Can $20 feed a family for almost a full week? One shopper thinks so. She took to TikTok to walk users through her $20 five-night Bundle Box of groceries from H-E-B‘s Joe V’s.
In a video with over 31,000 views, content creator Ivy Rodriguez (@itsivyrodriguez) breaks down the box’s contents and asks users for their opinions.
“This is a store called Joe V’s. It is owned by H-E-B. I’m gonna show you guys everything that comes in this huge box, and I want you guys to tell me: Is this a steal, or it’s not worth it,” Rodriguez begins.
She first pulls out a 3.52-pound-pack of Seasoned Chicken Leg Quarters. “These are already seasoned, so you just literally throw them on the grill. … They’re already seasoned for you, and they’re delicious,” she says.
Next, Rodriguez pulls out a pack of pork chops. “This is 1.78 pounds of seasoned pork chops ready to be grilled.” She also shares a pack of seasoned chicken drumsticks weighing 4.2 pounds. Other foods highlighted are a 2.53-pound pack of fajita chicken for tacos and a pack of one pound of ground beef.
“To me, this is a huge steal. This is dinner for the whole five days, and I am super excited about it, but let me know what you guys think,” Rodriguez concludes as the video ends.
@itsivyrodriguez Thank you HEB 🥴🩷 #HEB #easydinner #dinner #dinnerideas #foryou ♬ original sound – Ivy Rodriguez
Viewers weigh in
In the comments, users shared their opinions on the five-night bundle box.
“Omg I need to find this store. Been meal prepping and groceries are expensive af,” one user expressed.
“All that for $20, girl you practically robbed them for that deal,” reacted a second viewer.
“That’s a great deal!! I need to go there more often,” another remarked.
“I have an issue with preseasoned meat,” began a fourth viewer, “it’s all meat literally about to go bad so they season it to cover the smell and the look.”
Is pre-seasoned meat rotting meat?
While several commenters voiced concerns about pre-seasoned meats as a tactic by grocers to conceal the signs of rotting meat from customers, this is most likely not the case.
The Daily Dot previously reported on a viral TikTok in which a customer revealed an insider tip from a former grocery store butcher claiming that “every single piece of meat that came into our stores … all [had] some disgusting issues that we had to cut out, cut off, or mask.” They also claimed marinating old meats was a way to mask the smell.
However, butcher James Peisker told Mashed, “Nobody’s going to sell you rotten meat knowingly. It’s bad for business and it’s not going to work out very well in the long run. Mostly what is being hidden is ‘oxidization’ and ‘little bit of colorization.’”
Oxidation can cause discoloration that doesn’t make the meat unsafe to eat but can repel customers—hence the choice to colorize meat products.
The Daily Dot has reached out to H-E-B and Ivy Rodriguez via email for more information.
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