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I've looked into these:

Ingredients:

2 cups uncooked calrose or other medium-grain “sticky” rice
1½ cups water
8 ounces bacon
4 eggs
2 tablespoons liquid amino acids or low-sodium soy sauce
brown sugar
salt and grated parmesan (optional)

They are rice cakes and you can find many versions if you google Dr. lim's. They're popular with endurance bikers.

Another option along the same line are masubi, which are rice topped with a piece of meat (usually spam) and wrapped in nori (seaweed).

Shelf life may be an issue if you are talking more than a couple days but great for hard 1 to 2 day trips.

On our long days I usually make bagel sandwiches with salami and cheese. I use a sandwich bagel which is not so dense. I also crave citrus when at altitude so grapes or already peeled oranges come along most of the time though I can cure that citrus crave through energy beans if I need to. When packing longer distance I'm with the rest here: ramen, rice, potatoes and oatmeal, just bring some spices. Also those rice/noodle packs you find 10 for $10 are a much cheaper option. I sealed tuna pack and a broccoli/cheddar noodles or rice can be had for 2 bucks.

Dry oats, definetley! Quite light for the volume.

Peanut butter is good considering it packs ~630 kcal/100g, but it's macronutrient content of proteins and fats is far superior to butter or oil which are 900kcal/100g, but are basically just fat.

Cooking chocholate has ~550kcal/100g but can stand cold temperatures, doesn't shatter and turn grey like standard "candy" chocolate does. Macronutrient-wise it's a disaster of refined sugar, but that's comfort food. Good for your morale.

Nuts and seeds can withstand the elements well, but bear in mind they're quite heavy for the volume. Ultralight hikers avoid packing them.

Dry fruits are great!, but not all. Raisins and cranberries are great and can be cookes with oats.
Some dried fruits like apricots, figs or plums tend to be too heavy for the "ultralight" crowd.

Also ramen noodles, instant soups and even soup cubes are great, but bear in mind those pack a lot of salt.

Bring some tea bags, they're quite light and can be used to improve the flavor of melted snow.

Cheese, sausage, almonds and figs.
High on fat because it has double the calories per pound compared to protein or carbs.
The figs add sugar and always go down well for me.
No need to cook -- saves the extra weight of a stove etc, avoids the time and hassle of preparing meals.

Italian dry salami is pretty close to pemmican (pure fat and protein), has high caloric value for its weight, tastes good, can be found in many grocery stores, and lasts a long time. Hard cheese likewise. Both are good on whole grain rye crackers (e.g., Wasa) which don't have a lot of calorie value but provide roughage and are a good fat delivery vehicle. Peanut butter is also excellent on rye crackers.

Tonka wrote:...sealed tuna pack...

oh, good call on the tuna. for long trips i wouldn't take it (too heavy), but the family size tuna packs are a great protein source. i'll eat one of those with four mayo packets, it's 40g of protein, and i get fat and calories from the mayo (along with other snacks i bring). my 2 - 3 day trips are always stocked with tuna.

canned tuna, PB&J sandwiches, sardines (aka "kipper snacks"),nuts, chocolates, coffee or tea. Minimize the use proteins and fats as much as you can as they take much longer time to digest and also use body's water for this purpose.

Whatever tastes good to you. I recall one trip where all I could stomach was m&ms. You can go a few days on an incredibly unbalanced diet. Get the calories and the water.

I haven't brought a stove on a backpacking trip in some time. I eat jerky, peanut butter with crackers, dried fruit, sausage sticks, hard cheddar cheese, Bela Vita, starbucks iced coffee, lots of bars. I bring freeze-dried raspberries and strawberries for a treat. Hydrate really well in the morning.

How about granola bars with peanut butter. The granola bars seem to hold up a lot better in my pack plus they provide more nutrition than plain crackers. I really like the taste too. The first criteria for packing/hiking food should always be will you eat it IMO. Also each individual will react differently. Sometimes you'll find a food you love at home doesn't appeal to you when your out hiking. At least that's what I've read; personally, I've never had an appetite problem, not even above 14,000' Mount Whitney.

For water I really prefer the Katadyn Micropur to iodine. I would rather taste the chlorine.

For food, lately it's raisins, fruit roll ups, granola bars (chewy, not crunchy) and sometimes pop tarts (though these can be dry). For real meals, Hormel or a mountain House are way better than just continuing to snack.

If it's cold, any hot flavored drink is helpful for me. Usually cider or hot chocolate.