These no bake, grain free energy balls make a great breakfast, snack or dessert. The protein and fat will fuel you through any hike, bike ride, or other at-length exercise. Although, unless you can keep them cool, I wouldn’t recommend bringing them with you. Since they are peanut butter based, they are best kept cool to keep their shape. To bring them camping, I’d recommend freezing them beforehand, then storing them in the cooler. They are sure to be a hit with everyone!
Simple Ingredients
Look at the ingredient list for most protein bars and granola bars on the market. There is a long list of ingredients and many ingredients that don’t sound quite like food. I love that with these no bake, grain free energy balls you know exactly what you are eating which is so reassuring as a mom. And they are tasty so its a win win.
Kid Approved!
My kids love these as “cookies” too. They asked if we could make them together but didn’t understand why they didn’t need to be put in the oven. Anything with peanut butter and chocolate chips is likely to be a hit in our house. Quite a few chocolate chips also went missing in the process.
Lots of Variations
There are tons of recipes out there for any type of no bake energy balls. In the past, I’ve made them with oatmeal, but I wanted to try a grain free version. So I looked at a bunch of recipes and just came up with this one. With that in mind, you can amend this recipe with anything you think might add to it or of course take away anything you don’t like. Some variations could include raisins, protein powder, different types of nut butters like almond or macadamia nut or even M&M’s.
These camping donuts were a huge hit this year. You can certainly make them at anytime, but it just feels right to make donuts while camping. At home, we try to mostly eat non-processed foods, but when we go camping we throw that all out the window. Everything in moderation, right?
I used to make these with my mom growing up. I haven’t made them in years, but thought it would be fun to make them with my son. Well, he was riding his bike around the campsite with his friend. Then when I was done, I asked if he would want to make these with me sometime. He said, maybe he would make them with his friend one day. Not exactly the bonding moment I pictured.
Either way, these donuts have quickly became a camping staple for us. I hope you enjoy them as much as we do.
Making breakfast burritos in Rocky Mountain National Park
The sun starts to rise over the mountains. The sound of birds chirping and the leaves gently blowing in the wind wakes us from our slumber. Rested, we breath in the fresh air. Before the children wake up, we enjoy a cup of hot coffee in our camping chairs and quietly enjoy the morning. The children emerge from the camper, cheerful, after a long’s night’s rest. They happily ask us what we are making for breakfast.
Does this sound like your camping mornings? Yes? Good for you. This is a more realistic picture.
Around 3:30 a.m. our youngest starts wailing for no good reason. We take turns trying to get him back to sleep in his pack ‘n play. After an hour of this, we put him in-between us. He falls asleep instantly, and snores loudly. Around 5:00 a.m. we doze off. Then at 5:15 a.m. our four year old jolts out of bed with so much energy you would think he chugged a Red Bull. We plead with him to go back to bed, and tell him this is not a reasonable hour to wake up. “But it’s an old night,” he says. Then he starts to sing what we call an Anders’ original. We put pillows over our head until we give in, and begin to wake up for the day. We make coffee. Then after another pot, we start to make breakfast.
That’s more like it.
First, the coffee. There are a few different ways you could go about it while camping, but we like to use a French press. We store one in the camper to avoid a coffee crisis like the one I mention here. It is a pretty simple way to make coffee, and quite tasty. We just boil water on the camping stove, put coffee in the French press, top with boiling water, and wah-lah, fresh, camping coffee, perfection.
For camping breakfast, we like to make a hot, hearty breakfast to fuel us for whatever activity we are up to that day. These are our kid-approved favorites.
Pancakes
This is a kid favorite at anytime, but especially camping. I recommend the Bisquick Shake ‘n Pour mix, because it is easy to pack and makes less of a mess. To make it fancy, add in some blueberries, walnuts or chocolate chips. Of course, I always add syrup, even if I have chocolate chips on pancakes.
Oatmeal
Nutritious, filling and warm makes this meal a camping breakfast staple. Add in some brown sugar and reuse the blueberries, walnuts and chocolate chips for a tastier kid-approved meal. Strawberries, almonds and bananas make good toppings as well.
Breakfast burritos
This one is my personal favorite, because it gives me much needed energy to do whatever we have planned for the day. There are so many variations to a breakfast burrito. While camping, mine consist of eggs, beans, cheese, bacon and green chilies. I like to top it with salsa.
Camping Egg McMuffin
Fry an egg. I prefer mine over-hard. Top with a slice of cheddar cheese. Fry a sausage patty. Place the egg, cheese and sausage on an English Muffin. Just like McDonald’s, only with less preservatives. Simple and satisfying.
