So, here’s what happened: The Sims team finally unlocked all of the toddlers foods as quick meals for sims of all ages. I don’t know why they hadn’t done that before (it took them seven months) but whatever, the fact is that our sims can now have things like ham and cheese sandwiches, chicken nuggets and even a bowl of apple sauce directly from the fridge.
“But why does that matter?”, you ask? I’ll tell you why, it’s because quick meals are awesome.
First and foremost, your sims can eat them free of cost. That’s right, in case you didn’t know you can just click on the fridge and grab a serving even if you have zero simoleons on your account. That works out great for starter families, or if your bills came higher than you expected because of that new hot tub in your sims’ backyard.
They’re also great because children can grab these quick meals from the fridge on their own, so even if you don’t have any grown ups around they will be able to eat something. Also, if you have The Sims 4 Parenthood Game Pack installed, sims can pack quick meals as lunch sacks.
You should bear in mind that quick meals are not as filling as regular meals in the game, so they make for good snacks (yay for cheese crackers!) even if you’re planning a big dinner for your sims in a few hours. But if you want your sims to have peanut butter and jelly for dinner and still have their hunger bars filled all green, you can still do that by either giving your sims something to drink while they eat (good news: milk and orange juice are also free quick meals from the fridge) or you can give them a serving and then some dessert (either a cupcake or something from the Baking skill from TS4 Get to Work Expansion Pack)(I find that there’s a good balance if my sims have a bowl of peas + orange juice + a cupcake for dinner)(yes, I’m a fun parent).
Quick meals also make for good options in restaurants (from TS4 Dine Out Game Pack) if you want to have something like a “kids menu”. Or if you want to have fun and make a restaurant that serves nothing but peas (but please don’t invite me for dinner if that’s your taste).
One other situation where I find quick meals useful is the moment I load a new household (I’m a rotational player) and their needs are all messed up. The same way a nap will satisfy a sim whose energy bar is all red at 3pm and it’s too early to send them to bed, you may find them hungry at an odd time, so giving them a bowl of chips or some yoghurt will adjust their hunger to what you have planned for them.
And last but not at all least, quick meals are quick (you don’t say, Sherlock). No, seriously, why do sims sometimes take a whole hour to finish a plate in The Sims 4?
Well these are some of the reasons why I was happy with the addition of more quick meals in the game. Now I want to hear how you play with them in the comments below!
