I love pancakes—to the point where the breakfast treat is so routine that I have the recipe committed to memory. I riff on it here and there adding wheat germ or whole wheat pastry flour—and rainbow sprinkles for special occasions. I've even got a no-fail vegan version (using coconut milk, Earth Balance's coconut spread [2], and flax seeds) for my allergic-to-dairy-and-eggs daughter.

All this and I've still never been able to perfect pancakes over the campfire. I'm not a fan of Bisquick's chemical aftertaste and carrying eggs in a backpack is precarious at best. But, I recently discovered Birch Benders Griddle Cakes [3], which might be the best thing to happen to camping—or just breakfast.

The local company sells its foolproof mixes (check out the slightly hokey instructional video [4]) in two sizes: single serving and family size. You add water up to the jar's fill-line, turn the jar upside-down, shake, and pour the contents into a pan. The resulting pancakes are so fluffy and delicious that when I swapped them out for homemade, my family wanted to know what I'd done to improve upon my recipe.

Tip: I like the classic and the ginger-spice flavors best, but Birch Benders also come in gluten-free, banana buckwheat, white-chip macadamia, six-grain cinnamon, and chocolate chip. Pick up a selection at Lucky's Market [5] in Boulder, or order online [6].

—Imagine via Shutterstock [7]