I'm a soldier and IMHO MREs suck. They are heavy high calorie survival food. I just tried some Chicken a la King from Moutain House and it is quite good. Years ago I had to force myself to eat backpack food, but the newer menus are really very good. MREs are also hard on my gut(I'm 54). They are designed for 20 year old troops. On the plus side for MREs, you can eat them cold, but why would you because the new ones come with a hydrogen heater packs(just add water)Troops in Iraq had fun with the heater packs, you can make a loud noise maker out of them, sorry I can't tell you how. Of all the ones I've gagged on the spagetti is the only one I can stand. You must remember this all military stuff was made by the lowest bidder. So do yourself a favor and eat dehydrated or freeze dried from REI or a similar source. Its light weight and tastes great and unlike an MRE wont make you regret eating it.

SGT R