Breakfast or lunch for dinner?

I love breakfast foods--waffles, pancakes, french toast, bacon, sausage, omelets, you name it. My husband does too, but he's one of those people who thinks that when he eats anything but cereal or toast in the morning it just primes his appetite and he eats more the whole rest of the day. (I know, I've tried the "protein will stay with you longer" discussion...) For that reason, I've been trying to get him used to the idea of having our "breakfast" at dinner time on occasion. It's especially nice when I haven't shopped since we almost always have eggs, butter, flour, bread, etc. So, while we don't do this often, we do occasionally have breakfast for dinner and really enjoy it.

Now onto lunch foods. In the summer, I would be perfectly satisfied many nights just to have a nice cool salad. Or several salads plated together. Or a nice BLT, tuna melt or warm pastrami on rye. The possibilities are limitless. Problem is, Len would never consider sandwich or salad as "dinner." So, while I've made some headway on breakfast for dinner, I don't think I'll ever get him to say, "Oh, yes, let's have a chopped Cobb Salad for dinner!!!" (Personally, I think he's a little spoiled.

How about all of you? Does the time of day dictate what type of foods you eat?

[Robin Garr]

How about all of you? Does the time of day dictate what type of foods you eat?

Very interesting question, Carrie!

I think I'm a little more open to time-shifting than Mary is. I love breakfast stuff for brunch, even if it's after noon, and I'm always up for an omelet (or frittata or Spanish tortilla or egg foo yung) for dinner. I just suggested to Mary the other day, it being the height of BLT season, that a dinner of BLTs would be excellent, but she looked at me kind of funny.

Generally speaking, though, I don't like to shift the clock the other way. For instance, when I go to a lavish brunch where they've got both eggs/bacon/hash-browns/grits/waffles, etc., and savory dinner-type dishes both available, I'll always go for the breakfast stuff. Eating hot-dish casseroles at brunch just does not appeal to me.

And of course, pizza is always in order.

I work with what's around. But, that being said there are advantages to having folks raising naturally raised sheep, cattle, chickens, and pigs within a 25-radius.

I don't like diet rigidity. Made blueberry buttermilk pancakes for dinner the other night. I strongly suspect that varying what we eat and when we eat it is good for us.

Have no problem with sandwiches for dinner. Do them all the time - oyster po' boys, Reubens, BLTs, breaded pork tenderloins (schnitzel), etc.

I'd say I average "breakfast" foods for dinner about once per week. We have a friend who has chickens, Rhode Island Reds and Leghorns, so eggs are often on the menu.

Souffles, omelets, and yes, even quiche.

The only breakfast food I eat for dinner routinely would be eggs, in the form of frittata.

Waffles or pancakes? Never. I hardly ever eat them for breakfast, let alone other meals.

Salads, OTOH, make a fine dinner, so long as there's enough "stuff" in there to make it filling.
Pair the eggs with the salad, and I'm good to go.

Brunch is great, particularly on weekends. Without getting tied up in verbage, we frequently have the principal meal or "dinner" at midday, and then have a light "supper" in the evening. One thing we like to have in the summer is what we call a deli platter, with a cold selection of meats, cheeses, and salads from the deli, all on a bed of lettuce.

Our dinners are pretty eclectic, anything from omelets, huevos rancheros, to BLT's, burgers, tuna melts, to shrimp or crab Louis, cobb and spinach salads, to duck confit, steak au poivre, BBQ anything etc. etc.
Seldom eat lunch and breakfast is as varied as just some fruit to leftover pizza or grilled quesadillas.
Hadn't really thought about it but 'routine' would be boring.

We eat fresh fruit, in season, for breakfast, along with juice and/or coffee. Gene has a bagel or some other form of bread/cereal. Sometimes I make omelets, or poached eggs on toast, and he always has home made blueberry pancakes in the freezer. I dislike breakfast foods for dinner. If we have leftover pizza or stuffed cabbage rolls, I will eat that for breakfast and lunch. I make stuffed cabbage rolls once a year and pizza we have maybe once every two months, so it is a real treat when I get to have that in the morning.
Lunch for me are usually left over veggies, a salad or any home made soup we have. Sometimes I make a sandwich. In the summer I might make a plate of cheese, olives, sliced toms/cukes, pickles/peppers. Gene will eat anything left in the refer with ice cream for dessert. I count on him to keep the left overs cleaned out......he is still his high school weight and works hard, so I need to keep him well fed!

We both love salads for dinner, especially in the summer. We usually grill at night, and keep the foods really simple, but healthy. I love big flavors, so rubs and marinades are winners here.

If it's something I eat, I don't have any foods that are forbidden at particular meals. But I have never been a breakfast person, so I don't have things I consider solely "breakfast foods."

If I go out to brunch, I tend to eat a mix of everything on offer, in no particular order. Except I generally eat my salad or fruit last. (Unless they have a spectacular, favorite dessert.)

Whilst it is true that 75% of the time I eat "breakfast food" at breakfast time, soup and sandwiches or some light snack for lunch, and a "proper meal" at dinner time, I'm not rigid about it and what I happen to be doing has a big influence over what the meal is built around. For example, if I've had a heavier than usual lunch (eg a business meal or celebrating an occasion) then dinner time calls for a light meal. In hot weather, I often make salads for dinner. (Salads three meals a day in some weather!)

Breakfast is not my favourite meal. I don't feel like eating much in the mornings for a start. Then, cereal and toast are NOT my favourite foods - hardly ever eat them, in fact - and I can't be bothered with cooking the usual breakfast hot foods when I don't have much appetite. Yoghurt and fruit seems to be ok.

Matilda

I love breakfast foods, but almost never eat breakfast. Usually just on weekends. However, I've found that a bowl of cereal is a nice bedtime snack and somewhat healthier than a bowl of ice cream.

I also occasionally eat dinner foods for breakfast.

And are eggs for breakfast, lunch or dinner? (My answer is "YES")

John

[Robin Garr]

Yoghurt and fruit seems to be ok.

Couldn't agree more! That's my standard breakfast (wlth the caveat that over here we spell "yogurt" without the "h".)

An egg is a mighty easy thing to turn into a delicious breakfast item, though, even in the bleary morning.

[Jenise]

Carrie, fun question. I'm glad you allowed two selections--I took both of the last two in spite of the fact that I presumed you meant them to conflict with one another. In my case, though, they don't.

Thing is, since I dislike eggs, milk, and the entire category of doughy breakfast foods that include pancakes and waffles, I live on foods more typical of lunch and dinner at any time of day. And even if I didn't have these aversions, I would be unlikely to move breakfast to dinner simply because of the beverage. In my world, the most perfect beverage for bacon is coffee and the most perfect food to eat with coffee is bacon. They are magical together, as are the aromas of both mixing in the kitchen during preparation. My preferences have nothing at all to do with any idea of what's suitable, or belongs where. I am not a traditionalist. But there are some foods I prefer at certain times of day. I love soup for lunch (and breakfast, when I choose to eat earlier) because I generally eat this meal alone and when eating alone I want sofa food. That is, I want something I can eat curled up on the sofa, feet tucked under, facing the view. Any food I can eat with one implement out of a mug or a bowl will do. Which means soups are rarely dinner, unless it's winter and the soup has lots of noodles or dumplings and chunks of meat. Salads are often dinner, though they are not neccessarily the delicate girl-food salads most people think of. They are cool fiber and protein, wherein the cold raw greens that would have been a first course anyway (we have salads nightly) get promoted to main dish duty, like the steak on arugula with shaved parmesan dish that you and I both love. These dinner 'salads' are more often served in summer than winter because that's when the best fresh raw greens are available. They also make great foods for serving outside during warm weather since I'm not worried about plates cooling down quickly on the marble table that is our outdoor dining option.

When Dina is traveling and I’m baching it…I make bacon, eggs and toast (or biscuits) for dinner fairly often.

Richard

Love breakfast for dinner! My mom used to do it as a treat so it's special to me. Also like salad for dinner, and it's not until here in Israel that hubby will accept it. It's just too hot to eat a big meal and go to sleep...

I've been alternating between Israeli Salad (cucumber, tomatoes and green onions) and what I call Hotel Salad because I've yet to eat at a hotel here that didn't serve it (cucumber, tomatoes, canned corn, red onion and finely shredded carrot). Bread or pita and hummus on the side of course!

Dinner for breakfast - not unless it's noodles or rice! My husband, however, worked 12 on 12 off on an aircraft carrier during the first Gulf War and the Bosnia thing and ended up waking up as dinner was being served. He'll head for the fridge on weekends and devour the leftover pork chops (well, not here) or whatever that were intended for easy Monday leftovers.... *sigh*

(edit) I forgot that I have grown to like schnitzel for breakfast! I suffer from insomnia, and nothing else perks me up after a really bad night quite as well. Last week all I had were some of the chopped broccoli patty schnitzel, and I topped each one with a fried egg for some protein - Yum!!!

That's a new one to me! What's brocolli schnitzel? I have only had schnitzel made with meat.

That's a new one to me! What's brocolli schnitzel? I have only had schnitzel made with meat.

It's like if you made crab cakes with broccoli instead and then breaded it like a schnitzel. I'm sure whatever holds it together makes it less healthy than real broccoli, but whatever it takes to get antioxidants, right?

...but whatever it takes to get antioxidants, right?

That has always been my justification for eating carrot cake!