So far I prefer the dehydrated meals as well for preparation. The steel cup holds just enough water to prep 2 servings of just about any freeze dried entree I've seen...and I can put the lid on to save fuel!

You can eat some freeze dried meals without water...but if you're doing so because you don't have much water that might be a bad idea due to their typically extreme sodium content...the one down side to eating a lot of them.