Changing the biggest meal to lunch?

[alysee]

Our evenings are bananas due to activities. My husband suggested this since we can all still sit down to a meal at that time because we are all home. I think I just have to wrap my brain around getting dinner started in the morning. I would have to switch some things around in our homeschool schedule so that I could start at 11am but it would allow us all to sit down at a meal. Does anyone do this? Do you feel like eating a full meal at noon or is your appetite smaller? 

[DawnM]

I grew up eating this way.   We called lunch our dinner and then the evening meal was called supper and usually consisted of soup or a light sandwich.

Lunch (our dinner) was a fully cooked meal.   

I think it is the healthiest way to eat really.   It allows better digestion of a larger meal before going to bed.

Your appetite will adjust.

[HomeAgain]

We have done this.  Evening shifts meant that if we wanted to eat together, we needed it to be breakfast or lunch.

It works fine until you have a teen.  Then every meal is the big meal. 😄 But having 2 adults at home during the lunch hour means that one can cook while the other maintains the daily routine.  And it means breakfast gets shifted to a smaller, earlier meal so that you are hungry for a larger meal. I don't see it any different than going to a restaurant for lunch.  Portions are large.  But, you can always decide to eat less, and just heat up the rest for dinner if you want.

[JustEm]

We used to do this when dh worked 3 to midnight. We all really liked it and it never caused issues

[2ndGenHomeschooler]

This is what we do. DH leaves for work at 2pm so we eat our largest meal around 12:30/1:00. His days off rotate each week too so to keep some form of a routine going I will often still make our big meal at lunchtime even if he’s going to be home in the evening. The biggest things that help me are having a menu so I don’t have to think about what to make, and thinking about lunch the night before so I can do any necessary prep work (pull meat out of the freezer, marinades, etc.). The kids work on schoolwork independently while I cook. This is much easier now that they are teenagers than when they were younger. 

[SquirrellyMama]

I've been trying to do this because at 47 my digestive system doesn't seem to work as well as it used to, and I've been going to bed early. I eat breakfast around 6am or earlier so my appetite is fine for a larger noon meal and a smaller dinner. 

If you stay up late you could even do a small dinner and a later snack if you're hungry, or a small snack and a later dinner. 

Kelly

[Clemsondana]

We often still can't all eat together due to somebody being on a phone call or zoom meeting or needing to read while they eat, but we do this several days each week.  Dinner is usually DIY sandwiches, salad, or leftovers (or, disturbingly often lately, something from the concession stand and the ball field).  I'm actually finishing cooking lunch right now.  We tend to do this in the spring and fall due to sports - summer is unpredictable.  I prefer it because I don't like to have a big meal right before I go to bed.  

[regentrude]

We have always had the big warm meal at midday. It's the tradition in my home country. Works great.

During the work week,  I don't cook anything that takes more than 20 minutes. I can do that in my lunch break, Dh bikes home to arrive precisely wen the food is ready, and afterwards go back to work.

I wouldn't be hungry late in the evening. 

[mommyoffive]

We do this a lot because of activities.  It causes no issues.  I don't cook anything that takes more than 30 minutes.  Or if it is a crockpot situation just start at breakfast time and it is ready at lunch when cooked on high.

I like the kids to have a big warm meal if we are gone in the evenings because I think it makes eating to go food less of a chore, because they are often the same kinds of things they would eat for lunch.

[Jaybee]

I grew up with this plan. Then dh and I did this for years, until a move caused us to have to change (dh was out during lunch hours). We will go back to it when dh retires. I'd do it now, but he sometimes has lunch meetings and doesn't always know ahead of time. It will be an adjustment to go back to it as far as planning meals, but it shouldn't take long to change my mindset, and I much prefer it.

[Grace Hopper]

I feel so much better when I eat this way! Two meals, one large around 11am-noon, a smaller light one (soup/salad/rice bowl) about 6pm. I also can do a “snacky” dinner - cubed cheese, olives, cut veggies, fruit, protein bar, boiled egg - the kind of things you might pack in a sack lunch. 
 

Breakfast is usually either hot tea or coffee, I don’t tend to wake up hungry. If I have a breakfast smoothie, my lunch will also be lighter. 
 

When I had little ones at home we did the larger meal in the evening but found it a good switch once they started having activities. The conundrum was when to actually prep and cook the bigger lunch meal. I sometimes got up early, sometimes did it the night before after the kids turned in, and often used the crock pot. On the nights I cooked, I cooked two meals, so I’d have something ready for two days later. Tried to maximize that time in the kitchen. 

[Farrar]

We did this during much of our core homeschooling years. I really pushed myself to make a simple hot lunch often. It was great. My kids did dance and theater. The theater kid, in particular, kept late hours with activities starting at a relatively young age.

[Jhwk21]

I've been wanting to do this for a few years, because we are all consistently more hungry at lunchtime than at the end of the day. My husband is at work over lunch, but he has said he wouldn't care if I did this. The only thing stopping me is figuring out how to carve out time at make a bigger lunch in the middle of a school day. I know it can be done, but I've just not been able to tackle that part mentally. Maybe soon.

[regentrude]

24 minutes ago, Jhwk21 said:

. The only thing stopping me is figuring out how to carve out time at make a bigger lunch in the middle of a school day. I know it can be done, but I've just not been able to tackle that part mentally. Maybe soon.

Sheet pan meals, soups, curries etc. 10 minutes prep, the oven/stove does the rest.

 

[KungFuPanda]

On 4/5/2023 at 7:09 AM, alysee said:

Our evenings are bananas due to activities. My husband suggested this since we can all still sit down to a meal at that time because we are all home. I think I just have to wrap my brain around getting dinner started in the morning. I would have to switch some things around in our homeschool schedule so that I could start at 11am but it would allow us all to sit down at a meal. Does anyone do this? Do you feel like eating a full meal at noon or is your appetite smaller? 

I switched to this the minute DH started working from home. It solved so many problems. We’re not eating a heavy meal close to bedtime, it’s easier to keep the kitchen clean, I do my big cooking before the day wears me out, I deal with food before anything can come up and derail my meal plan, it’s kinder to middle-aged digestive systems, and I don’t bail on more ambitious recipes. The easy “lunch stuff” and leftovers are moved to the evening meal where the shortcuts are more appreciated. 
 

Ds and I are not big breakfast people, so we have no problem eating the main meal earlier and being hungry for it. DH has no problem finding his appetite, but bigger meals late at night don’t always agree with him. My kids used to have a whole 4th meal at tea time, but thankfully everyone has outgrown that. 
 

ETA: Even if we don’t eat the big meal at lunch it’s still helpful to prep it early in the day as much as possible and get those prep dishes/pots cleaned. What time of day DO you have to devote to meal prep. Even if it’s after supper the night before, prepping ahead of time is so so useful. 

Edited April 7, 2023 by KungFuPanda

[alysee]

*Update*

I  am loving having the biggest meal as lunch. It allows my husband to help more in the kitchen during the week and my kitchen is typically pretty clean by the evening which is amazing. 

For the evening meal if someone is hungry we have been doing finger food, Smoothies, perogies, cereal, sandwiches.It depends on how hungry everyone is. 

 

 

[sweet2ndchance]

I missed this thread when it was originally posted but we've done lunch as our big meal at times as well. I liked to bulk prep on the weekends so my prep for lunch on weekdays was minimal. Cutting up veggies, cooking ahead what could be frozen and then just heated when ready to eat. Things like that made it much easier and faster to get dinner style lunches on the table while juggling homeschooled kiddos.

[Grace Hopper]

On 4/7/2023 at 9:05 AM, Jhwk21 said:

I've been wanting to do this for a few years, because we are all consistently more hungry at lunchtime than at the end of the day. My husband is at work over lunch, but he has said he wouldn't care if I did this. The only thing stopping me is figuring out how to carve out time at make a bigger lunch in the middle of a school day. I know it can be done, but I've just not been able to tackle that part mentally. Maybe soon.

You could always cook ahead of time. When the kids were little I’d cook after they went to bed. Reheat at serving time.