So you go out to dinner and the waitress comes on over after you’ve eaten your nice meal and asks you if you would like some dessert. Obviously this happens all the time but I’m about to present a new spin on the classic restaurant dessert. Just how much are these guys hurting your bank account and your waist line? Let’s take a look!
Below I took one of our favorite desserts that we used to purchase when we’d eat out at a local restaurant. My wife and I are suckers for cookies and cream, so it’s no surprise that a dessert including syrup, oreos, vanilla, and a brownie would wet our taste buds. My only issue was that price… it felt really high but of course giving into temptation would prove more powerful than frugality. Below I give you the homemade version below which goes very easy on your bank account and also your waist line (still a dessert, but you can indulge every now and then!)
Recipe
- Hershey Low Fat Chocolate Syrup – 2.35 2 tablespoons, 15 per container 45 calories
- Reduced Fat Oreo Cookies (funny) – 3.39 3 cookies 15 per container 150 calories
- Fat Free Cool Whip – .69 (-1.00 for shoppers card) 2 tablespoons 25 per container 15 calories
- Generic Vanilla Ice Cream – 2.49 2 tbsp 1/2 cup 14 per container 130 calories
- Betty Crocker Low Fat Brownie Mix – 1.69 1 brownie 18 per bag 140 calories
Modified Serving Size
- Brownie (cut into 14) = 180 calories costing $0.12
- Oreo Cookies (1 and 1/2 cookies crumbled) = 75 calories $0.11
- Hershey Syrup (1 tablespoon) = 22.5 calories $.07
- Cool Whip (2 tablespoons) = 15 calories $.06
- Ice Cream (1/2 cup) = 130 calories $.18
Results
- Calories = 422 ( about 1/3 of the original count guess)
- Total Cost = $0.54
- Restaurant Cost = 5.29 for 2 servings
- Total saved = $4.21
- Profit Markup = 490%
No Kidding Huh?
Tags: dessert, food thought, frugal, health, ice cream, restaurant
October 7th, 2009 at 8:27 pm
Geez, 490% … no wonder every restaurant server tries to push dessert!
October 8th, 2009 at 3:31 pm
Couldn't believe how high that mark up really was and that's not including their already discounted bulk purchasing!
November 19th, 2009 at 4:50 am
We push desserts for 2 reasons. 1 the mark up is so high(some restaurants) 2 because the 4 dollars you spend grabbing that extra sweet adds to our customary 15% tip
November 21st, 2009 at 1:21 pm
Never really thought about the server angle, figured the restaurant was just pushing. Makes sense though, thanks for sharing cat!