With inflation driving the prices of groceries up to new highs since 2021, and the USDA predicting that these figures will continue to increase throughout 2023, more and more Americans are looking for ways to save money on their meals.
And even though selectively purchasing foods from grocery stores and preparing your own meals is almost always more cost effective than eating out (according to U.S. News & World Report), there are a number of people who rely on the convenience that prepared foods offer them.
Some have developed “hacks” that allow them to go to restaurants to buy prepared meals that they can then stretch out over several days, but this TikToker’s hybrid method promises a healthy and cheaper alternative, which allows for a greater variety of meals for a very low cost.
Justjoy (@justjoy4ever) says that she purchases a large mixed green salad container from Kroger (like this 16 ounce plastic bin that retails for $5.99) which she then supplants with a $10 salad order from Jason’s Deli, where she gets additional containers to fill with dressing and wet ingredients.
This hybrid approach, Joy demonstrates, offers her a variety of proteins and different toppings for about $16, which then yields her 5 lunch meals that she enjoys throughout the week.
Judging from the video, it appears that the portions are significant, leaving Joy very satisfied.
@justjoy4ever One of my absolute favorite meal hacks. Six meals for about $15 ($10 at Jason’s and $5 at the grocery store) #saladbar #salad #Jasonsdeli #buffet #saladsoftiktok #fyp #blacktiktok #foodies #saladhack #foodsavings #foodtiktok ♬ Good Vibes (Instrumental) – Ellen Once Again
Joy says in the video as she shops for the salad container at a Kroger location: “Hey friends so I’m gonna let you in on one of my favorite salad secrets I love salads, I go to Kroger and get a big tin of salad.”
The video then transitions to her at a Jason’s Deli location where she begins to fill up her $10 salad container with various accouterments: “And then I go to Jason’s Deli and I order a salad to go… and can I have the ice cream cup I’m gonna use it for something else? And then I hit up this salad bar y’all they have some of the best vegetables and choices for salads so I get to this salad bar and look at all of these things that you can choose from, right?… So I go to put just a little bit of the lettuce on the bottom like I’m really gonna use the lettuce and then I pile on the toppings. The tomatoes, the cucumbers, mushrooms, onions, sesame seeds… and then I put on some of the little nuts and yes I do put a little cheese cause I like cheese, OK?”
She then goes on to describe some of her favorite other toppings that she likes to pack into her meal-prepped lunches: “But then my favorite thing are these little crunchy onion bits so I put those on the top and then I grab some eggs, not for my salad, I’ll tell you about the eggs later. I put the dressing, in one of the cups and one of the big cups and I get a little extra dressing it’s gonna come in handy later. But I take the ice cream cup and I put in the wet toppings because I don’t want them in my salad right now.”
Next, Joy demonstrates how she goes about her meal-prepping process after she’s gathered together all of her ingredients. This includes her using the boiled eggs she took from the salad bar in order to prepare an extra meal: egg salad.
She ends the video with a recording of her taking a bite of the salad that she just prepared after telling her followers she hopes she enjoyed the video.
The Daily Dot has reached out to Kroger and Jason’s Deli via email, and Joy via TikTok comment for further information.
One commenter who saw her video thought that the hybrid grocery store/prepared meal approach was a “great idea.”
Another said, “Thanks for sharing your secrets sis” while someone else quipped, “This is so smart”
Others were shocked that she was able to get so much salad packaged into a single container at Jason’s deli and thought that
