Cozy camp breakfasts

 

This morning as we were eating breakfast at our little camp, I happened to think that others might like to know how we've been making breakfast happen there on the mornings after we stay over.  Usually, our breakfast there has been extremely simple: a supermarket bakery muffin (oh, so healthy!😊) and two mugs of coffee.  

But once we embarked on a 40-day sugar fast, we needed to do something a little different -- but it still had to be quick and easy.  One thing I did was to research refined-sugar free muffins.  Chocolate-Covered Katie has some great ones.   The first recipe I tried was Coffee Cake Muffins.  They turned out perfectly!  I used xylitol instead of sugar in the muffin part and coconut sugar in the crumb topping.  I also substituted frozen raspberries for the chopped strawberries.  

Next, I tried Katie's Applesauce Muffins.  I used xylitol in these.  They also turned out very well.  In each case, I packaged the muffins all together in a plastic container and froze them.  Then I put the number of muffins we wanted to take to the camp each time in a smaller plastic container for transport.  In the morning we put the desired number of muffins in a round foil cake pan and placed it atop the woodstove to warm a bit.

 I also made Katie's Apple Bread.  That was very good as well, and I liked being able to pour the batter into a loaf pan rather than taking time to fill individual muffin tins.   I brought the loaf along (frozen in between uses) and in the morning we just sliced off a slice or two and warmed it in the foil cake pan the same way as the muffins.  It is not super sweet (I didn't add the coconut butter "frosting" pictured in the recipe) but is quite tasty.  I upped the cinnamon to a teaspoon (recipe called for 1/2 tsp.) but I think another time I would add at least 2 teaspoons.  It just didn't taste cinnamon-y enough to me.

As time has gone on and the weather has gotten colder, we've found it seems really important to have a warm breakfast.  The two smaller rooms are uninsulated, so it gets rather chilly "around the edges" away from the woodstove.

One sugarless breakfast that really fills the quick and yet warm requirement is crockpot oatmeal, so some mornings we've been having that.  I will share the best recipe I've come up with for it, which I adapted from one in Gooseberry Patch's Fall, Family and Friends:

COZY CROCKPOT OATMEAL

2 cups almond milk
1 cup old-fashioned oats (uncooked)
1/4 cup brown sugar or alternative sweetener; I used xylitol in the best version I made
1 Tablespoon butter
2 Tablespoons maple syrup, honey or agave
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 medium apples, cored, unpeeled, chopped
1/2 cup golden raisins
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Spray the inside of a 3-quart slow cooker with non-stick vegetable spray.  Place all ingredients in slow cooker and mix well.  Cover and cook on Low setting for 7 or 8 hours.  Stir before serving in bowls.  We topped ours with a pat of butter and some half and half cream.  Makes about 4 servings.

Probably no one but me will need these details, but since we brought this over in the late afternoon and wouldn't start cooking it until bedtime, I put the oats, sugar, butter, cinnamon, raisins and walnuts in the slow cooker for transport.  I brought the apples separately and put the milk and maple syrup into a quart jar, refrigerating the jar when we reached camp. 

(I had previously tried it the other way around -- placing the milk and syrup into the slow cooker and bringing the dry ingredients in a ziplock bag.  Well, the camp is located on a very bumpy dirt road and by the time we reached there, milk had spattered all over the inside of the crockpot lid.  Not a huge deal, but it worked better bringing the liquids in a jar.)

Just before bedtime, I chopped the apples and mixed everything together in the slow cooker.  It was ready in 7 hours and we enjoyed every bite.

If you are trying to avoid sugar too, you might find that one or more of these recipes will add interest to your breakfast routine.  Our sugar fast finishes tomorrow, but we'll be starting another in January, so we will be enjoying these breakfast treats again soon!