Meal prepping can be a great way for folks to save money while also helping them to be more conscious about their portion sizes. With food prices soaring in the United States over the last couple of years, it’s now become a necessity for many people.
From working parents and corporate employees to those working multiple jobs, having to combat the high costs of living while planning a nutritious meal is a tall order.
So, it’s no surprise that many are looking for more convenient and cost-efficient ways to prep their meals. This has some customers turning to chain restaurants for larger portioned catering options that yield more bang for their buck based on per-serving volume.
Some diners rant and rave about their experiences exploring this option, saying that it’s not only saved them money but time and headache as well. They claim meal prepping this way leaves them more hours in the day to be with their loved ones, complete errands, and get their work done.
For others, however, they’ve discovered that catering orders aren’t all that they’re cracked up to be, and they’re left with less food than they’d like. Others still believe that by heading to grocery stores and farmer’s markets, they could ultimately save a lot more money on food in general.
But for many, getting freshly prepared food for the week that only needs re-heating is worth the extra money over making their food themselves. One TikToker, Auds (@foundurmatcha), wanted to see if meal-prepping through Texas Roadhouse was worth the cash as many creators claim it is.
@foundurmatcha Texas Roadhouse meal prep 😂 so worth the $40!!! Chipotle’s family meal qas almost $90 🥲 #texasroadhouse #cateringmealprep #mealprep #lazymealprep ♬ original sound – Auds
She lays out her meal-prep hypothesis in a 47-second video and shared her results.
“So we all seen that trend on TikTok of people ordering takeout instead of meal prepping, cause apparently it’s cheaper and who wants to spend their Sunday cooking all day?” she says in the clip. “So I finally tried it for myself because I saw someone else go to Texas Roadhouse and we have one down the street so here’s what I got.”
Auds shows off all the food she got, first starting with the protein: a container filled with multiple pieces of grilled chicken breasts. She then pans her camera over to a large foil tray of salad decked out with tomatoes, shredded cheese, multiple dressings, tomatoes, croutons, and other accouterments.
The meal also comes with 12 rolls, placed in a black to-go container, along with a couple of sides and other toppings like butter and gravy.
While it certainly looks like a lot of food, most people would want to know if ordering this amount of grub would be economically feasible. Auds believes it is, saying in the clip, “But all of this was only $40. OK, 40 bucks.”
She adds in a caption for the video, “Texas Roadhouse meal prep so worth the $40!!! Chipotle’s family meal was almost $90.”
In a 2020 Facebook post, Texas Roadhouse indicated that it began allowing folks to order its family packs to go, but that prices of these larger meals varied from location to location.
According to the Krazy Koupon Lady, Texas Roadhouse offers several family meal packs: the Pork Chop meal deal offers similar portions and only costs $29.99; the BBQ chicken is listed at $39.99, with 24-count chicken fritters coming in at the same price. If you’re more in the mood for red meat, then you can pay $47.99 for sirloins as your choice of protein. The available sides are buttered corn, green beans, mashed potatoes, seasoned rice, and steak fries.
TikTokers had a variety of different responses to Auds’ video. One commenter wrote that using the restaurant chain’s family packs for meal prep isn’t a fiscally sound solution.
“It’s definitely not cheaper, people are just lazy,” they shared while someone else wrote, “You can get a whole roast chicken for $5, a bag of salad for $2, and a bag of rolls for $4 at Costco’s or Sam’s. $11 vs $40.”
However, others thought that the Texas Roadhouse family meal deal was actually a good bargain, with one user writing, “I don’t know what these people are talking about….. all that for $40 is amazing!!”
The Daily Dot has reached out to Auds via TikTok comment and Texas Roadhouse via email.
