Who made our lives so visual and knows how to tempt us? 

Landra reads the small print

Did the front cover of this years Morrisons Xmas magazine tempt you?

How many people bought a glass pedestal dish so their Xmas dessert could look this impressive?

I bet the sales of glass trifle dishes on a pedestal went through the roof.

Did you look for one?

Let’s read the small print. Something many do not do as the picture is enough.

If I went along Morrisons dessert aisle or even M&S or Waitrose dessert aisle, how much would I be willing to pay for a Xmas dessert – even an impressive one.

Well let me think. If it was in a glass dish I might go to £15 but would think myself very indulgent. I think if they asked me for £20, even with the glass dish I would be reluctant to part with that much for one dessert. I mean you can dine in for 2 for a tenner so who in their right mind would pay £20 just for a dessert.

I think if I had paid £20 I would not tell anyone.

Back to the small print. It is there in black and white on the recipe page printed below for your perusal.

The small print says – 20 servings in this bowl. Well we all know that is their servings and we would be lucky to get 10 servings out of it.

So we have 20 servings, officially. Then the small print states £1.04 per serving. I did my maths. So the ingredients for this trifle, without the work to make it, would cost me £20.80p. So the must have Xmas dessert is costing me over £20 and I have not made it yet.

But wait!! Jumping Jehosaphat!! how do I get 150 mls of orange liqueur without buying the whole bottle?

I can’t you say, I have to buy the whole bottle to get a bit for my trifle.

How much for a bottle of Cointreau or Orange Liqueur – around £20.

So the monetary cost for the ingredients for my posh dessert which I have to have to put on my Xmas table is now in excess of £35 before I buy the glass dish.

Morrisons would have been mad to put them on the aisles for a tenner when they can entice you with this picture and get you rushing out to spend in excess of £35 in their store to make it with your own fair hands.

But wait – I have not finished. You know all those people who tell us to lower our cholesterol, who imply we must eat salads and be fit or we are a drain on the ailing NHS. Well someone had better tell them. Not only did we spend £35+ and the time and effort looking for a large glass bowl on a pedestal; and all our precious time making that wonderfully appealing dessert, but I think we may have overloaded on the calories.

It is there in the small print in black and white – READ IT – 20 servings it says – then right at the bottom 615 calories per each of that 20 servings.

So each beautiful glass bowl that cost you a fortune, holding the ingredients which also cost you a fortune, equates to 20x615 calories = 12,300 (twelve thousand three hundred) calories.

So who will admit to paying £35+ for ingredients, making it, buying the bowl and downing 12,000+ calories on top of the Xmas chocolates. Go on you have to admit it looked good.

How good do you feel now?

READ THE SMALL PRINT – Happy New Year