Solo Trip Cooking Logistics

[David W Pratt]

Lots of great answers, based on experience.  If you take a weekend trip or two, you will find out what suits you.  Often what you love at home does not appeal on the road, likewise, I eat stuff on tour I wouldn't feed to the dogs at home.  When camping, I use couscous because it cooks faster than anything else, never have it at home.
Have fun.

[BikeliciousBabe]

likewise, I eat stuff on tour I wouldn't feed to the dogs at home.

LOL!  True.  But sometimes it's good to have an excuse to eat something bad/decadent.  Back in September, when forced to shop at a Dollar General one afternoon, I indulged myself in a can of Vienna sausages for a pre-dinner snack.  I cannot believe I used to love them as a kid. 

[Codetalker]

Since you'll be camping, having a reliable water purification system is crucial. You can choose between water filters, chemical treatments, or UV sterilizers to ensure safe drinking water during your trip. You're absolutely right that traveling and going on weekend trips can be a great way to discover what suits you best in terms of preferences and choices. It's not uncommon for our preferences to change when we're away from home and experiencing new things.
Regarding food, it's interesting how our tastes can differ when we're on the road compared to what we're used to at home. Sometimes, the convenience and practicality of certain foods while traveling outweigh our usual preferences. It's all part of the adventure!
When it comes to cooking, have you ever tried making your own Alfredo sauce? It's a versatile and delicious option that can be used in various dishes. A classic recipe for Alfredo sauce is made with butter, heavy cream, garlic, Parmesan cheese, and seasonings. It's rich, creamy, and perfect for pasta dishes.
Once your Alfredo sauce is ready, you can serve it over your favorite pasta, such as fettuccine or linguine, and top it with grilled chicken, shrimp, or vegetables for added flavor and variety.
So, even if you're camping or on a weekend trip, you can still enjoy a delicious homemade Alfredo sauce by preparing it ahead of time or bringing the necessary ingredients with you. It's a versatile sauce that can elevate your camping meals to a whole new level of taste and satisfaction.

[froze]

Since you'll be camping, having a reliable water purification system is crucial. You can choose between water filters, chemical treatments, or UV sterilizers to ensure safe drinking water during your trip.

If you are touring in N America, you only need a Sawyer water filter if you cannot get bottled water from a store, or to a municipal water source, or well water.  You do not need iodine treatments or a UV sterilizer.  The only exception for having iodine is if you are worried that the Sawyer might break and you want a backup plan, but in America, you're never too far from good water, so the iodine in my opinion is overkill, and Sawyer's rarely break, but you have to decide that for yourself.

[BikeliciousBabe]

A filter can be handy if you want to camp in more primitive places (e.g., USFS campgrounds with no water spigots) and don't want to lug enough water to get you through the night and to the next source the following day. 

[Westinghouse]

Talking the lightest-weight gear possible.  It looks like you have answered your question.  I am hardly an expert for giving you advice.  I can tell you where to get the advice.  Look up "Homemade Wanderlust" on youtube. She is greatly experienced in hiking, backpacking, camping and cooking on long-distance trails, worldwide.  If anybody on this planet knows the particulars of what you are asking, it is she.  She is quite attractive with long blond hair, a trim athletic figure, health and vigor. She has a very voluble tongue.  She is from Alabama.  They call her Dixie.  She is as cute as a button.

[David W Pratt]

If you are cooking, boiling water will kill the bad bugs in it.

[froze]

If you are cooking, boiling water will kill the bad bugs in it.

Bringing water to the old saying: big bubbles, no trouble, for 3 minutes makes the water purer than just 1 minute, but regardless of how long you boil it, the flavor of the water will still be nasty if you took the water from a river, but then again neither does the Sawyer.  So the only advantage of using the Sawyer is using less fuel.

However having said that, a lot of experts recommend that you filter the water first, then boil it, this is so you don't contaminate the pot, and so that if the filter gets contaminated you are boiling the water to make it pure.  They claim that the water will taste a bit better as well.