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Original poster

Carbs with carbs, and a side order of carbs. WTF M & S?

416 replies

AudTheDeepMinded · 23/10/2021 13:55

Good grief, no wonder we have an obesity crisis. Was in M & S cafe for a mid morning coffee and spotted their latest menu. Included is a mac and cheese toasted sarnie, with which you can have a side order of fries for an extra £2. Can't believe they seriously thought this was a good idea.
Should probably have posted this in AIBU! what's the most bizarre offering you have seen on a menu?

OP posts:
Blueraccoon · 23/10/2021 19:51

I'm overweight and I'd never eat something like that. It sounds gross.

Same here. Give me double chocolate fudge cake with whipped cream any day 😋

Camblewick · 23/10/2021 20:43

No the information is not out there. The traffic light system on food has been shown to work, But it is voluntary. Many food manufacturers purposely have confusing information.

I respectfully disagree @julieca. People are not idiots. Few would need a traffic light system to tell them that a banana is a healthier option than a Mars bar. I do think the information is out there if one can be bothered to look.

julieca · 23/10/2021 20:46

@Camblewick why choose an extreme example? If you look at ready meals, those with traffic lights are easy to judge. And sometimes things that you think sound healthier have a lot more salt or fat in them than you would expect.

Camblewick · 23/10/2021 20:50

@julieca yes and you are given the information on these ready meals, which is my point.

Too many people (this is not aimed at you) talk about people not knowing what is healthy/don't have information etc and I don't necessarily think that's true. My example may have been extreme but I also think that most people understand that making something yourself is generally healthier than a ready meal. People are not stupid.

Europilgrim · 23/10/2021 20:54

Sounds awful but at least you can not buy it. My mum got given a mashed potato sandwich for dinner in hospital. That shocked me!

julieca · 23/10/2021 21:03

@Camblewick you are given fat per 100g. Then you have to look at how many 100g in the meal and work out if it is high or not. I can work this out in my head, lots cant.
There are reasons the food industry has fought against the traffic light system being mandatory even though all the research shows consumers prefer it.

Paq · 23/10/2021 21:04

Reminds me that there's an awesome Mac n cheese lasagne recipe on BBC Good Food that replaces the lasagna and cheese sauce layers with m&c. Delish!

Sickoffamilydrama · 23/10/2021 21:36

I agree with whomever said people need better mental health support. I became overweight at 12-14 not because there was unhealthy food served in my family but because I was squashing and numbing my feelings living in a chaotic household with no adult that helped me with my emotions.

Whilst most of my adult life I have been a normal weight as soon as I'm stressed I have to fight the urge to eat to suppress those pesky feelings.

My Grandmother over ate (although not by much) and was a feeder because she was starved and abused by her parents so that was how she showed love, she didn't know & hadn't learnt how to express love and making sure you weren't starving hansel and gretel style was a loving act for her.

The legacy of her upbringing means my mum does the same and whilst I try not to, I too associate food with being loving and loved.

Banning or restricting unhealthier food wouldn't have stopped me as a traumatised teen from over eating.

We also have in a generation got so many labour saving devices that our calorie burning from physical activity must be way down. It's actually really physical to scrub a floor or mow a lawn with a hand mower. But we still eat the same foods that our Grandparents and parents did (mostly).

Lightisnotwhite · 23/10/2021 23:46

Sickoffamilydrama

I hear you but it’s much easier to give into over eating if the shops are open 24 hrs and that chocolate fudge cake is available for a £1.

Why mac and cheese with chips? So weird. A green salad or something if anything else was required.

Pythonista · 23/10/2021 23:50

@Lightisnotwhite

Sickoffamilydrama

I hear you but it’s much easier to give into over eating if the shops are open 24 hrs and that chocolate fudge cake is available for a £1.

Why mac and cheese with chips? So weird. A green salad or something if anything else was required.

The chips were an optional extra. I'm sure they could have got a salad instead
YourFinestPantaloons · 23/10/2021 23:51

Wow, I'm so pleased I don't give a flying fuck about stuff like this and enjoy life instead.

Can highly recommend this approach BTW.

julieca · 23/10/2021 23:51

Salad does not really go with macaroni cheese.

Bloodybridget · 24/10/2021 03:38

If it was mandatory to state the calories in all foods sold in cafés and restaurants, and in prepared dished in supermarkets, I think hugely calorific offerings like this would be much less popular. But it's been opposed because it might adversely affect people with anorexia, apparently. Seems to me we have vastly greater numbers of people killing themselves by overeating, than undereating.

Europilgrim · 24/10/2021 06:19

Salad does not really go with macaroni cheese.
Why not?

gofg · 24/10/2021 06:38

Oh for goodness sake!! Presumably people aren't going to be eating three meals of it every day of the week. Some of you need to lighten up and try enjoying food once in a while. YABU.

gofg · 24/10/2021 06:41

Wow, I'm so pleased I don't give a flying fuck about stuff like this and enjoy life instead.

Can highly recommend this approach BTW.

I totally agree with you @YourFinestPantaloons - it's a great way to live!

icedcoffees · 24/10/2021 08:18

@Europilgrim

Salad does not really go with macaroni cheese. Why not?
Why would you put cold salad leaves next to steaming hot pasta covered with cheese?
YourFinestPantaloons · 24/10/2021 08:40

I agree that pasta and salad doesn't go.

Seriously if people want to eat carbs just let them you fucking weirdos. I cannot believe anyone even gives this a second thought

Rosesareyellow · 24/10/2021 08:44

I always have salad with a pasta dish Confused

Europilgrim · 24/10/2021 09:20

Why would you put cold salad leaves next to steaming hot pasta covered with cheese?
I don't necessarily put it on the same plate but I often have pasta and salad. Would you have cooked veg with it??

Simonjt · 24/10/2021 09:21

Triple carbs sounds great, I’d be triple carbing if I didn’t have diabetes.

purdypuma · 24/10/2021 09:36

Tried that toastie last week at their Meadowhall cafe, I was sceptical as they had literally run out of everything else but turned out to be bloody tasty!Grin

Bluesheep8 · 24/10/2021 09:37

Why can't a grown adult look at a menu and decide for themselves what they want to eat?
And I eat salad with pasta too. In a separate bowl if the plate is warm. Because I choose to.

GETTINGLIKEMYMOTHER · 24/10/2021 10:17

@YourFinestPantaloons

I agree that pasta and salad doesn't go.

Seriously if people want to eat carbs just let them you fucking weirdos. I cannot believe anyone even gives this a second thought

I always serve spag bol with salad - in a separate dish. Weird, unheard of practice, I know.
And garlic bread on the side. 😱 (And BTW we aren’t fat.)
Camblewick · 24/10/2021 10:18

Why can't a grown adult look at a menu and decide for themselves what they want to eat?
And I eat salad with pasta too. In a separate bowl if the plate is warm. Because I choose to.

Well @Bluesheep8 apparently folk are too dim to decide what to eat for themselves and need guidance on every mouthful.

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