I hear you about the canned food but what is the alternative? I like the tuna packs but I think tuna might get a bit monotonous. What kind of protein does everyone eat besides tuna?
http://www.trailcooking.com/I cook mostly Freezer bag "boil and rehydrate" style.
If you're doing a thru hike with frequent resupplies, grabbing a can at a resupply might be ok when you don't carry it too long though..
As far as water goes, my plan was to have the bladder full so I could drink out of it while I had water in a bottle purifying. How do you folks purify? I had a bad experience with a filter system one time that soured me on the filter. Maybe they're better now; the one I used was so difficult to operate that you had to work up a sweat pumping.
I use chlorine dioxide ("Aquamira" in the united states) it's pretty fast, doesn't taste (to me). I carry two platypus bottles (2l) but typically only carry about a litre or so in one when hiking. When I stop for water I chug what I have left, fill up a litre, and let it treat.
What kind of stoves do you folks use? When I bought my Snow Peak, I thought I was getting one of the lightest out there without going the soda can route.
Actually it is. I typically use a soda can alcohol stove, but I also own a snow peak and it's perfectly fine as long as you can get a canister at your resupply points.
Have a look at my list to see what I'm usually carrying.
Best of luck - have fun and be safe.