Have you seen this weird advert?

[Kitchendoctor]

...for Birds Eye “pork, green beans and mash”. It keeps popping up on Mumsnet (I realise adverts are targeted but not sure why this is for me )

It certainly doesn’t look like any meal I’ve ever seen. What even are those rectangular things that look like pop tarts??

And those things aren’t green beans! Surely they’re broad beans!

Is that supposed to be pork???

I just thought the exact same thing! What the hell are they? It looks like a TV dinner meal from 1975! Yuck.

Omg I was just looking at that myself!!

What’s the orange gunk?

It's soft,mashed shaped food for people that have difficulty eating. I clicked on the ad because I'm nosey!

Apparently Alimento Birds Eye make ready meals for those with Dysphagia (swallowing difficulties).

Those things are 'timbales'. Basically shaped mushed up food.

Not sure how you've been selected for the ads though!

And those green beans look odd!!

And alimento is just the Italian generic word for "food# in the context of food shopping.

You literally just get an item from Birdseye that can be classed as "food". Nothing fancy or tasty about it

I wonder if it’s because I always decline all the cookies, so get random irrelevant adverts.

Apparently Alimento Birds Eye make ready meals for those with Dysphagia (swallowing difficulties).

Ah right ok, the green things don’t look very easy to eat though!

Oooohh, that explains why the 'green beans' look like they've been mashed and piped out.

I saw that a few minutes ago and thought it looked revolting. Thanks to whoever investigated it, because now I don't have to

Looks like playdough food

It looks like a TV dinner meal from 1975!

It does, the styling of the whole thing is very 70s.

I just saw this and stared at it for quite a while! Thanks for posting, op, and solving the mystery of the bizarre advert.

I was just puzzling over this same thing! Couldn't understand how that could be real food. I have been googling soup recipes so maybe they think I'm the target market!

Looks like the weird meals that FIL was given in hospital a few years ago when he was on a restricted diet following a stroke. Each part had vaguely the same colour and shape as the corresponding item on the menu, but was a strange soft version.

Hahahaa....first time ever I clicked on an ad here because I couldn't figure out what on earth it was supposed to be

Actually, looks quite nice. I would be very proud if I could turn out a meal like that.

I'm getting that too and have been looking at it far too long trying to work out what it is.

Yes, I have the same ad. It is the same sort of thing, @1066vegan. As others have said, it’s for those who can only eat purée textures due to swallowing difficulties. The reason the manufacturers shape the food like that is to make the food look as appetising as possible and also to maintain the dignity of the person eating it. Purées are the domain of babies and it can be difficult enough to encourage people in hospital or with swelling difficulties to eat, not helped when their food is reinforcing the idea of infantilisation and helplessness. This shaped food helps normalise the diet and helps patients to accept it.

(ex nurse)

It's mashed up ingredients that's then shaped to give the rough appearance of being the actual item of food. So everything on the plate doesn't require chewing. It's quite common to see in hospitals and nursing homes. Not sure why it's popping up on MN so frequently though.

Twins agree.

I saw this and thought 'gross!'

Sorry, that ‘swelling’ should say ‘swallowing’.

Maybe we all read the thread about the DH with swallowing difficulty?

"Timbales" I'm absolutely fascinated by that!