Meats:

Packets or single serving pouches of tuna, salmon, SPAM slices, chicken. Shelf stable bacon bits and precooked bacon. Pepperoni and summer sausage. Meat sticks and Jerky. Dehydrate your own meats.

Starches:

Knorr pasta preflavored instant rice and pasta mixes, polenta, angle hair pasta. Flavored instant mashed potatoe and potatoe soups. Flavored stuffing mixes. Ramen noodles.

Vegetables:

Dehydrate your own forzen mixed veggies. Store or Amazon bought freeze dried vegetables. Sun dried tomatoes.

Fruits:

Raisons, apricots, dates, figs, dried apple slices, dried cranberries or pineapple

Desserts:

Instant puddings or cheese cake mixes

Breakfast:

Flavored oatmeals, grits or poridge. Breakfast bars. Add dried fruits and meats.

Other:

Dried milk needed for desserts and dinner recipes, Ghee shelf stable butter or squeeze margarine. Shelf stable powdered cheeses and eggs. Hard cheeses can last unrefrigerated but are not light weight.

Drinks:

Sugar free drinks mixes and sports drink mixes. Tea and coffee bags. Hot chocolate and cider mixes with sugar are heavier, but nice to have.

Cooking:

Determine if cooking for a group in a singel pot versus cooking for individuals in bags.

Using freezer bags, all ingredients must be easily rehydrated with boiling water poured over, not cooked in a pot. So not dehydrated ground beef or regular pastas. Look for more freeze dried ingredients. Rice needs to be the instant type. Pasta needs to be couscous.

If cooking for a group in a pot, the ingredients can be more traditional dehydrated types that take 10 minutes or more of simmering to rehydrate. Regular pasta and rice can be used. But you will be using more fuel to cook for longer times.

Serving size: On a weekend of backpacking you will need more calories than at home. Aim for 3000 calories. The same for cold weather camping, you need more calories to stay warm. Assume the serving sizes on the starches should be halved. If is says serves four, it will serve two.