what food to take on D of E expedition?

[NoTruckWithFrontedAdverbials]

My DS is off on an expedition over the weekend and apparently there will be only one communal meal. there's no refrigeration but there will be some pots and pans.
they have to carry everything.

Ideas so far

1. apples and oranges
2. cereal bars for breakfast
3. high qualify ready meal in a pouch of some sort (have no idea!) ideally something you rehydrate for weight.
4. wholemeal bread rolls.
5. maybe some roast meat if not too hot (he doesn't eat cheese).

Any recommendations appreciated.

DS1 is doing his bronze this weekend. He's taking:

Saturday lunch: cheese and onion pastry rolls (taken out of the freezer in the morning so they defrost during the far)

Saturday dinner: dried pasta and sauce packet thingy (nobody has told us we can't use this kind of thing)

Sunday breakfast: Belvita breakfast biscuits, hot chocolate

Sunday lunch: chocolate spread wraps

Plus lots of flapjacks, dried apricots, sweets, and a couple of small apple juice cartons

Should add he has food allergies so isn't cooking communally.

I seem to recall DS took 2 carrots, could eat raw or cook. Otherwise pasta, porridge (with dried milk), cereal bars.

Malt loaf is a great snack

Not apples, oranges or bananas - in 20 years of expeditions as a DofE leader, I have never seen them on expeditions.

Dried fruit is good. Most live off haribo.
Tortellini good as main course. Or pasta and a stir in sauce. One gold group did an analysis and reckoned gnocchi best for taste v weight v cooking time. Frankfurters also popular.
Lunch - bagels and wraps tend to last longer and cope with being in a rucksack. Pepperami v popular. Cereal bars also good.

But definitely make him work this out. DS had just done Bronze expedition and did the shopping himself for him and friend.

Long life mattesons sausages. Wraps fit down the back of a rucksack very well. Lots of toffees and small bits in a very accessible bag.

Also granola mixed with skimmed milk then add cold water for very fast breakfast.

Maltesers, nice treat after a hard day and they weigh nothing!

My mate is a DOfE assessor and a totally mountain person so we go out on the hills a lot. She’s under canvas or in her van around 100 nights a year. We swear by Firepot instant meals - nothing else comes close, especially the bolognaise orzo, chilli, and dhal ones. She also takes a mix of M&Ms, Haribo and salted peanuts in the same bag as trail mix, plus a couple of energy bars.

We used to take pasta and beanfeast... it turned out years later that I'm intolerant to soya

My favoured hiking lunch is a great slab of fruit cake, cheese and nuts/ crisps (in DoE nuts are more durable. Covers energy, protein and salt replacement. Dried fruit, nakd bars.

Porridge is a great source of energy, that's my pre-HM breakfast.

Food can be decanted into resealable bags to save bulk