My son’s Cub Scout Pack is learning about preparing meals for camping trips as part of their “Cast Iron Chef” award toward their Webelos rank requirement.

Making a breakfast for a group of 30 or so people is daunting enough for adults, let alone if you are three 9-year-old boys who have barely planned a meal before for their family.

Where we live, we never know if we will be dealing with ice or snow on this cabin campout, and we are very limited on appliances. What to do?

Because the boys are responsible for the breakfast on our last day of our camp out, the scouts are creating a “DIY oatmeal bar” as part of their cooking experience.

We are preparing muffins and boiling eggs before we leave for camp, and plan to have as well for another protein option. But sometimes you want a hot dish on a cold day.

A DIY oatmeal bar is your answer. It limits the whining because everyone is responsible for what goes in their cup.

Preparation is easy as well, preparing a heat source and boiling water for the group. (May take more than one round of water, depending on the size of your group and your container.)

We are planning for 1/2 cup dried instant oatmeal (a standard serving size) per person. You’ll need about a cup of hot water per serving of oatmeal.

Supplies needed:

• Heat source (Fire, stove, microwave)
• Pan that is appropriate for the heat source (i.e. won’t be warped by fire or cause problems in a microwave)
• Hot pads
• Cups for each scout – 16 oz. or larger, and able to withstand high temperature
• Spoons for each person and for adding dry ingredients to oatmeal
• Instant oatmeal – 1/2 cup per person
• Measuring cups
• Bowls for various toppings.

Topping Options

Some of the options are Cub Scouts included:

• Brown sugar and cinnamon
• Diced dried apples
• Dried blueberries
• Dried cranberries
• S’mores toppings with mini marshmallows and mini chocolate chips
• Sliced strawberries
• Sliced bananas and more.

It’s simple to boil water over a fireplace, small fire, microwave or stove. Simply pour 1/2 cup of instant oatmeal in your cup, add dry toppings, and ask an adult to add the hot water, roughly one cup, but eyeball it.

This is an easy, on-the-go breakfast especially if you eat out of a cup. And very little cleanup when you’re trying to break camp.

What ideas do you have for last-morning meals at camp? Share your ideas below!