Eh, the new 'difficulty' is fine. Been playing since launch, +/-800 hours in. Some of the mechanics / stamina consumption were a bit harsher, but stamina got tweaked last patch.

With the new foods you just need to put more thought into what your anticipated session plans are (fighting, exploration, building, etc), and what you should eat.

Since ours are typically all over the place, we've been eating a stamina food, a mixed/combo food, and a health one. Turnip stew, wolf skewer, and wolf kabob. Still in the mountain biome, haven't killed Moder, but have built a plains farm and wiped out a few goblin villages and a tar pit without much difficulty while still in iron gear.

Not sure how Moder will be, but my wife and I found the Eikthyr / Elder / Bonemass easier than our pre-H&H playthroughs.

Personally, I'd like to see some more tweaking of the stamina consumption rate though. Especially with things like the hoe & cultivator. Gods, it's annoying to have to pause partway through planting a long garden row to let stamina rebuild. Maybe I just need smaller gardens...