I don't agree with you at all. I just restarted from scratch and I think the new food combinations allow you to be more "powerful" in your given role than previous. Want more stamina for chopping wood or mining, that is possible. Want more health for fighting, that is possible. You can get more health or more stamina than you could in the past.

I tend to run two stam one health when working, and two health one stam when fighting. Early game the mushrooms berries, basic boar and deer meat combos where enough, but worth getting into the dark woods and get some tin ASAP build a cooking pot and start making carrot based foods.

Then you will have more stam and health than you need for any task.

I honestly find the new system to be almost OP if you put in the effort to find the ingredients and learn the recipes and upgrade your cooking station. Transition from wood to stone to bronze to iron was far smoother than last time i played.