How can I spice up and add nutrition to simple grains, which are light, easy to cook, and useful on longer hikes?

	Ask the Expert Dorcas Miller Outdoor cookbook author Dorcas Miller believes ingredients should have zing - or they should stay at home. Ask Dorcas a question Meet Dorcas Previous Answers

My four favorite spicer-uppers are ginger, pesto, bacon bits, and toasted nuts, but there are lots possibilities on supermarket shelves. As for nutrition, read the label. Herbs offer virtually none while sauces with cheese deliver fat and protein. Check 'em out:

Fresh foods: Garlic, Ginger, and Cheese. Try different kinds of cheese; fresh grated parmesan is much tastier than parm from a canister.

Heat and concentrated flavor: Hot sauce, pepper sauce, Worcestershire sauce, mustard.

Ethnic/international foods: Wasabi (Japanese horseradish), Miso (Japanese), Tamari (Japanese), Ginger soup mix flavoring (Thai), Curry paste, Salsa.

Rice seasoning packets (rice section): Lemon-chicken stir fry, Honey-sesame chicken, Sweet and sour, Fried rice seasoning.

Pasta sauce packets (pasta section): Herb and garlic, Alfredo, and Pesto. Pesto in a tube is much tastier that pesto made from an envelope. Fresh pesto should not be carried, unrefrigerated, for more than 24 hours.

Bacon bits (salad dressing section): Real bacon bits, Bacon-flavored morsels

Soup packets (soup section): Many types available

Herbs and spices (baking section): For some of these seasoning mixes, there may be variations on ingredients. Some of my favorites: Curry powder, Thai seasoning, Herb Italian mix, Chinese five-spice seasoning, and Lemon pepper.

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