Mountain house is very good but pretty expensive. I do find it on sale sometimes.
Despite what soldiers say, I think genuine surplus MRE’s are also good. I ran into a real steal at a gun show around 1991. I bought 12 cases of 12 for $30. That is 144 meals! I think he was just tired of carrying them around in his camper.
It’s one of those things where experience breeds contemps.
Kind of like having lived in Yugoslavia, emigrating to the United States after the Berlin wall fell, and then having someone try to sell you a Yugo.