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Daughter doing her DoE this year. Feedback from practice expedition was she didn’t eat enough at breakfast. Supervisor strongly encouraging porridge pots, but she hates porridge. I’m not a fan either but will force myself to eat it for a big day on the bike etc. she doesn’t even like milk and cereal. At home she will have toast (not ideal on a trangia!) and a cereal bar.
anyone got any good ideas for super simple but substantial breakfast for people who don’t like their food to feel like it’s already been chewed?
Is it porridge pots or porridge that is the problem? I find the former akin to wallpaper paste but make my own "adventure porridge" for bivvying.
Porridge - 60g / 226 kcal
Nuts - 20g / 131 kcal
Dried fruit - 40g / 120 kcal
Milk powder - 15g / 50 kcal
Totals 135g / 527 kcal
Whizz it all in a food processor for a few minutes to make cooking quicker. Dispense into a Pour'n'store bag then simply add hot water when required, stir and leave to sit for a few minutes. No washing up either.
Add honey or similar for added sweetness. I know someone who adds cinnamon
If they have a trangia (or several) just do a fry up?
Or just get an extra 'lunch' from the shop. Or if there's some requirement to have carried and cooked the food, I regularly start the day with noodles on camping trips!
Favorite is DIY Readybrek though, porridge oats, put about 1/3 through a blender, add about twice as much milk powder as is necessary and and brown sugar and cinnamon. It's gloop, but it's sweet, tasty, calorific and filling gloop.
Cereal was invented by Mr Kellogg because he believed that anything less bland resulted in [ I'm not typing that into my work PC ]
flapjack. Oats and fruit in another form. And if she struggles with a substantial breakfast, just remind to eat and drink little and often, to compensate.
Porridge pots are all wrong. Far too small, too sloppy if made to instructions, waste of space - all that air, and plastic junk packaging. Just get oats and make your own. Add dried fruit, honey and a bit of milk and you are good to go. Make it thick and big and you are good to go.
edit - DoE, so a full fry-up is faff. Probably good for day 1 though. After that oats and dried fruit pack a lot in for their weight and pack size. Hard to go wrong with this. Try at home to get a thickness she is happy with + all the right extras.
scotroutes - I *think* any porridge is an issue but she's a 15 yr old girl, she can wolf something down one day and another day take two spoons and make a funny face. Given the culinary skills and equipment available it will need to be fool proof - but happy to hear your suggestion for adventure porridge recipe... she is willing to "try and learn to like it" but obviously if someone has any better ideas then brilliant...
My view is it's better she has something with her that she will definitely eat, rather than something she won't eat, any calories is better than none for doing a DofE expedition.
How about some cereal bars or flapjack bars? Forget about it being healthy, she's a 15 year old girl and she will burn it off anyway doing a long walk.
My brother favours a freeze dried curry to start the day. Weirdo
Overnight oats? Or a sandwich. It's calories and sustenance that matters, surely.
Cereal was invented by Mr Kellogg because he believed that anything less bland resulted in [ I’m not typing that into my work PC ]
...indigestion. Kellogg invented cornflakes to combat indigestion amongst patients. The other story is more fun though.
Ready Brek ?.
Oh, if you're going the PnS bag route, make a bag-cosy out of thermal bubble wrap to keep it hot while it's rehydrating.
If they've got a trangia what about frying up some bacon bits and small (pre cooked?) Potato chunks, chuck in eggs for an omelette. Pretty foolproof.
i like scotroutes adventure porridge. I always found plain porridge seemed to wear off pretty quickly and I was hungry again an hour later.
Whatever she likes. What does she eat at home? If she doesn't normally have a big breakfast trying to force one down won't be good for her.
For me, I'd go for trail mix - fruit and nuts - and just nibble my way through the bag after a mug of coffee. Or cake and tea.
The official site says
It is good practice to start the day with a substantial breakfast.
This can include cereals, muesli, porridge, noodles or even a full English with tea, coffee or hot chocolate.
It's not perscriptive.
I was gonna say, I don't like porridge but will happily eat muesli - which is pretty filling and gives decent energy.
Egg & beans are my staple though.
Agree with the porridge pots != porridge comments above.
What does she enjoy eating at other times of day? Eat that for breakfast.
Some people just struggle eating anything in the morning, in which case the advice above to catch up ASAP with little and often is good.
Perhaps she would find something savoury more palatable at that time? Some sort of sandwich or wrap would be easy enough, but a flapjack type thing with no sugar and savoury ingredients (cheese/herbs/nuts/meat... Whatever really) would be easy to eat - if you can get some oats into her, that's a good start!
What about rich fruit cake slices? They do a pretty good job. Or maltloaf?
Full fat natural greek yoghurt, a handful of raspberries and/or blue berries and some mixed nuts; a decent size bowl of that should be enough fat, protein and carbs for a while (keeps me going for 25 mile MTB rides)
Oooooh! Banana Soreen with Nutella. For when you need calories, and lots of them. I miss Banana Soreen. Lots. maybe a bit heavy for DofE though.
I like the idea of breakfast flapjacks. Same kind of stuff, calories dense, little wasted space, can tune to what she likes. Hell, you can add chocolate chips or gummi bears if you want and it just adds to the calorie density. She'll need a double espresso to wash it down though, so make sure she packs a handpresso and a proper espresso cup.
An aeropress of coffee and a bag of wine gums*
Perhaps obvious but has she tried porridge made with water and salt? I personally vcan barely stomach porridge made with milk, it gives me the gip. But with water with milk added after plus any toppings is good all day.
Mixing in peanut butter and golden syrup. Or just stir in as snickers
*So good I have been known to smash it before heading to work.
Flapjack
Granola (either powdered or no milk)
Mixed nuts and fruit, dark chocolate chips also help
Is this a camping trip? How come people are recommending all this dairy stuff? Will there be a fridge?
Freeze dried cooked breakfast thing?
Pop tarts? Mmmmmm sugar!
Cereal/nutri-grain bars?
I don't recall eating big breakfasts before / during expeditions when I did mine. But we topped up the calories non stop all day. This is my same tendency now for a bigger day in the hills I don't want to set out feeling like I've eaten a breeze block.
flapjack. Oats and fruit in another form. And if she struggles with a substantial breakfast, just remind to eat and drink little and often, to compensate.
Ive no real worries about her eating continuously (although they are paddling not walking so free hands may be an issue). She will go with plenty of stuff to keep her going.
How about some cereal bars or flapjack bars? Forget about it being healthy, she’s a 15 year old girl and she will burn it off anyway doing a long walk.
Yeah cereal bars are what she had with her on the practice and generated the feedback from the supervisor that the "assessor would expect to see them eat something more substantial for breakfast on the actual expedition". I've no worries (and she certainly doesn't!) about healthiness.
If they’ve got a trangia what about frying up some bacon bits and small (pre cooked?) Potato chunks, chuck in eggs for an omelette. Pretty foolproof.
I like that suggestion, I'm not sure it meets the simplicity criteria, I did suggest I took eggs, bacon and sausage when I did mine 100 years ago but she pointed out I didn't do mine with some "f***n idiot boys who would probably drop the bag with the eggs in it for a laugh". From feedback when her brother (who likes porridge!) did it with the same leaders a few years back I don't think they are keen on raw meat stuff from a food hygiene perspective (the food is probably the least likely thing to harm them but I'm not there to judge!).
My feeling is that the "team" element of the DoE doesn't require them all to have the same breakfast but it will give the assessor a better impression of cohesiveness if there's some logic to it - like all just needing boiling water and being consumed and cleaned up at the same time than one person doing their own thing.
Ready Brek ?.
I've not had that since I was about 5 - is it not just gloopy sweet porridge that's been through a food processor? Can you get small quantities? because if she doesn't like it I'm not eating it!
For really big days I like de/rehydrated chilli... I find porridge hard to get down as well. Curry would be ok as well.
When I've guzzled my 4 pints of milk before our next food delivery is due, I'll happily eat Tesco's Scottish Oats with cold water instead. I much prefer oats mixed with some dried fruit, rather than by itself, or a sprinkle of sugar.
But for something far removed from my norm, which is usually always cereal and multiple cups of coffee, this morning I had two homemade oat/carrot rolls with a bit of jam. Yesterday afternoon I had a couple of those freshly baked rolls with my first bit of peanut butter for months, combining peanut butter; cheese; banana and jam was an old favourite of mine! 😈
Get her to come up with her own 'overnight oats' recipe out of various ingredients - nuts, seeds, fruit etc . If she thinks she's invented it, she will find it utterly delicious.
Omelettes and skyr but not in the same dish
Was the DoE a Seventh day Adventist?
https://www.realclearscience.com/blog/2015/07/corn_flakes_were_created_to_prevent_masturbation.html
Son did his bronze earlier this year, jam sandwiches made at home and brioche were his breakfast of choice.
Whatever she likes. What does she eat at home? If she doesn’t normally have a big breakfast trying to force one down won’t be good for her.
She's doesn't really eat until she's been awake for at least an hour or more! If you can wait till 11 she'll happily wolf down a bacon roll, some pancakes and more... but I think the leaders know the assessor and what he looks for, and he's a bit of an old traditionalist so I suspect he wants to see them have a "proper" breaksaft.
Oooooh! Banana Soreen with Nutella. For when you need calories, and lots of them. I miss Banana Soreen. Lots. maybe a bit heavy for DofE though.
Banana Soreen? How am I not familiar with this? With nutella this may be just the rocket fuel I need. Good news - she's in a canoe so weight is not the limiting factor it usually is for DoE!
Or just stir in as snickers
That sounds revolting - you might be onto something here!
malt loaf
Get a 24 hour army ration pack off eBay for a just over a fiver. 10 different menus to pick from.
We use them at Scouts for expeditions where they need to carry their kit.
I used to get all day breakfast things in a foil packet. A mixture of potato, bacon and egg. They were lovely. You just emptied the pack in to a frying pan and fried it lightly.
Cant seam to find it on the web now though....they were not ration packs, definitely something from the supermarket.
Does she eat sandwiches? If so, she can have sandwiches for breakfast. Sweet, savoury, on rolls, wraps or slices, it doesn't matter.
If not sandiches, what dos she like to eat? Then eat that.
It's important to remember that the fact that we eat certain foods at certain times of the day is entirely a social construct, there's no such thing as 'breakfast food', there's just the food you eat at the start of the day.
And I have some sympathy with the assessor - from experience on Scout camps it's very common that the kids, especially the girls, don't eat (or drink) enough. They'll say things like "at home I just have a piece of toast", forgetting that at home they haven't just slept in a cold tent, and will then be on their feet doing stuff from pretty much seven in the morning until ten at night. It's amazing how many tantrum-throwing, sob-wracking, crying-for-mummy bouts of homesickness can be cured with a hot chocolate and a cereal bar... So, my tip is to tell her to eat, and eat, and eat.
I fully support the suggestion of throwing out the idea that she has to eat 'breakfast' for breakfast.. If she likes a decent Macaroni cheese, then eat that. If she likes curry then eat that.
My favoured exped breakfast was porridge oats with chocolate powder added before hot water. I'm firmly in the jetboil camp and only make hot water to either heat up ration pack meals or rehydrate dried foods.
I was gonna say, I don’t like porridge but will happily eat muesli – which is pretty filling and gives decent energy.
I used to eat this when camping, never had a problem with energy afterwards.
How about the full cockney? Two benson and hedges and a strong black coffee - gets anyone moving in the morning.
Failing that, eggs. A lot of nutritional density and eaten quickly in any form. Or sausage rolls/samosas for portability
Mrs TJ ( and I to some extent) were not breakfast eaters and this came to a head when "adventuring" Mrs TJ hated porage as well.
Oatcakes / cheese / olives is what Mrs TJ would eat lots of tho ( bread on the first day) - savoury not sweet and with the olives remains palatable day after day. Cereal bars of all sorts went down well as well. Make sure the cereal bars are not low calorie nonsense. cheese is really good as its very calorie dense
Eat like a hobbit: 1st breakfast, second breakfast, elevensies, first lunch, Second lunch, afternoon tea, dinner, supper is a good rule - ie eat small amounts often
My daughter has just done her gold practice expedition on Dartmoor with a provider called Ocean Rock.
They recommended porridge pots, croissants or brioche in their literature. She took the Fuel Chocolate porridge pots which are a lot nicer than bland, plain pots - maybe try those or other varieties to see if there is one your daughter likes.
The provider really only wants their Trangia's used with boil in the bag or dehydrated "add hot water" meals so suggestions of bacon etc. are probably not going to be practical (along with the fact that the real expedition takes five days and they have to carry everything they are going to eat during the trip from the start - not really going to work carrying raw meat for five days).
Another alternative could be something like the Wayfayrer All Day Breakfast which comes in a foil pouch which can be dropped in boiling water in a Trangia.
What about Weetabix or some shredded wheat with hot milk add some fresh fruit and even chocolate if you want
Ginger cake? A whole one of them would fuel me for a day
jam sandwiches made at home and brioche were his breakfast of choice.
Ah - good shout... that might be a nice fall back.
de/rehydrated chilli… I find porridge hard to get down as well. Curry would be ok as well.
OK this thread is outing the weirdo's!
@paton - whilst there may be value behind Prof Kealey's thesis I'm neither going to take on the might of the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme nor unpick the science to see if it applies to 15 years old doing 8 hours of exercise a day and sleeping outside in a tent.
@martinhutch @hightensionline - I'm not on Insta so not familiar with the trend in overnight oats - is it not just cold porridge? does in need refrigerated?
Anyhow these days cant they just order a Deliveroo etc?
None of this messing about pretending to cook stuff
Couple of these bad boys, can even be eaten cold.
Bit heavy mind.
As a DoE assessor, I couldn't really care too much on exactly what they were eating as long as it had a decent amount of calories in it. Suggestions I would throw in are the boil in the bag English breakfasts, scotch pancakes (can just be heated on the top of a Trangia), Nutella sandwiches, croissants - anything really.
The main thing is to avoid kids just eating the bare minimum and then getting into trouble on the hill later (when sorting issues is substantially harder) cos they haven't eaten enough.
so suggestions of bacon etc. are probably not going to be practical (along with the fact that the real expedition takes five days and they have to carry everything they are going to eat during the trip from the start – not really going to work carrying raw meat for five days).
Thats a good point whilst this is only Bronze so 2 days, probably the leaders are trying to make them use foods/strategies that will get them through Silver and Gold too.
I keep getting told off for not eating enough when I am on a jumping day (it's tough to stop and cook a meal when the weather is good and the plane is giving lifts) so I have a stash of assorted freeze dried meals in my locker...
https://www.xxl.se/search?query=torrmat
(Yes, swedish link, but you get the idea).
_If_ I get hungry enough to want something substantial, I'll get a kettle on and have something like a Pasta Provencal and it's 5-600 KCal. The good thing is that it can get given water before I have to go jump and can spend the whole of the lift cycle rehydrating.
The trade-off is money. They are not cheap. The MREs/Ratpacks are likely cheaper but, if I am honest, it's not amazing food and does kind of train people to accept the food as made for them instead of prepping it themselves. It may also put her off eating some types of food. I still have nightmares about the tinned cheese in the old 7-man packs.
Also, package waste. A loaf of Soreen doesn't really have that much plastic.
An aeropress of coffee and a bag of wine gums*
My mum used to do the chaperoning on DoE expeditions. And on one a kid had been convinced the Royal Marines did a "Skittles Challenge" which was to march for two days eating nothing but skittles.
Needless to say the results were dramatic. Tantrums, dysentery, got left behind repeatedly, collapsed, had to be taken home whilst protesting that it was everyone's fault but his. Apparently he was a little **** to start with which didn't help, but living off sweets wasn't a bright idea either.
And on one a kid had been convinced the Royal Marines did a “Skittles Challenge” which was to march for two days eating nothing but skittles.
TBH, I'm surprised he was allowed to start if that was all he had with him (unless he had other, actual, food with him, and was just being a teenage dick, which is entirely possible)
Overnight oats: https://www.msrgear.com/blog/backcountry-breakfastsovernight-oats/
I'd be going for flapjacks and nuts myself, but if it's a box ticking exercise for the instructors then maybe that might hit the spot.
(These are really useful if you do go down the oats route: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sistema-Go-Microwave-Soup-Mug/dp/B0091CQ7SM/ref=asc_df_B0091CQ7SM/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=205169454929&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=9751099888479576606&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1006567&hvtargid=pla-422487855023&psc=1&th=1&psc=1)
If they have a trangia (or several) just do a fry up?
Meat and overnight trips can make a few of us Supervising or Assessing wobble. I have had whole tents go down with food poisoning - one was bacon and sausages, one was a pre-cooked chilli from mum.... If you do go this route, you need a cold container and daughter know what properly cooked bacon looks like.
I personally think that multiple brioche / cereal bars / banana / etc AND a hot drink is great as a DofE brekkie for those who do not like porridge.
A tin of Heinz sausage and beans and a brew is 👍
I also like pre-packed food as well, apart from cost - there are some nice 'sausage, bacon and tattie fried' dehydrated meals (etc).
I have had a few do the bagel, cheese and cured meat route as well. I also do this for brekkie on camp occasionally.
My lad is currently doing a practice hike for his DofE silver in June. Which is basically the same as his bronze he did last year, but slightly longer. He and his mates are having sausage butties tomorrow morning!
Or:
One lad on my daughter's practice expedition had been sent with Uncle Ben's microwavable rice!
I would listen to the organisers (and people with experience of supervising on here) as they will know what works. The freeze dried and boil in the bag meals are probably not what most here would use for camping but for DofE they seem to be the best, low fuss option.
I keep getting told off for not eating enough when I am on a jumping day (it’s tough to stop and cook a meal when the weather is good and the plane is giving lifts) so I have a stash of assorted freeze dried meals in my locker…
Are you talking about parachute jumps, or am I missing something?
Is there any necessity to have hot food between whatever jumps you are doing, or could pasties, sausage rolls, sushi, sandwiches, a small picnic buffet or last night's left-over spaghetti do the trick?
The trade-off is money. They are not cheap. The MREs/Ratpacks are likely cheaper but, if I am honest, it’s not amazing food and does kind of train people to accept the food as made for them instead of prepping it themselves. It may also put her off eating some types of food. I still have nightmares about the tinned cheese in the old 7-man packs.
Now, I'm not claiming that a good pasty is the cheapest thing in the world, but it's cheaper than freeze-dried food and much tastier, and can also be eaten while jumping out of an aeroplane, one would assume. Sorry, to clarify, easier to eat before or after jumping, not while stepping out of the plane, unless you hold it in your mouth and keep your jaws tight.
Also, package waste. A loaf of Soreen doesn’t really have that much plastic.
Ditto pasties. They really are proof of divine beings.
😀
“assessor would expect to see them eat something more substantial for breakfast on the actual expedition”
Assessor can do one unless she is struggling to finish the route. If she has cereal bars to eat throughout the day there shouldn't be a problem.
Peanut butter in between 2 slices of compacted Soreen would be up there for the calories v density. Doesnt need heating, or keeping in a fridge. Is sweet enough and a wholefoods peanut butter cuts will through some of the sweetness. Add a banana or even a tin of rice pudding, sliced banana in roce pudding spunds lush to me
If she has cereal bars to eat throughout the dayand she eats them there shouldn’t be a problem.
The two don't necessarily go together, teenagers can be both a) brilliant and b) mind-numbingly dumb at pretty much the same time.
Assessor can do one unless she is struggling to finish the route. If she has cereal bars to eat throughout the day there shouldn’t be a problem.
The assessor on my daughter's trip said that they wanted the "young people" to have reasonable food including hot meals and drinks at appropriate times. As far as I am concerned that is sensible and existing solely on cereal bars is not. The whole point of DofE is to learn some life skills so telling the kids to subsist on cereal bars disrespect the assessors is not really going to achieve that.
Wow, you guys eat a lot of sugar.
Tell her to go keto. Then she won't need breakfast and will be good for a non-stop week 🙂
Problem - "she doesn't like porridge"
Solution 1 - "porridge but made different"
Solution 2 - "something something which is essentially the same as porridge"
I'd be on the all-day breakfast type meals personally, either boil in the bag or dehydrated.
As for cost, you can always decant a cheap tin of heinz into the re-useable silicone pouches or whatever.
The assessor on my daughter’s trip said that they wanted the “young people” to have reasonable food including hot meals and drinks at appropriate times. As far as I am concerned that is sensible and existing solely on cereal bars is not. The whole point of DofE is to learn some life skills so telling the kids to subsist on cereal bars disrespect the assessors is not really going to achieve that.
Mmmm I think we are at cross purposes here. An expedition with minimal cooking and prep kit is a different prospect to being at home with a full kitchen and fridge. Being flexible and taking a measured appropriate approach is a more valuable life skill than having some victorian values fausted upon you.
Biscoff wraps are a breakfast favourite for my teenagers (and me too!)
Lots of fresh fruit (berries) and a decent sized Danish do me from 04:00 to 12:00 on the days I ride my 30km to work, they'll also usually seem me good for 75-80km (3hours) riding from the door.
I have done a lot of multiday self supported trekking. That means carrying several days food. If you have a canoe like the OPs daughter then weight is not such an issue but for multidays I find you cannot run a calorie deficit for several days. I aim for 4000 calories a day. Oats are good as they have some effect regulating blood sugar
Again with it being multiday its important to get some fibre - oats again are good for this. Fats are more calorie dense than carbs. A good mix of short and long acting carbs and fats is something to aim at.
Its important you like the food you are eating so you do actually eat it. It does you no good in your bags
with the OPs daughter not having to worry about weight so much then tins also can come into to play. I find the prepack camping meals really rather unpleasant and usually much too small.
so for me flapjack or porage or oatcakes for breakfast, oatcakes with olives and cheese / cereal bars thru the day. and a big pile of pasta or rice in the evening.with a basic sauce. dry roast nuts for fat, protein fibre and salt, chocolate as a nice something as snacks
I try to eat most hours - ie the old eat like a hobbit 🙂
they are paddling not walking
Game changer. I didn't read that earlier. Paddling = no weight issue = luxury food.
My paddling diet is completely different to my lightweight walking diet. TBF paddling includes a couple of bottles of wine stashed in the boat. Breakfast when paddling would be bagels, cured meats, cheese, bucket of tea, I'd definitely consider some of the all day breakfast tins.
Canoes are best when sitting low in the water, embrace the weight.
Assessor can do one unless she is struggling to finish the route. If she has cereal bars to eat throughout the day there shouldn’t be a problem.
Mmmm I think we are at cross purposes here. An expedition with minimal cooking and prep kit is a different prospect to being at home with a full kitchen and fridge.
That's an "adult" solution to a problem - ordinarily I am an argumentative prick who would happily debate the logic for the suggestion but the "life lesson" here is - your group leader says, "the person assessing you will expect to see you have a more substantial breakfast" then you say "ok how can I do that" to pass, not "well he's wrong".
It may even be this is the group leaders' bias coming out not the assessors but its not going to do her any harm. Even if she has to force herself to eat shit porridge once, its not going to kill her. But she's also quite resourceful so I'd rather she actually ate something she liked then being sneaky to look like she's eaten some porridge that's been buried somewhere.
Game changer. I didn’t read that earlier. Paddling = no weight issue = luxury food.
Yes - she's crafty. She joined the sea scouts rather than the school DoE group because "have you seen the size of pack they carry round"!
My paddling diet is completely different to my lightweight walking diet. TBF paddling includes a couple of bottles of wine stashed in the boat.
Yeah, I won't suggest that to her as she might, and I suspect the assessor would take a dim view on the nutritional value!
Four cans of guiness
Or beans....but only one can of beans
I aim for 4000 calories a day.
I think it was Jenn who told me when she was riding across America, towards the end she was eating butter straight out of the pack just to get enough calories.
Probably not a great idea for a DofE, mind. 😁
If it were me I'd head to Go Outdoors and snag whatever expedition food most took her fancy. From memory the last time I looked into this the Wayfarer stuff linked on the previous page were one of the best, they're pre-hydrated so that was an issue for me when wild camping but wouldn't be so much in a canoe.
Fruitcake…to eat…I don’t mean your daughter’s a fruitcake.
I think it was Jenn who told me when she was riding across America, towards the end she was eating butter straight out of the pack just to get enough calories.
I read Tim Hempleman-Adams' book about his unsupported walk to the North Pole, and he and his walking buddy dissolved a whole pack of butter, each(!), into every meal they ate. It was the only way to get the calories they needed.
I know porridge isn't a thing for her, but maybe she needs to learn to eat what she needs, not what she wants.
That's an outdoor life skill. And you can change your tastes too. DofE is kind of about finding these things out...
Given she doesn't like porridge so I'm guessing no museli (alpen with milk powder makes and acceptable lightweight breakfast) the I'd recommend either cake or a tin.
Cake could be battenburg, brioche, teacake, pancake, whatever type of cake
Tin can be heated in the kettle, dent the tin, in the kettle, all day breakfast, beans, curry, custard, whatever is warming. Can add bread or wraps if wanted.
As for needing to be up an hour before eating is that really a problem for kids on a one night d of e? Won't they be up at 5 irrespective?
Edit: I eat most things (including museli and overnight oats) but avoid porridge if at all possible so don't push that or it will not be eaten. Didn't Johnson define oats as 'food for horses'. Sounds a good enough reason to refuse them if you don't like them.
Chocolate and cans of cola.
More chocolate.
Scrambled (or poached) eggs on toast?
If a fridge is available then mix oats/granola with her favourite yoghurt. Or mix drinking chocolate powder, water (hot) with oats or similar just to make a paste but not runny. Rice pudding, malt loaf/cheese. The brand of vacuum meals in the above photo are good. Maybe think about a carb energy drink too.
Just remembered one of ours...
Granola or similar with milk substituted for hot chocolate (not that calorie free crap obviously).
If a fridge is available
If she's travelling in a canoe then she's got a natural fridge, she's got running cold water and just needs a bag.