I spent 9 1/2 years as a Marine and have consumed MANY MRE's.

Thoughts.

Break them down and carry only foil packs of the items you like. You'd never find me carrying "omelet with cheese" (thankfully now done away with), but I really like the cherry nut cake and cheese spread that came with them. No matter what you do, don't bother with the cardboard crackers, the one truly foul part of every MRE.

Try them. I genuinely like many of them, and they keep getting better every decade (the menu, not the actual MRE's which are fairly toxic after more than a decade of sitting there). I really liked chicken stew, cheese tortellini, and tuna with noodles.

Remember they are pretty heavy when you transition to multi day backpacking. They are already hydrated, perhaps a plus in the desert, but heavy compared to a Mountain House Propak, which weighs half as much but provides twice the food when rehydrated.

Be ready for some constipation. You know why there is such a tiny roll of TP in an MRE? You know why there is that funny chemical smell when you first open them? Because there are chemicals in them that tend to bind up a fighting man (or woman's) intestinal tract. It bad enough to be shot at or shelled or bombed. It's worse while doing the Aztec Two-step. MRE's reduce that likelihood. It may mean you don't go for a day or two.

MRE's are better with just a smidgeon of cooking skill. There are entire cookbooks on how to make your MRE's more palatable. Quick hints are add that cheese spread packet to the entree. Cook them with a pack of ramen or ichiban noodles or a bit of minute rice. You don't have to use that whole little bottle of tobasco - half a bottle often preserves the flavor better.

MRE's are NOT a necessity. I never take them on a day hike. But I have, on occasion taken a pack for the first night of a backpacking trip and added them to ramen or rice. The taste is often not bad at all, once you get past that initial chemical smell. But on a dayhike, I'm much more likely to carry a Subway 6-inch for lunch.