Bookmarked this, good ideas here.

Replying because this seems to be the most backpacker related comment in the post.

My recent backpacking discovery, was that if you coat eggs in a thin layer of oil, they'll keep in the cupboard for weeks/months. I tested it myself, ate 3 month old eggs that were stored in my cupboard. I tested one every few weeks as they got older.

So now for backpacking, I oil a few eggs and bring them with me on 2 or 3 day trips. Makes for a nice breakfast with a tortilla cooked over the fire.

As mentioned here, I've also done just add water pancakes. Great for kids, and kids at heart.

Usually we do freeze dried meals, for the simplicity. But they're so expensive, a 3 day trip costs $30-40 in dinner alone, double if your doing breakfast too.

I'll still bring the occasional freeze dried meal, I do like them. But I discovered Idahoan makes a bag of instant mashed potatoes with added protein. The bag is almost water tight, so if you hold it with a sock you can pour you water straight into it and stir it up. No cleanup!

I add a can of turkey gravy, heavy, but a tasty addition. Toss it in the fire to burn off the leftover gravy remnants, then pack it out.

Honestly the whole meal is almost too filling. If I plan that, then I'll eat a light lunch. But it's only like $3 for the whole shebang!

And finally, I've been known to pack in frozen steak bits and fry them up in my titanium pan, for a first night dinner.