Meal prepping, while a frugal and responsible practice, can be time-consuming. If you don’t prepare your lunch beforehand, you’re either left trying to stick it out without food when you’re at work or school, or scouring local takeout options and hoping there are some leftovers hanging out in the break room.
But a teacher and TikToker named Baily (@browneyedbaily) has a quick and easy lunch solution for folks who need a meal in a pinch: H-E-B’s deli lunch boxes.
She posted about the offering in a viral clip titled “Teacher Lunch Hack” which garnered over 181,000 views as of Friday. In it, she breaks down everything that’s included in the grocery store’s offering, and folks were impressed.
@browneyedbaily Love @H-E-B meals!! #kindergarten #kindergartenteacher #kindergartenlife #meettheteacher ♬ original sound – Baily | Fitness & Smiles
“OK, so this is a lazy teacher girl hack,” Baily begins. “But last night I did not want to make a lunch this week and I’ve just been eating sandwiches all week … I went to H-E-B and I found these and they were only $10 and I feel like for what’s in it it’s pretty good.”
She shares how the box included chips and hummus, pasta salad, a sandwich, and a dessert.
“For like $10, that’s a win,” she says. “So if you need a lazy girl hack for teaching and you need something the night before real quick for the next day, go to H-E-B and get this.”
Several viewers who saw the size of the lunch box and the amount of food that came packed inside of it were impressed.
“That’s a lot for $10!!! Wish we had HEb,” one TikTok user penned.
Another commenter spoke to Baily’s Jason’s Deli reference from the perspective of a person who works for the business. They said that H-E-B’s lunch box was ultimately a more alluring option, writing, “I work for Jason’s Deli, this is a better deal.”
One user on the app said that their local grocery store has a similar offering at an even cheaper price point, but highlighted that the sandwich packed inside of the box wasn’t anything special.
“Our grocery store does this too but it’s $6, thr sandwich is pretty basic though,” they shared.
According to H-E-B’s website, the deli box lunch that Baily is referring to retails for $10.39 and packs a variety of different sandwiches: turkey & muenster, rotisserie chicken salad, cranberry pecan turkey salad, and ham and Swiss are listed as options.
A number of bang-for-your-buck meal hacks have gone viral on TikTok, like this Jason’s Deli meal prep one uploaded by a user in April 2023 where she shows off how she was able to get five meals for the week for about $16. A big highlight of the H-E-B box lunch, however, is the convenience of it—everything’s already pre-packaged and pre-portioned for you to just grab and go with.
A Publix shopper shared another grocery food store hack for quick and easy meals and let folks know how she was able to get about four days’ worth of meals for herself for under $20.
Some folks also highlighted their meal prep hacks from popular chains, like Chili’s, to help lessen the load food costs have had on many Americans’ wallets as of January 2021, when inflation rates began climbing and then eventually skyrocketing even higher.
The USDA predicts increased costs of food goods and products throughout 2023 for a variety of different meats, produce, dry goods, and other groceries, along with food-away-from-home restaurant costs.
The Daily Dot has reached out to H-E-B and Baily via email for further comment.
