If there’s no room for 5 gal propane tank and cooler, if you’ve never used one, a MSR Whisperlite is a great stove. It’s fallen out of favor backpacking because of the weight, but these are bullet proof expedition stoves and have good btu output on white gas. Two would add some redundancy since it’s not possible to hike back to the truck for a backup.
For long trips nothing can take the place of variety and testing the menu prior to the trip. Prior to the hunt, eating all three meals off your camp menu will change what you bring. It’s easy to have too much salt, or overestimate how fun it will be to do dishes. I only eat things that need boiling water or can be warmed up in the can - if my buddy (who doesn’t understand camp cooking) wants to fry steaks and eggs on a stainless pan they can do their own dishes.
For variety, I think of it like an MRE - every meal has a main, a few sides, drink of some kind, and a little candy bar or gum. Every meal has a stick of jerky. Every dinner has a cup o noodles and that’s also perfect for coffee, tea, cider, or hot chocolate. Every lunch could have a small summer sausage and collection of easy to eat bars - crunch and munch makes my mouth water any time. At night I really like popcorn, chips, peaches, apple sauce as a snack. Breakfast has to have good coffee with creamer, some kind of sweet bread, banana bread, pop tart, fruit pie, cake, or doughnut. Canned chili or pork and beans is really good for breakfast - a heat diffuser plate and second stove makes warming up cans easier. lol
Too many guys want to convince you to eat crappy cheap food they’ve never actually eaten for days on end - I don’t ever let others pick my menu.
