First, I will confess that I hate freeze-dried meal packages. I have never depended totally on any brand of FD meals.

Read the labels. Freeze dried "meals" may not be intended as the source of all the calories you need for each meal. You should be getting between 2000 and 2500 calories per day.

Evaluate your own "hunger" when backpacking. I suspect that due to your past experiences, you get the typical lack of apatite the first week of backpacking.

I suggest you share one fd meal and supplement with more appealing other "courses". I really like soups as a first course. A salty liquid really rejuvenates after a day of sweating. There are plenty of good dried soup packets you can buy in a grocery store. I have a friend who almost totally goes for split pea soup topped with "Goldfish" crackers! Gourmet hard cheese or sausage also make a tasty tidbit. And I reward myself with a square of dark chocolate (or other high quality hard candy).

I am a big fan of "gorp" - nuts and dried fruit for lunch. Also cheese sticks. They are individually wrapped and keep well. Jerky is another lunch favorite of mine. I also take Emergen-C packets for a nice mid-day fizzy fruit flavored drink that also balances my electrolytes. Candy in minor amounts is OK, but it does tend to make you "bonk" later in the day.

Be sure every bit of food you bring is appealing to you. This means that you really need to try out those Mountain House meals before you go, if you are not already familiar with these meals. A total freeze-dried diet will likely cause you digestive distress. I would only use Mountain House meals for dinner. You can get regular dry instant cereal packets in the grocery store. Also get a bag of "trail mix" to top the cereal.