Sue.. military MREs are exactly that... they need no water except for the small amount used in the heater bag..the older LRRP stuff was freeze dried and needed rehydration

my post was a consolidation of a survival lab I assigned to my 9th graders... they had to come up with a suitable off the shelf meal, basically a one pot entree with a source of meat protein, carbohydrate from root vegetable, pasta, or rice, a fruit sugar dessert, and beverage. Other than the tinned meat, everything else was to be in a sturdy plastic or foil container with a minimum of 1 year shelf life... for Holiday food drives we collected tuna fish as good source of Omega 3 and protein for needy families...

if weight is a important factor, the tuna and other meats are available in foil packs with close to a 3 year "best by" date

instant rices and beans are available in pre packaged meal, and you can easily vacuum pack to save money... I happen to like yellow rice... the kids insisted on the ramen noodles regardless of the packaging

the dried fruits were not popular with the kids, so the concession to the lift ring can of fruit cocktail, canned peaches/pears was amended

crystal light was chosen due to the robust tub it is contained in, the tea or instant coffee would be a concession to the adults..most of the kids brought Kool Aide or Gatorade salts....the cocoa was universally accepted by the kids, and most agreed they could eat the oatmeal, but was not included in the original requirement

one of the lessons learned after the 04/05 hurricane season was the inclusion of a snack... the peanut butter snack and hard candy

the aluminum foil was tiple folded around edges and placed into the gallon zip loc bag, and heated water added to cook...this worked depending on the care they took folding the seams... most later considered a separate cooking container