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When do you eat your main meal.

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When do you eat your main meal.

Postby Pepper Pig » Sat Oct 17, 2020 9:47 pm

Apologies for quoting yet another Guardian article but I think it relevant and not just because of Covid. Fashions change and old age has an effect too.

https://www.theguardian.com/food/2020/o ... chel-cooke

I used to be a big breakfaster. No longer but if I have a 3 course lunch I am done for the day.

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Re: When do you eat your main meal.

Postby cherrytree » Sat Oct 17, 2020 9:49 pm

About 7pm

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Re: When do you eat your main meal.

Postby Earthmaiden » Sat Oct 17, 2020 10:28 pm

There's quite a lot of class snobbery related to this I think and I own up to having bought into it at various times of my life. If you come in after a heavy day of manual labour at 5pm of course you want a meal straight away. If you have a long commute or a 4pm tea followed by drinks you'll happily wait for 8pm or later.

They do say that your digestion will thank you if you don't eat too late. As a retired person on my own my optimum is brunch at 10am and another meal at 4pm with a light snack later. Sadly, it doesn't fit with a social life very well! We always had either high tea at 6pm or an evening meal at 7pm depending on what we were doing. I married a man who was used to being served a main meal at 5pm and we had household scenes like the famous scene in Shirley Valentine if I didn't deliver. It meant cutting short afternoon activities with the children if we were out anywhere because I had to get home to cook.

I no longer care what time people eat but think 7pm is a nice time. One thing that has come in recent years is giving young children a main meal at 6pm. I think they are better off having it at midday than going to bed with undigested food in their tummies.

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Re: When do you eat your main meal.

Postby Busybee » Sat Oct 17, 2020 11:05 pm

Anywhere between 5.30 and 6.30pm.

Mainly because DS has a job that requires early starts, he gets up at 5.45am so breakfasts early and goes to bed relatively early. Hence our meal times skew to the early.

If eating out I try to book for 7 or 7.30pm, but would probably go for an earlier slot if still on a 10pm curfew.

If I have a substantial breakfast I often skip lunch or just have fruit. Ideally I would have my main meal at lunchtime and just something light at teatime, but that really doesn’t happen very often, not even at weekends.

I’m also an early to bed person so don’t like eating late.

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Re: When do you eat your main meal.

Postby WWordsworth » Sat Oct 17, 2020 11:18 pm

If I am working I leave the house at 0625, so I go to bed early that night and the night before. That means we aim for dinner about 7 or 7.15.
We usually fail.

On a non-working day dinner is invariably 7.45pm.

Today we have been out for lunch, some friends treated us.
I am surprised I am still awake.
Can't really enjoy a meal during the day.

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Re: When do you eat your main meal.

Postby scullion » Sun Oct 18, 2020 12:05 am

any time between 5.30 and 10 depending what's happening or if we're hungry.
the usual is probably between 7 and 8. - often the choice is 'after dark' if my partner is working outside.

when i first came to cornwall i had to adjust my working hours as many (most?) of my patients would have their main meal at midday and supper at 5.30 (very cornish).

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Re: When do you eat your main meal.

Postby karadekoolaid » Sun Oct 18, 2020 1:06 am

I think I´d probably fit in with EM´s schedule. I´m totally unable to eat breakfast unless I´ve had at least two cups of tea and at least 2 hours awake, so sometimes that´s 8am, sometimes 9am, sometimes 10. Then I´m not hungry again until mid afternoon, and especially with this crazy virus problem, which has completely ruined any semblance of "order" I had a year ago.
Somewhat obtusely, I ate only one meal on Wednesday; Thursday I was starving and ate a huge breakfast, lunch (2pm) and dinner at 8; then yesterday I had an early lunch and biscuits & cheese at around 8.30pm.
I suppose the answer to the question is that I eat when I´m hungry. :shock:

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Re: When do you eat your main meal.

Postby Pepper Pig » Sun Oct 18, 2020 5:56 am

Yes. Eating when I’m hungry works for me too. In my new circumstances though it’s tricky. OH doesn’t want food, full stop so I am trying to re-establish a routine.

I look at my 92 year old mum and marvel. She breakfasts at 8, likes her main meal at 12.30 and has a slice of cake and a cup of tea at 5.30pm. Not much difference to how I was brought up although I did get a fish paste sandwich before I went to bed.

My children have no idea what fish paste is.

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Re: When do you eat your main meal.

Postby Suelle » Sun Oct 18, 2020 9:16 am

When the children were at school the routine of eating at 6pm was established and never really dropped. Eating early meant we often had cake with our coffee later in the evening, after the children were in bed, and that stuck too.

For the last couple of years I've been eating only between noon and 8pm and have managed to move the evening meal nearer to 7pm. I couldn't eat my main meal at mid-day - it's just too much disruption and 'busyness' in the late mornings, when I'm often busy with other things. I quite like eating lunch in restaurants though.

Eating when I'm hungry wouldn't work for me - I'm always hungry and don't seem to have the chemicals/hormones which tell me when I've eaten enough.
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Re: When do you eat your main meal.

Postby Gruney2 » Sun Oct 18, 2020 9:22 am

No fixed times for me. Breakfast after I've finished the Guardian crozzie - lunch when I'm peckish, say 1pm. Tea is usually at 7 ish, depending on if there's something on the box I want to watch, or if I've nipped out for an early doors swiftie.

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Re: When do you eat your main meal.

Postby halfateabag » Sun Oct 18, 2020 10:27 am

When we both used to work it was a supper (main meal) to suit coming in from work. Nowadays I prefer a main meal around 1.30pm and a snack early eve. as I go to bed around 9/10pm. Having said that, I do tend to eat when hungry. Missed supper last night as I was shattered and went to bed at 8.30pm Only had a sausage sarnie around 9.30am then a wedge of french stick and cheese at 4.30pm so I am now Hank Marvin! I have some croissants calling me from the fridge - must dash !

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Re: When do you eat your main meal.

Postby herbidacious » Sun Oct 18, 2020 10:51 am

Habits have changed in Covid times.

I've not really eaten really breakfast for years. I too don't want anything within 2 hours of waking up - including afternoon naps. I used to have a banana when I got to the office. Now, more often than not I have nothing at all.

I have a light lunch - a very light one now I am not comumuting, unless eating out (which rarely happens these days, of course, and is porbaly not going to have at all now for some time.)

Dinner is still usually around 7pm, sometimes later. If it gets later than 9, I don't bother - maybe have a bowl of cereal.

My 92 year old (mother) has breakfast at 7ish, lunch at 12ish and 'dinner' at 4ish. All of these meals are of a miniscule equal size, the only hot one is breakfast (poached egg on half a slice of toast) and all are obvously somewhat dictated to her by when the carers turn up.

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Re: When do you eat your main meal.

Postby PatsyMFagan » Sun Oct 18, 2020 11:22 am

Suelle wrote:For the last couple of years I've been eating only between noon and 8pm and have managed to move the evening meal nearer to 7pm. I couldn't eat my main meal at mid-day - it's just too much disruption and 'busyness' in the late mornings, when I'm often busy with other things. I quite like eating lunch in restaurants though.

Eating when I'm hungry wouldn't work for me - I'm always hungry and don't seem to have the chemicals/hormones which tell me when I've eaten enough.


Oooh, a woman after my own heart Suelle, although for me I eat between 10 am and 6 pm. There's a couple of reasons why I don't eat after 6 pm... first because I just can't sleep with food laying undigested in my chest and secondly, the later I eat, the hungrier I am in the morning. So I have breakfast at 10 am (or later if I'm doing a dance class), my main meal about 3 pm and then a couple of cheese an crackers at 6-ish ... However, I too always seem to be hungry :roll: :oops:

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Re: When do you eat your main meal.

Postby mistakened » Sun Oct 18, 2020 11:35 am

We have our main meal at about 7 00pm. This is a remnant from when Deb was working, also it is better in the summer heat. However we do have Sunday Tea, this is left over from my Mother, she liked Sunday Tea. It will Tomato &Basil sandwiches today followed by Lime & Chocolate Cheese Cake, which I must get out of the freezer.

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Re: When do you eat your main meal.

Postby Hope » Sun Oct 18, 2020 12:00 pm

tbh it's not changed. 6pm dinner time. (although sometimes my lunch is bigger!) Lunch is anywhere between 11.30 and 12.30, depending on how hungry I am!

Breakfast for me is later, because eldest starts school later now, and because hubby works from home now, I don't have to get up so early!

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Re: When do you eat your main meal.

Postby Stokey Sue » Sun Oct 18, 2020 12:10 pm

I usually have some breakfast, a slice of toast or a piece of fruit and some yogurt but not always, the two glasses of strong coffee are the important thing

Lunch is usually something quite light, today I’ve got some veg soup I made and I’ll probably have something small with it

Dinner/supper is the main meal in the evening, when I was working it was later but now it has crept forward to between 7 and 7.30 but it would seem odd to sit down to a main meal before 6pm. Like Suelle not only do I not want to eat a massive midday meal I find it disrupts the flow of the day - I’m always a bit surprised by friends who eat an evening dinner 6 days a week then make a ritual of a massive Sunday lunch. Yuk, and when I was working full time it seemed like a waste of half a weekend - of course I eat it or even cook it when it fits in with being sociable but not my first choice.

There’s a lot of variation though - if I’m going out in the day, not for lunch, I’ll have a sort of brunch before I go and if I meet friends for a restaurant meal it’s more likely to be lunch than dinner these days as nobody wants to travel home late at night as we get older.

Apart from a lack of restaurant meals and meals in other people’s houses Covid hasn’t really changed the pattern except that I have perhaps settled into a more regular routine and actually plan lunches. I do skip meals if not hungry and have a snack later if that changes.

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Re: When do you eat your main meal.

Postby cherrytree » Sun Oct 18, 2020 12:21 pm

Our children always ate with us in the evening. Probably about 6.30pm. We were and are a family. This way the children became accustomed to any amount of different foods and menus. I’ve always made a new recipe every week so they took it on board. I soon learned about genuine dislikes- celery for one child for example. Obviously I made concessions. I would make two chilli con carnes because of the heat for example. They learned good table manners and other conventions. Their tummies never seemed to suffer. My husband and I hardly got a word on as we listened to all the crack from school. Oh how I loved it all.
All those children have children of their own and I’m so pleased they do the same.

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Re: When do you eat your main meal.

Postby Earthmaiden » Sun Oct 18, 2020 12:46 pm

Cherrytree, I quite agree about children enjoying proper family meals when they are old enough. My comment was more aimed at young children who are ready for bed at around 7pm.

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Re: When do you eat your main meal.

Postby liketocook » Sun Oct 18, 2020 1:05 pm

I'm a late eater usually well after 8pm, a habit leftover from when I wouldn't get home from work until after 7pm and would walk pooches and do chores before eating. Most days I have toast & fruit around 10am, a light lunch around 1.30 and then some fruit late afternoon.

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Re: When do you eat your main meal.

Postby Sakkarin » Sun Oct 18, 2020 1:11 pm

No set time, but I do get annoyed with myself when I leave it till far too late. I suppose if I pinpointed times, it would be maybe a brunchish thing at midday and evening thing at maybe 8.30, although I had three meals yesterday plus a special treat of a barbecued bacon rib from the Tesco hot food counter. That's my processed meat allowance for the whole week used up.

Today I had a masala dosa at about 9am, and intended keeping the rest of the dosa mix/potato curry for tomorrow. By 11.30 I hankered after another one and caved in. Gorgeous. Something with smoked haddock tonight, not kedgeree because I had that last night. Again gorgeous.

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