Good To-Go Breakfast Hash

Breakfast Hash is a brand-new offering from Good To-Go. Made with butternut squash, feta, and spinach, it's a vegetarian option, but not precisely what I envisioned for a "hash."

Breakfast Hash

When I hear "hash," I think of hash brown potatoes, or a corned beef hash. Of course, "hash" as a cooking term derives from the French hacher, meaning "to chop." So any diced meal is a hash. But here in the U.S., it is almost always applied to breakfast potatoes with or without some kind of meat. So this...this was interesting. Only some potato flakes amid all the vegetables, and not a morsel of meat in sight.

Nutrition

Good To-Go's version of Breakfast Hash is a gluten-free, vegetarian meal. It features lots of vegetables (onion, butternut squash, spinach, dried carrot, plus dried potato flakes) diced up fine, with a wee touch of feta cheese, plus olive oil and spices to round things out.

It has moderate sodium (760 mg / 33% r.d.a.), high fiber (10 g /36% r.d.a.), and some protein (11 g). Its 360 calories per pouch is probably okay for a breakfast, if one has had a big meal for dinner—if not, this might not satisfy over the course of a big-miles day. 

Preparation

I initially followed the package directions. A little over 1 cup of boiling water added to the package. I set a timer for 8 minutes, stirred, set a timer for the final 7 minutes, ate.

This was insufficient. The water was fully absorbed in this time, but there was still a significant amount of crunchy, un- and under-hydrated material.

As I had a second package, I was able to run a second test at a later date.  This second time around, I used a full cup and a half of boiling water and waited a full 20 minutes. The water was once again fully absorbed—and once again there were a few bits here and there that did not fully rehydrate, albeit far fewer.

Taste:

This is interesting. This Breakfast Hash is, unsurprisingly, very herbal, very vegetable in flavor. It's certainly not sweet, and yet it is also not exactly savory. It's not like eating a salad; nor does it resemble a "vegetable medley" as one might order as a side dish at a restaurant.

I could not pull any single flavor out. My partner is very sensitive to rosemary, and found that flavor significant if not quite overwhelming. By itself, it was unsatisfying—both in terms of flavor and satiety.  And then on that second run-through, I had a brainwave.

I cooked up and added a package of Mountain House Scrambled Eggs with Bacon. I know that this defeats the purpose of a vegetarian meal. But. I am not a vegetarian.

This did the trick. The flavors of the Breakfast Hash were softened by the inclusion of the egg. The bulk of the two meals together satisfied. And the extra liquid from the eggs added just that little bit of liquid and time needed to finally, fully rehydrate the Breakfast Hash.

I still wouldn't call this combined meal delicious. It was good. It was an interesting change from the standard backpacking breakfast fare. And I do indeed love the massive whack of vegetables—something all too frequently missing from backpacking meals.

Your mileage may vary, of course; but my body really wants more protein and more basic carbohydrates for breakfast. I think...perhaps...this might do best for me as a dinner. Maybe even with a dash of bbq sauce? I will have to try this again. And I will be happy to do so.