Holy Molé Breakfast Bars just might be the perfect solution to my on-trail breakfast problem. They’re easy to make (ahead of time at home), easy to pack and don’t require any sort of cooking on trail. These DIY breakfast bars are relatively healthy and holy molé are they tasty! Even my non-hiking roommates both seem to think so.

The hardest meal for me to eat on trail while thru-hiking the Pacific Crest Trail was always breakfast. It’s not that I don’t love breakfast. Breakfast is one of my favorite meals in off-trail life! It’s that when I’m thru-hiking, the last thing I want to do is add another chore to my pack-up-camp-in-the-morning routine like cooking breakfast, even if it is just boiling water.

We all know that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, especially when you’re hiking 15+ miles every day. You need to have fuel in the furnace if you want to put in the miles. For me, breakfast on trail needs to be quick and easy. My PCT breakfast items would consist of sugar and calorie laden items like (untoasted) Pop Tarts, granola bars, Cliff Bars, Rice Krispy Treats, various pastries or baked goods I’d pack out from resupplying in the previous town and sometimes even a handful of gummy bears. Holy sugar crash, Batman! Not exactly the healthiest of breakfasts.

I’ve been using some of my free time over the last 40+ days to help prepare myself for the outdoor adventures that lay ahead once “quarantine life” is over, starting with researching and testing out new backcountry recipes. Not only am I interested in expanding my culinary options while out on trail, but I also want to step up my nutritional game in the backcountry.

I love the idea of making my own nuts and seeds bar at home instead of carrying out store-bought granola bars and Cliff Bars I know I won’t be super excited to eat in the morning. The Holy Molé Breakfast Bars are packed with almonds, rolled oats, pumpkin seeds, chopped dates, almond butter, dark chocolate and sweetened with a little bit of agave syrup and a hint of spice with the Ancho chili powder. Each bar is 406 calories, has 7.5 grams of protein and weighs around 2.5 ounces each. One batch of Holy Molé Breakfast Bars makes nine bars.

Holy Molé Breakfast Bars Recipe

Ingredients

1 cup      chopped almonds
1 ½ cup    rolled oats
½ cup      green pumpkin seeds
1 cup      chopped dates
½ cup      almond butter
½ cup      dark chocolate chips (or chunks)
½ cup      agave syrup
3 Tbsp.    Ancho chili powder
¼ cup      coconut oil

Instructions:

  1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F.
  2. Add all ingredients together in a mixing bowl and mix well together.
  3. Add the mixed ingredients into a greased 9×9 inch baking dish.
  4. Press ingredients down firmly in the baking dish with a spatula and/or the bottom of another small baking dish.
  5. Bake for 30 minutes.
  6. Let the bars cool on a cooling rack for two hours.
  7. Cut bars into nine squares and either package each bar separately or together in a Ziploc bag or a reusable travel-friendly travel container like the Cnoc Outdoors Cold Soak Bag.

Backcountry Recipe | Holy Molé Breakfast Bars

 

Learn how to make your own backpacking meals with some of my favorite recipes:

Coconut Cashew Curry With Couscous
Dehydrated Pasta Penne Alfredo
Dehydrated Backcountry Spaghetti
Sweet & Spicy Homemade Trail Mix


 

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