coffee pot, so oatmeal, grits and freeze dried breakfasts may also work. Thank you! Keep the ideas coming!

Featured Answers

T.S.

answers from San Francisco on

I know you said no refrigeration but what about a cooler? We usually take that if nothing else. That way you have a place to keep a few items like juice, milk, cream cheese, jelly, etc. to go with bagels, muffins, cereal, fruit, that kind of stuff. And you can get ice anywhere, either on the road or at the hotel :)

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K.G.

answers from Fort Wayne on

well if you are looking for protien try Power crunch bars, they are like eating a kit kat bar (the chocolate ones) they have a bunch to choose from you can get them at Vitamine shoppe also they have those muffin packages we sometimes get a box of them at Sams. what about those kelloge breakfast bars they are not bad tasting?

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B.

answers from Augusta on

if the place you are staying has a coffee pot you can cook anything that requires hot water. ie oatmeal, grits, cream of wheat.

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M.J.

answers from Milwaukee on

Great suggestions so far but I don't think I saw banana, zucchini & lemon poppy seed bread.

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R.R.

answers from Los Angeles on

Oranges, peaches, bananas, pb & j sandwiches, juice in boxes or pouches, muffins and boiled eggs. (We just stayed in a hotel with a continental breakfast this weekend, they had the boiled eggs and the kids loved them. They weren't cold like in ice, just in a big bowl on the counter. If you take a cooler you could keep them there with some ice in the event they weren't all eaten in one day.)

And even though your children don't like cereal much you could make a trail mix of sorts with different cereals, (we use Cheerios, Honey Kix, and Cinnamon Toast Crunch) dried banana slices, dried cranberries or raisins and nuts, and put the mix in individual baggies they can snack on.

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J.T.

answers from New York on

If you are staying in a hotel, bring a cooler... you can keep refilling it with ice from the ice machines they have so your cold stuff will stay cold.

If that won't work... how about PB&J... it might take a bit to find locally, but on-line you can order the single serve containers of jelly.

Also how about hard boiled eggs... they can stay unrefrigerated for a few days if I recall.

Good luck and have fun on vacation!

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S.Q.

answers from Bellingham on

Brioche with jam or butter. Banana and oatmeal muffins, pineapple and coconut muffins, fruit, cereal bars, cheese triangles, instant hot chocolate.

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❤.M.

answers from Los Angeles on

-breakfast bars
-if you have a cooler, cream cheese & bagels (no need to toast them)
-muffins (all flavors)
-scones
-turnovers (bought in bakery)
-Pop-Tarts (not healthy but......)
-Dried fruit mixes
-applesauce

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J.L.

answers from Minneapolis on

Since you camp all the time, have you considered buying (actually investing in) dehydrated camping meals? All the preparation you need is the entrees and some H2O and a kettle to boil the H20. MREs are even better, as they are fully cooked heat and eats, that all you need is a way to reheat them, such as a camp stove and sometimes a pot to prepare it...otherwise you can sometimes use the packaging itself. They store up to about 5 years. Meals include entrees like chicken, steak, pot roast, pastas and even breakfast favorites. Best of all the food actually tastes great! It's not processed and once rehydrated, you'd think you made it at home.

See: http://www.wildernessdining.com/
www.beprepared.com (has both Mountain House and MREs)

Gander Mountain and REI carry these but it's pricey. Sometimes Costco and Sam's Club sell freeze dried camping foods at a great price because it's bulk. Look in-store and online for these foods..click on emergency supplies under the grocery section. Mountain House brand has the best breakfasts (everything from Denver style scrambled eggs to pancakes and real bacon) and they travel well and the pouches store for up to 5 years. The packaging is water tight, floats, and can easily be packed in a backpack and not take up much space.

For anytime camping meals in general, a cheaper alternative are shelf ready foods such as Campbell's Franks n' Beans, Vienna Sausages in the can, canned tuna and sealed packettes of relish and mayo like you get at fast food restaurants to make a spread, already seasoned tuna in foil pouches, soups both dried and canned. Canned Taco meat can be found at stores sometimes. Dried potato hash/shreds are great. There's also Dinty Moore Stew, Swanson Chicken Ala King, and Chung King Chow Mein (all canned goods) or those Heat n' Eats in plastic air sealed plates by Dinty Moore and Hormel that are found on the shelves near their canned counter parts. They have meals like Turkey in Gravy with potatoes, spaghetti and meatballs, and stroganoff. While they are meant to be microwaved, you could always dump them in a pan and heat the contents conventionally. These stay shelf fresh for about a year, but the packaging isn't as hearty as the packaging used for MRE's or the Mountain House. The canned and shelvable heat n' eats are also bulky and may take up too much space or be cumbersome to travel with. But they are alot cheaper than the camping food.

Other ideas include packs of instant Oatmeal, instant cream of wheat, pancake mix that only requires water and syrup that can be stored without refridgeration, canned spam (fries up great and is good in eggs), canned corned beef, and dried eggs and milk (both dried eggs and milk are usually located in the baking section of the grocery store).

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K.S.

answers from Miami on

Juice boxes are great because they do not need refrigeration unless you open them. I also bring a cooler filled with frozen water bottles. Have cool water longer :]
To bad no cooking we use to make a camp fire and make flap jacks. Bring some jam, you can get those little packets the restuarants have that do not need refrigeration. Homemade huge oatmeal raisin cookies yummy for the kiddies. I love camping but need that camp fire cause I need my coffee in the morning.

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A.S.

answers from Gadsden on

Apples with peanut butter

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I.X.

answers from Los Angeles on

well I'd encourage you to get a little cooler, we always travel with one unless we fly. Muesli is really healthy and fast and good. uncooked oats, yogurt, fruit, and honey.
Otherwise your looking at cereal bars, fruit, muffins, and doughnuts.

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S.R.

answers from Washington DC on

Try protein bars (not cereal or granola bars which are just a bunch of sugar). Go to GNC and try out a few. I love the 2:1 or 3:1 bars. My dd loves Luna peppermint flavor bars

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A.W.

answers from Kalamazoo on

You should buy a cooler for the trip! or take one with you - you can duct tape the lid shut and sent thru as luggage! Then you can have milk, yogurt, cheese, sand meat, jelly, juice etc! I'd consider it a MUST HAVE!!!

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G.B.

answers from Oklahoma City on

I always stay at hotels that have breakfast just for this reason. The hotel rooms are not any more expensive, especially when you start factoring in the cost of a full breakfast. We can stay at a hotel for $50 and eat nearly half that in food at breakfast. We usually have 2-3 adults and about 4 kids so staying in one of these hotels is a must for us.

We do a lot of foods that we can keep in the room fridge like grapes and strawberries. Those can be grabbed by the handful and munched on while getting dressed.

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V.W.

answers from Jacksonville on

Granny smith apples (slice them in wedges), dip into PB, sprinkle cinnamon.
Raw or roasted almonds.
Zone bars.
My picky daughter will eat Z Bars (like Cliff bars for kids).

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