I wouldnt recomnd sidekicks, ate those for 2 years now you couldnt pay me to take them. Ya got to compare apples to apples and see what has the best nutrients per EQUAL serving. Alot of people just dont read enough labels and think they got some super high calorie dinner but in reality the weight is the same as packing 2 mountain house. When it comes to living out of your backpack as light as possible you got to figure out what has the best calories per gram. We pack 1 pound of food per day. Usually couple Instant oatmeals for breaky, couple bars and jerky for lunch and then a Mountain house dinner with a chocolate bar for desert. I try to pack 100 grams of jerky a day but cut back to 80 grams last year. Gatorade or any juice crystals help, hot chocolate is nice on a cold day. You will not starve or lack energy with that meal plan, loose some weight yes but not starve. I dont know about everyone eles but my stomach goes into Starvation mode after 2 days and I do not find my self hungry at all