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

[AudTheDeepMinded]

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?

@Nowisthemonthofmaying

I saw that on a board outside M&S last week, it looked gross! Don't get me wrong I love macaroni cheese and also cheese toasties but something about the combo of pasta and bread is just really yukky.

but something about the combo of pasta and bread is just really yukky.

Pasta and bread go together. In fact in Italian families garlic bread is almost always served with Spaghetti. My own father often used a slice of bread to wipe up the remaining bolognaise sauce in the bowl. Pasta and garlic bread/bread go together like marmalade and toast, or milk and cereal. French and Greeks are similar. Any suggestion a good pasta meal should be balanced with non-carbs would lead you to receiving blank looks or people looking at you like an alien. Most people don't think about carbs vs non-carbs, it's not even a thing with 99% of people.

@Redjumper1

I love bold food like that. I am not overweight. Its alright to eat like that an odd time? I love lasagna, garlic bread and chips! that's loads of carbs. Growing up we would have lasagna with carrot and broccoli because the lasagna was bad enough so were not allowed to have the chips or garlic bread with it. That's fair enough too cos you are trying to teach kids goodish eating. Now I'm a grownup, I love a carb feast.

Yes, lasagna and garlic bread is another great combo. Basically any pasta-based meal needs garlic bread or bread product such as rolls as a side dish.

And yes, chips are great too with them, although not as common with Italian and French communities.

@NeonTetras it's interesting you should say that. In my personal experience a fair few of my acquaintances are aware of nutrition and good food choices (we may not act on what we know but not through ignorance). I would not think my friendship group is unusual either, not super rich or super poor, not affluent area but not deprived either, some gym bunnies, some most definitely not. Your experience would seem to suggest, as @hettol has noted, more is needed to educate the young about nutrition.

There is an obesity crisis which is getting worse. A collective effort to help people help themselves surely shouldn't be sneered at as controlling should it?

So no shops should sell anything that you consider unhealthy?
Or would that just be the "obscenely" unhealthy things?

Let's close all the bars and off licences too then.
Alcohol is bad for you.

"Arse on a plate" sounds obscenely unhealthy too

Aw. I know what you're saying, OP. I find it difficult to eat out in so many places. Veg is thick with butter. Salad is deep in oils/dressing. I love to eat out but I don't want to use a full day's calories on one lunch.

@AudTheDeepMinded my daughter has Type 1. There's not much you can tell me about carbs. 🤣

I would not want her to eat the food that you object to in your post any more than I would want her to eat a huge piece of chocolate cake. But assuming that were talking about most people who don't have to count carbs every meal, I believe that sugar is more addictive and that, I think, is more of a problem than someone having a carb laden toastie once in a while.

Orthorexia has entered the chat

Comedy scene.

Setting: I'm standing at the M&S cafe counter, ready to order.

Me "I'd like to order a cheese toastie, please."

Staff: "Excellent choice madam."

Me: "Oh, and a side of fries?" Staff push buttons but till sounds loud alarm.

Staff: "Sorry, the Excess-Carbohydrates alarm went off. I can't accept that order. But you know what, I'm pretty sure you could swap the fries for a hot chocolate. It's artificially sweetened so low carb after all"

Me: "Okaaaaaaaayyyyy...."

Staff: "Alternatively you could order the BigMark Burger with your fries. The fat and protein cancel out the carbohydrates, which is handy, so you can have fries after all."

Me: "Isn't the BigMark Burger like 1000 calories?"

Staff: "Well, yes... but " leans in to whisper "you don't have to eat it all."

Me: "It's good to know I have some choices here."

@vajingleberry to be fair if alcohol was promoted at M and S cafe in the same way people would more than likely object. There are far tighter controls on availability and promotion of alcohol.

@AudTheDeepMinded

I know I'm not required to order it. I'm objecting to a high street shop with a massive presence normalising something obscenely unhealthy.

Like McDonald's, kfc, Burger King ... etc

Chip butty, food of the gods.

A mac and cheese toastie sounds amazing. 😍

People have a choice, no ones making them eat it?

For me it’s too many carbs but as a one off treat I don’t see a issue, I love Mac and cheese, my mum used to serve it with jacket potato which I now think it’s too much and wouldn’t eat it. Mac cheese and garlic bread is fine though….and a side salad to make it seem healthy 🤣.

There is an obesity crisis which is getting worse. A collective effort to help people help themselves surely shouldn't be sneered at as controlling should it?

Help people help themselves.

I think the way to help people help themselves is by giving them something, not taking things away. Especially in a democratic western society where all adults have the same rights of choice, even if many make shit choices every day.

Teach them a skill. Give them a loan to start a business or pursue education. Run a diet group or create a blog about what you consider healthy eating (opinions do vary).

Ban M&S’s Mac and cheese toasted with optional chips meal? Not so much.

As for a moral obligation from a business...nah. A business has one primary function, and that is to survive or it no longer exists (much like humans). There might be other drivers and missions attached, but those are secondary concerns.

I saw a Mac and cheese burger recently. I like both separately but can’t imagine a burger full of Mac and cheese. Bleugh.

You know, one of the major issues with Obesity/the Food Industry is portion sizes.

The actual volume of macaroni cheese that would fit into a toasted sandwich is significantly lesser than that which would be put onto a plate - it would be a couple of tablespoons, max. You'd also need less sauce than is commonly put into macaroni cheese so as to avoid leaking/the bread becoming soggy.

So even with a side (so smaller portion) of chips, the people buying this would in all probability be consuming fewer calories, fat and salt, overall.

That's the problem with attaching moral values to food. The moral values obscure the actual facts. And I don't even have a dog in this fight, as I can't eat pasta, dairy or bread.

Fucking wish I could, though. Macaroni cheese and chips with a generous helping of Mustard and sea salt/pepper is the food of the Gods.

Mac gooood
Cheese goooooood
Toast gooooooood

If you really want to tackle the obesity crisis, lobby for better food labelling and restrictions on TV adverts. The red, amber and green traffic light system on ready-made foods has been shown to lead to healthier choices. But it is currently entirely voluntary.

@AudTheDeepMinded

and I'm not sure it is a sound business decision, would that many people actually want to purchase it?

No, they just thought it up on a whim, because that is how massively successful companies do things... no market research, no discussion over what customers are asking for... just bang out something whacky and hope.

Loads of people love a big ole carb overload from time to time, we see pasta and some sort of garlic bread as normal, ditto spaghetti hoops on toast, lasagne served with chips... it is not THAT out there, regardless of how unhealthy it may be!

I'd save your drama for things like.. being served nothing but cheese sandwiches, baked potato and cheese, rice AND potatos.. in a hospital.. which I was in for gallstone related issues (and I am diabetic). We have a serious problem when hospital food is wholly inappropriate for patients! (Not a one off, my friend in a city 3 hours away was served similiarly awful double/triple carbs/high fat food during her stay in hospital, every single time she's been in!)

But isn't that just the same as lasagne, chips and garlic bread? I have to low carb due to health reasons so the thought of that meal is making me very jealous!!

Fine as a one off in moderation but not like you would eat it every day.

[quote AudTheDeepMinded]@vajingleberry to be fair if alcohol was promoted at M and S cafe in the same way people would more than likely object. There are far tighter controls on availability and promotion of alcohol.[/quote]
What with sandwich boards or ad boards? Have you walked past an off licence recently? Or a pub? You’ll be frothing then!

Converted - off there now. Thanks OP!

@Camblewick fair point, I should imagine you are pretty expert at that then! I don't disagree that a carb heavy meal once in a while is not an issue for most people. There's just something about a triple carb meal being actively promoted that doesn't sit well with me. Perhaps if they offered the choice of a really lovely dressed salad as an accompaniment it would even things up a bit.
This thread has made me think, people have taken permutations of my opinion to the nth degree to demonstrate how unreasonable I am being. But the obesity crisis is real and suggesting ways to help people help themselves in terms of healthy choices can't be that bad can it?

I once had a Mac and cheese starter with lobster. It was lovely.

Then I had two more courses.

And wine

Yes alcohol is heavily promoted.