With restaurant prices on the rise, could adult kids’ meals be a viable alternative for diners on a budget?
Samantha James (@sammyinthesity) has dedicated her TikTok account to kids’ meal hacks. She says the kiddie portion on most restaurant menus is more than enough for her.
In one of her latest videos detailing a kid’s portion from Olive Garden, James states that the meal was big enough to feed her twice.
James posted the video to her account on Jan.14. So far, it has over 1.1 million views.
Adult kids’ meals are more than enough
“I got another kids’ meal. This one’s from Olive Garden,” James tells her viewers at the video’s beginning.
She continues, stating, “I got the fettuccine with shrimp, broccoli, two breadsticks, and it came with a drink for $9.32.”
“This is plenty food, y’all,” she claims. “Like, I’ve been able to eat off this twice. You can get it with shrimp, chicken, and meatballs, different pastas, and whatever else,” she concludes.
The Daily Dot reached out to James via email and TikTok direct message for further comment.
She responded: “I was definitely surprised at the amount of people that my Olive Garden video reached. Everyone is looking to save money and that meal is a great value so I think my video was right on time for a lot of people. It inspired me to make a series of kids meal videos on my TikTok and Youtube (both Sammyinthesity). I have appreciated all of the support! I will definitely be purchasing and posting more kids meals.”
Good value or not?
James’ order keeps it under $10, which is a significant savings from the adult version of the meal. According to Olive Garden’s website, an adult portion of chicken fettuccine alfredo currently goes for $20.49.
Broccoli costs another $2.99. Want shrimp instead? That’s about a dollar more.
Fountain drinks come in at around $3.49. All told, James’ adult kids meal “hack” is coming in at just over a third the price of the regular portion.
The Daily Dot reached out to Olive Garden via email for a statement.
Of course, rising prices and inflation mean even the kiddie menu will put a dent in your wallet. According to Finance Buzz, fast food kids’ meals have risen significantly over the last few years.
Since 2019, kids’ meal prices have gone up a staggering 63 percent at Chick-fil-A. That’s “nearly double the national rate of inflation.”
Even McDonald’s, normally the standard for affordable kids’ food, has risen over 50 percent since 2014.
In other words, don’t take for granted that the kid’s menu is going to be as big of a bargain as you were hoping for.
The Daily Dot reached out to McDonald’s and Chic-fil-A via email for a statement.
Not so good for you
Calorie-wise, the adult kids meal is a pretty effective hack. The base-level noodles in sauce sans protein and sides are 440 calories. The adult portion of fettuccine alfredo is 1,310 calories.
That’s a significant savings if you’re just counting calories.
However, not all kids’ meals are created equal. Healthy Food America points out that many kiddie menu items “typically have been full of fat, sodium, and too many empty calories from sugary drinks. “
“A 2013 study of the top 50 U.S. chain restaurants determined that 86 percent of kids’ meal combinations are too high in calories, 55 percent are too high in saturated fat, and 66 percent are too high in sodium.3 The food is not the only problem: kids’ meals have traditionally come with a soda, sugared fruit drink, or sweetened, flavored milk, all which are full of calories from sugar, and typically have little to no nutrition,” it states.
@sammyinthesity I love a kids meal 😋 #olivegarden #fypシ #lifehack ♬ original sound – Samantha James
Viewers agree
In the comments section, Yesica Crz (@yesicacrz) wrote, “I always get kids meal and gets me full. I feel like the adult meal makes me overeat.”
“LOVE eating kids meals cause adult plates be too big for me,” another person commented.
Another added, “You just changed my life because I went to the website and saw you can get spaghetti as a side instead and THEN add a take home entree for $6. Fettuccine, Spaghetti, and Five cheese ziti for $13, I’m hype to finally try Olive Garden.”
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