What time do you eat your evening meal?

[AgneathaTheCat]

I am intrigued after a conversation with my DP, he has always naturally eaten his main/evening meal quite late (to my mind) compared to myself.

If work/family constraints were not a thing, what time do you think you would naturally feel ready to eat it? I am curious since we all live by such fairly diverse patterns these days compared to the past - I know someone who eats her main/largest meal at 3pm since she starts work at 5pm, although she does revert back to a more typical pattern when not working.

Well it’s not late for me! That’s the time I prefer to eat, whether at home or out. I cant imagine eating dinner any earlier, I wouldn’t be hungry. My husband and I love sitting down and eating together at that time, chatting etc.

I wake up around 0700, coffee straight away, then see to the toddler, take them to nursery, start work (have had 3 coffees by now!), lunch is anywhere between 1200-1500 depending on meetings. Finish work around 1800, husband picks up child from nursery, we have a play, they have a snack of apples/cheese, then bath/book/bed with my husband whilst I potter about. I cook dinner around 2000-2030, eat an hour later, then bed around 23.30-2400. Suits us! Weekends are a bit different, we have no routine as usually out and about.

Between 5-6.30 as we eat as a family.

I work from home so no commute most days. I go to the office twice a month and it's 15 min bike ride from DS school (which is also 15 min from our house).

15 min drive or 30 min cycle for DH.

I often put something in the oven/slow cooker at lunch time. Also have a lot of quick recipes, steak & wedges, noodle soup, stir fries, pasta, fish etc.

DS is an only so not making him eat on his own - we sit at the table every night. Often with relatives or friends.

I like to eat at 6ish. I get really hungry if I don’t eat early and snack (eat anything I can get my hands on.) If I’m going out for dinner I’ll have a substantial snack about then.

I mostly WFH so others have said, I often take 20 mins at lunchtime to do some chopping and dinner prep (I've been known to peel potatoes in an online meeting too - provided it's not with external people!).

Otherwise it's a mix of slow cooker meals, batch cooked stuff from the freezer or quick meal options.

7pm is my ideal time although happy with 6.30 and it's sometimes as late as 8 or so if we have evening exercise etc. I hate eating at 9 or later, I feel sick when I go to bed.

I think I would eat at 7pm, but at work (residential children's home) we eat at around 5-5.30pm and that's usually around 4 evenings a week. I now get hungry at 5pm.

Around 6pm so that we can all eat together as a family (3 kids age 4, 8, 10) sometimes a bit before or after depending on activities and what time we both finish work

See it's 6.30pm - I am still working and still fairly full from lunch - no way could i eat now!

6.30 at home but when we dine out we always book for 8pm.

Absolutely no set pattern, totally depends on who is at home, evening commitments, what other meals we've eaten that day. Ideally I would eat my main meal at lunch time but that's difficult when going out to work. My DH loves to eat late and make a performance out of the evening meal (he will cook) but I much prefer something simple and get on with other things.

Around 6pm usually, but it's not a rigid rule, depends what else is going on, what time we got in, what we're having etc. I mostly WFH and start early so I can finish around 4pm.

Usually 4.45pm if im not working. DH WFH every day or is home early when he rarely has to go to office. On the couple of days I work until 5pm, we eat at about 5.20pm, but I cook the day before so it's ready to heat up the minute I walk through the door. The kids often have activities in the evenings so we eat early.

My family and DH family both ate at around 5pm when we were growing up too.

4.45pm! That’s my “afternoon snack to tide me over” time! When do you eat your sneaky iced bun then?

5.30pm-6pm depending on how long it takes to cook. 2 young DC in the house who need fed a couple of hours before bedtime, although the two eldest DC could cope with later.

Lol! We don't tend to snack too often in the evenings, but I'm eating some jelly babies at the moment, however it's not a regular thing really. Although DD is doing her GCSEs at the minute so seems to be eating her body weight in pringles and dark chocolate.

We usually eat at 7.30am, then at 12 (kids school lunchtime is around 12.30/1pm) and then we eat again at 4.45 - 5.15pm. Not sure whether other people eat their breakfast and lunch at other times and whether that's why they eat later.

Usually between 7 and 8.

It changes every day depending on dc sports schedule. Tonight it's 8.30, tomorrow will be 6pm.

5.30 ish. 6pm or later at the weekend.

@Dacadactyl weekdays - breakfast at about 6.45am, lunch anytime between 12pm and 2pm, dinner 8 - 9.30pm. We have in fact just finished dinner now.

I’ve only just finished dinner too!

Retired now, but still around 7.30, shortly after the time dh habitually got home from work.
Much earlier and I’d be hungry (and picking) again before bedtime.

I found during lockdown that my ideal schedule was to eat at about 10-10.30 and 4.30-5pm. Two biggish meals, no snacking, perfectly happy. Have struggled to fit back into socially acceptable eating habits!

This is exactly when I eat each day doing 16/8. Suits me perfectly and I feel good. I do have a couple of little snacks between brunch and dinner though.

7.30-8pm