Your reply did not help me one bit. I had to scroll up and hide the photo as I type my reply. This is not good.
Since you know you had a vehicle then a suitcase is not a bad idea. I've travelled enough to get pretty high-speed/low-drag: carry on only wherever possible. Though my commitment to that is usually proportional to the number of transport changes I need to do.
I like experiencing the local food culture is part of my journey, but the more I get back into the outdoors the more I go your way and take stuff I know works with my body. We have these things called "One Square Meal" which are pretty decent for the weight/size but a little pricey. Those things are awesome except they use a guar gum binder so that can get a bit taxing on the digestion if you tried living on them. I gave up on jerky. I dislike most of the commercially made stuff after I started making my own. However, many countries biosecurity laws won't let you take homemade jerky over a border.