Very slightly modified from a recipe on trailcooking.com

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup couscous
• 1 tablespoon tomato powder
• 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon granulated sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder (not onion salt)
• 2 tablespoons shelf-stable parmesan cheese
• 1 packet olive oil (about 1 tablespoon)

Pack all of the dry ingredients and the cheese in a quart-sized freezer bag. Pack the olive oil separately. (A pint bag would probably work, too.)

To serve, add 1/2 cup cool water and the olive oil to the freezer bag. Stir, then seal tightly and let sit for 10 minutes. Eat out of the bag.

This is definitely good, but the portion is a bit small. We need something with it — crackers, cookies, something like that.

Julie thinks we could substitute chopped sundried tomatoes for the tomato powder to get a similar dish, if we didn't have tomato powder on hand.

Lunches that use oil or oil-based dressings can be messy and difficult to clean up. If you're in bear country, you need to be careful not to spill, and you may need to wash everything with soap and water after lunch. This can negate some of the convenience of a cold lunch.