to not understand why people consider McDonalds to be a "treat"

[TalkinPeace]

if I want a family "treat" meal I go somewhere with fresh, favoursome food made especially for us.

Why do people take their kids somewhere that sells the lowest common denominator of food and call it a "treat" ?

From reading MN I'd say some people are getting the opposite message

I've lost count of the amount of threads where people are saying "AIBU to eat a whole multipack of crisps/doughnuts". Or "I've just had to replace a tin of Quality Street for the second time. I bought them for Xmas and I've eaten them all".

So many people egging them on and posting about the huge amounts of sweets/cakes they've just eaten too.

If treating these types of food as a staple, everyday thing rather than a treat leads to that...I'd rather continue to teach my children that this is wrong.

Basic every day meals are not a treat but ice creams/cakes/sweets/junk food absolutely is...and should therefore be enjoyed in moderation.

My children would prefer sushi to a mcdonalds. We never go.

Their sourcing is MUCH better than other cheap food sources. Where do you think your kebab shop sources its meat? How about Wetherspoons?

I worked in McDonalds for years and it didn't put me off eating their food.

My children would prefer sushi to a mcdonalds. We never go

Mine too, but we eat both. It is possible...

but that is mn

a lot of it is making conversation and I am sure quite a few feel pretty crap about binging after

we have a huge problem with eating disorders and people being overweight and many comfort eat. if you are taught from a young age that food is connected to how you feel about yourself, at the same time make you feel happy and guilty it is a confusing message

People consider it a treat for their children usually. Kids like junk food and they get a toy. Why does that confuse got?

And also, something the OTT McDonalds haters might want to think about...

If you're too OTT about the 'horror' of it all, do you really think your kids are going to admit to eating it when they're old enough to go into town with their friends?

Or do you think they're going to avoid the gnashing and wailing and pretend they had something more healthy?

Educate your kids about what's in the food and explain about moderation...but if you go all hysterical they'll either eat it in secret or eat it just to rebel.

Mine like sushi. And McDonalds, And Carluccios. And KFC.

Am I allowed on Mumsnet? Or is only half of me allowed?

also being bad while others are doing the same thing helps you feel less bad about what you are doing and of course it become competitive, some may not care but I am quite sure many do considering how many are unhappy with their weight

why would you bother posting such a message if you do not want some sort of confirmation from others it is ok on some level

I'm lol at Ikea food being a treat though. Those infamous meatballs and jam with that weird pale brown gravy are hideous. It reminds me of a school dinner.

McDonalds is ok sometimes. I like it now and then...

Cigarettes

Actually I DO think you have a responsibility to check out sources of lots of things and be aware enough about franchising throughout the world and that local expectations different throughout the world. On the world Europe is far more ethically minded than the US and this is reflected in different marketing strategies and investments of the same brands on different sides of the Atlantic. It isn't restricted to McDonalds by any means.

Public pressure differs, and I think its better to focus on campaigns in Europe which are more likely to succeed - and therefore show the viability of different methods - than to simply block boycott a brand if it does pick up on these regional differences.

If you read the article one of the best arguments against the pink slime in the US IS the fact that they claim its the 'best quality' when this completely contrasts with practices in its other regions.

As I've said repeatedly, on this thread, McDonalds in the USA is different and it tastes awful. I am very aware of the reasons why and hardly ignorant about it.

I don't think ethical shopping is always as simplistic or black and white as people think, and I think that there is more than one way to tackle it.

Did anybody say Ikea food was a treat?

I said it was cheap - and the meal I had was healthy
but it was not a treat : it was a cheap meal out with a friend

why do kids need a toy at mealtimes?

LOL at IKEA food not being full of salt sugar and fat.

Doing things in moderation is

a) not as easy to make a big deal of
b) not as easy to market
c) doesn't exactly sell things

The Good/Bad debate is used for many things and its dumb and treats us all as dumb. And its used by healthcare which makes it even worse.

Unfortunately though it works and virtually everyone falls for it - and that is fundamentally the real problem.

yabu to give a main component of your ideal treat meal as 'made especially for us.' (cue idealised dream of white aproned sous chef delicately crafting each artisanal sarnie specifically to talkinpeace exact specifications.)

You know the vast majority of food places serving meals for under £20 per person mass produce and reheat everything, right? Whether than is higher end coffee shops, sandwich chains, naice pub grub, etc.

particularly ironic as in your next post you give ikea as a good example of this. Agree with you that it can be delicious (and quite probably healthier than McDs, although I would go for the meatballs rather than the salmon, so maybe not for me - and cheaper for better food) but last time I went it was served out of huge silver school canteen style dishes ffs. Mass catering at it's best!

why do kids need a toy at mealtimes?

It's a treat. You don't need treats at all.

just read that op had salmon with salad and extra salad.

where's the treat ???

the extra salad? Oh OP you are naughty

DD loves a treat of a McD's. In the UK it is a treat as it is somewhere her grandad takes her.

Here in the Middle East it is an occasional treat for her. The biggest treat of all being a McDonald's ice cream cone which is randomly very very cheap at 1 dirham! (17p)

The food is different here, especially the chicken burger. It just doesn't taste the same - probably as it is proper chicken? Plus you can get a spicy chicken burger which is great or two different McArabias which are like burgers but in Arabic bread. They are pretty tasty.

They even deliver here. Very dangerous when you are hung over! Not that I would know

McDs is a treat here because I'm skint, and it means wecan (v. occasionally eat out).
I'm really glad you can eat at Ikea so cheaply, but as my nearest one is a couple of hours drive away (and I don't drive) its not really and option

Anyway I'm off to rtft now.

McDonalds is fatty and salty and contains more chips than I would usually eat in one sitting and you get to eat it with your hands and play with the ketchup dispenser and the Dcs get a toy and it's cheap and lots of things to choose from and it comes straight away and the seats spin round and I don't have to cook it or tidy up afterwards and there's ice cream with bits on. For all these reasons it's a treat for me - never mind the DCs (but they like it too!). We don't go a lot so it stays special. I love it.

Actually I LOVE salad.

But not McDonalds salad.

Aah yes I recall this poster-she is a devotee of the fad diet that is 5:2 and likes to spout medical nonsense as if she is a doctor-she is not

Go have a greasy big mac op.

McDonalds is a treat to my kids. 2 happy meals cost less than a fiver and they come with a toy! DH and I never get McDonalds meals, can't afford to get food for us as well as the kids in there. Show me where else I can get the kids a meal each plus a toy for less than a fiver and I'll go there.