Meal hacking, or looking for ways to use the specials and meals offered by restaurants to cut down on the cost of groceries, has risen in popularity on TikTok as people reckon with heightened costs at the grocery store.
From using catering packages at restaurants like Chipotle and Texas Roadhouse to meal prep to taking advantage of generously portioned kids’ meals, people are sharing their tips and tricks online.
One such poster, @iam_denisestacey, has drawn over 749,000 viewers with a video showing off a $7 meal from Olive Garden that she says saved her time in the kitchen, as well as the cost of buying each of the ingredients at the grocery store.
“Your sign to order a kids meal from Olive Garden for $6.99,” a text overlay on the video reads.
@iam_denisestacey Just saved me money and time in the kicthen #foodhack #foodhacks #olivegarden #olivegardenhack ♬ Oh U Went (feat. Drake) – Young Thug
The Daily Dot has reached out to @iam_denisestacey via Instagram direct message regarding the video.
Several viewers shared that they found the portion sizes to be generous and satisfying, even for a child’s meal.
“Exactly them kids meal get me full everytime,” one commenter wrote.
“I used to work there and always ate the kids meals,” another user said.
“And good portions,” a commenter wrote.
Some commenters suggested they would rather take advantage of the Italian chain’s lunch special, which offers soup, salad, and breadsticks for two dollars more.
“Nah waste of money fr , better get that lunch special for almost the same amount but atleast u get unlimited soup or salad n breadsticks,” one commenter wrote.
“Yea, but you don’t get soup or salad with kids meals,” another user shared.
“Maybe im just fat cause this would be a snack for me not a meal lmaoo,” one viewer commented.
