Is a jacket potato a big lunch?

[PinkOnWednesday]

would you say a jacket potato is a bit lunch? Just trying to consider my ideas of normal amounts to eat!
TIA

About normal I would say

I just have salad for lunch (literally just salad). However I have a substantial evening meal, fruit in the afternoon, nuts and milky drink (and sweets if there are any in the house) in the evening, and (on the days when I was visiting the gym) two breakfasts.

It can be but it's all about calories. I remember an episode of secret eaters where the woman said she had a jacket potato everyday for lunch at her Nans house with beans and salad... that sounded fine! When they filmed her, the amount of beans, cheese and coleslaw she was having amounted to over 800 calories! That's massive and that was just lunch.

I've had a jacket potato for lunch on occasional. It can be less calories than a sandwich and a packet of crisps but usually it will be quite a few calories with toppings.

Totally normal lunch

See I couldn’t have a small jacket potato.
Neither could I have one that wasn’t soaked in butter.
And topping? Cheese. Cheese. Cheese and coleslaw. Or bacon.
So for me it would be a HUGE meal and I wouldn’t have a big dinner. BUT I would bloody enjoy it!!!!

We eat a lot of potatoes ! And wouldn’t consider it a big lunch the kids love them but only 1 each with salad and various toppings they can actually be a v healthy choice

As so many have said
Depends on the size of the potato
Depends on what you have with it (and how much of that)

also depends on if you consider lunch to be the main meal of the day or your evening meal.

For me, a Jacket potato is a main meal.
I have breakfast, then I have egg on toast or a sandwich for lunch then my main meal in the evening. I would have a jacket potato as a main meal. I find them quite filling, and lovely.

Depends what's in it and how active you are that day.

Well, it's a normal lunch for my 9 month old (albeit he prefers sweet potatoes) so on that basis, I think it's more than fine for an adult!

Depends on the size of the potato and what you have with it.

But I'd say a small-medium jacket with one topping was a fairly normal lunch and I'd have a normal dinner after.

However if this goes like many MN food threads - it's a huge meal and you shouldn't need to eat again for the rest of the week!

When having a jacket potato for luch I use a small new potato, one flake of tuna, and a sprinkling of air.
Im full for ages and only manage a v small meal in the evening 7 days later.

I probably wouldn't want an evening meal if I had a jacket potato for lunch.

Depends on the size of the potato! I often have a potato to avoid wheat as I'm slightly intolerant and my gut tells me if I have more than one wheat carb meal a day

Depends how you spread your food out through the day. I tend to have a small breakfast (sometimes just fruit), small lunch (usually salad, light on carbs), an afternoon snack (maybe a couple of cheese and crackers) and a massive evening meal (and usually with a decent portion of carbs).

If your portion sizes are ok it’s just personal preference no? I prefer a jacket potato to be a side to the dish rather than the main feature, so I’ll have a small potato with a big bowl of stew or chilli.

@IHaveBrilloHair

I think it’s a normal lunch. Unless it’s an absolutely enormous potato

Not really. It depends a bit on what’s with it though.

Not for me it isn't. But then, myself and the kids just had carbonara, salad, and garlic bread for lunch. We love our food and live a very active lifestyle (small holding, lots of manual labour required and a lot of animals to look after). We will be having a roast chicken cooked with lemon and butter for dinner and been and tomato bake with feta cheese and drizzled with honey for dinner. Did I mention we love our food?!

Nope, I'd say it was a small to average size lunch depending on the size of the potato. I'd definitely still have a decent evening meal (and probably a mid afternoon snack as well!)

You’ve helped me decide dinner OP! Big jacket potato with loads of butter, grated mature cheddar topped with vegetable chilli with another sprinkle of cheddar!

As has been said, it depends on the size and what you put on it.

There was an episode of Secret Eaters once where one lady had a jacket potato everyday for lunch and thought it was healthy because she didn't have butter on it.

But she did add beans, cheese, fried mushrooms and coleslaw to it and it came to something like 1,200 calories in total. The potato was something like 250 and the rest was made up in toppings!

I love them for tea I have one.

But then, myself and the kids just had carbonara, salad, and garlic bread for lunch

By weird MN coincidence I've just posted on the ”myself” thread and this was the next one I opened.

me and the kids

Ahh vanillaandhoney I used to love secret eaters! Might see if I can find any on demand.

@Egg it's all available on YouTube - I may have been binging it recently

Potato the size of my fist, salad, some tuna or ham - nice, normal lunch.