Having three MRE's is like having three square meals a day, and each MRE comes with something completley different. There are so many different varities that I didnt even get to try them all in the infantry. They come with a main course, two sides such as a giant packet of peanut butter, mixing powder for a drink, a nice desert, matches, and even coffee packets. All of them are different and some even come with more than that, but they even come with a heating pack to warm up your food to optimize your taste. The best part is the shelf life on an MRE is about the same as canned food.

Now three as I said is normal but that could make you fat. Because believe it or not, one of them is enough to sustain you for an entire day. They roughly contain about 1500 calories per MRE. So if you find that you cant handle three (I used to split up between 2 no matter how hard i was working) don't be suprised.

It can be very difficult to carry food if you're a hardcore hiker, and plan to be out for days at a time. MREs are so compact that you can squeeze them into a nice small space in your pack. And you do not have to worry about crushing them. Everything is locked into a vacuum sealed package. Did I mention by the way that the old MREs used to have two cigarettes contained inside? Just a nice piece of trivia for you to throw out there.

The many varities include things like veal, chicken, steak, speghetti with meat sauce, mexican mac and cheese, and so much more. They even have vegetarian style MREs for those who obstain from meat and poultry. You are allowed to be picky with your survival food this way.

Now taste and variety aside bear in mind the very purpose of an MRE. That is in essence to keep you alive. I dont mean to calm your hunger either.
Think about getting lost. People sometimes get lost for weeks and it has nothing to do with stupidity. Some people like to try something new, or maybe even go a new way. Heck some people even get left behind by mistake and you may get lost looking for them. If you have at least three MREs in your pack when you go, that should be plenty to sustain you until you figure a way out.

So whether you take short hikes or very long survivalist style hikes, you realy should have a few MREs with you just in case something happens. If nothing else its extra strength, they pack enough nutrients to keep you going all day.