When I started backpacking in 1969 I carried a lot of Mountain House and Campmor freeze-dried food. Nowadays, I never carry any of that stuff and I don't even consider that real food anymore. No more shrimp creole and beef stroganoff for me. Three days is nothing and, in my humble opinion, you should just carry real food. These days for a three day trip I would carry an apple for breakfast each day. In addition, I pour some hot water over some old-fashioned oats and eat them with some raisins or other dried fruit. For lunch I eat granola bars, peanut butter & crackers, hummus mix with flat bread, carrot sticks, and dried fruit. For dinner I carry ramen noodles, soy sauce, and nori flakes. I add fresh broccoli, carrots, onions, garlic, cabbage, peppers, you name it. I no longer eat animal-foods so my diet is all vegan. Even though most hikers I see at campsites are NOT vegans they salivate with envy when I start steaming my broccoli and onions. These are fresh veggies. I don't use freeze-dried veggies unless I am carrying more than five days of food. Fresh veggies last for several days even in extreme heat. I generally carry two pounds of food per day but for short trips I will extend that to three pounds per day in order to carry more fresh food. That's nine pounds of food for three days but your pack gets lighter quickly and it's so worth it to have quality meals.
