Having set the alarm early enough today to go out and photograph a sunrise, it was overcast.
I found a good place to stop for breakfast by the River Witham.
Pop Tarts
When looking online to see what other people do for backpacking gear and food, I see many US backpackers eating “Pop Tarts” for breakfast – when I was in Tesco on Friday they had them for sale in their “American section”, so I ought I would try them out.
First thing to get over was the price – £3.50 for eight Pop Tarts. They are invidually packed in twos which makes them ideal for portion control. On the packaging it says they should be cooked in a toaster or microwave, I am sure none of the lightweight backpacker I have seen using them, carries either of these items so I assumed they could be eaten cold – however I ate one at home yesterday to check.
Pop Tarts are a soft pastry with a soft sweet filling.
I had the other this morning with some tea and it was fine, more filling than the breakfast biscuits I have been recently using when backpacking. They are however very sweet and probably not nutritionally great, but I am not planning to eat them continuously – some dried or fresh fruit would help with this. Another issue for some people is that ithey may contain genetically engineered soya.
The packaging makes this a good backpacking food for me, two pastries in a a sealed plastic wrapper, but because Pop Tarts are soft I will have to take care not to crush them in my backpack. Even though they are relatively expensive compared to breakfast biscuits I think I will be using them for variety in my menus.