Frozen dinners extremely dry after reheating

Frozen dinners become extremely dry after reheating them, so much so that I choke on them while eating. Why could this possibly happen, and how can I avoid it?

I store them in the freezer (newish Samsung fridge/freezer combo), which is set to 0F, and they spend at most 1 week in the freezer. No signs of freezer burn.

I've tried:

Multiple brands, same results. Dishes I've tried (exact same ones): this or this
Microwave and oven heating per instructions on the box, same results. My oven is convection and my microwave is a regular 800W microwave (not inverter), which can be adjusted down to 600W.
Reducing power and increasing time in the microwave, same results. Example: 400g rice+chicken meal, box says 6 min at 750W, I do 6:25 at 700W.

I've not tried:

Reheating in the microwave with a glass of water inside. I'm concerned about 1) superheated water and 2) food becoming unsafe to eat due to most of the energy going to the water rather than the food.
Adding fresh water to the frozen meal before reheating it. Same concern as 2) above. Won't energy be spent in heating the extra water rather than the food itself, thereby making it unsafe?

Best Answer

This is going to sound odd, but there was a recommendation on TikTok recently about putting an ice cube in your food to be reheated, and then remove it once it’s hot.

This gives you just a little bit of steam to keep your food from drying out, without adversely affecting the time in the microwave by heating up a bunch of water.

America’s Test Kitchen had an explanation of it in which they said the surface moisture on the ice evaporates, but the frozen ice doesn’t actually get heated by the microwaves. (Which also explains why want to thaw frozen foods before trying to heat them in a microwave)

And of course, you want to cover your food to hold the steam in near the food, especially if you have a larger microwave. There are a few companies that make plastic covers that are slightly vented that can be put over plates or bowls. (I have one with magnets, that sticks to the top of my microwave when not in use)