Sunday roast at lunchtime or in the evening?

[dessertorchide]

I prefer main meal at lunchtime if I can, hate going to bed with a full stomach but DH and DC prefer picky sandwichy food at lunchtime and a big feed before bed.

My ideal Sunday would actually just be an eggy brunch at 10 then a roast at 4 but my children are so resistant to anything other than 3 meals at weekday times.

We tend to do late afternoon/ early evening 5.30 /6 any later and it's too heavy on the stomach once we've fitted it in dessert too

Growing up, we always had a roast at lunchtime on a Sunday and then usually something like tinned salmon sandwiches for tea.

Ideally now I prefer to have my roast dinner in the evening but I often think if I’ve had it at lunchtime I’d be all done and dusted now with the washing up/clearing away!

If I'm cooking a roast for my husband on a Sunday, I tend to have it ready for a very early evening meal at about 6.30 or 7 rather than lunchtime. I don't eat roast dinners, sort from turkey and chicken, so just make myself something very simple for my dinner.

In theory I love the idea of a big Sunday lunch then a walk but in practice we're often doing something during the day so we'll have it at around 6.30pm like we do every other day. We don't always have a roast on a Sunday - sometimes other days or not at all. If we have family over for the weekend we usually have a big meal on Saturday evening then brunch the next day as they usually leave around midday.

I do love a Sunday roast at lunch with a light tea especially as Sunday evenings are usually busy preparing for the week, but I like a lie in and we go to the gym/swimming lesson late morning so don't have the time or inclination to be prepared by lunch time!

Evenings around 7pm.

I hate eating lunch in the afternoon, so never later than 1pm and then I don't cook anything that takes longer than 30 minutes.

We are often out during the day, come home for tea and biscuits and then put the roast on.

This thread has inspired me to utilise the extra hour we've got to sort out lunch before the gym so we can have it at lunch time and enjoy a lazy afternoon 😊

At lunch time / late afternoon.

Normally around 5pm here which is earlier than we usually eat dinner. We also tend to to brunch then roast on a Sunday rather than three meals (well, DH and I do.....DDs will have a bowl of cereal or some fruit and yoghurt first thing).

Sundays tend to go:

Get up, DDs have cereal and we all have a slower start. Laze around til 10am.

10ish DH and I make something for brunch. Today it's sausage sandwiches. DDs will eat some of that too.

11 - 3pm doing some form of activity. Often a walk but could just be catching up on laundry or gardening. DDs do their homework.

3pm start making roast dinner. Potter in and out of the kitchen and just hang out. If anyone is hungry they tend to have a cup of tea and some biscuits.

5pm eat roast dinner and wash up.

6pm baths or showers for everyone, into pyjamas. Some self care stuff like using lovely body lotion or painting my nails.

Evening to just chill out.

Neither! None of my family like it, so I never cook it but I do like the idea of a big lunch then nothing much in the evening. At Christmas we eat our big meal around 5pm so we can have a glass of wine and not get that post lunch wine headache you get from daytime drinking.

When we were kids my Mum made ‘Sunday dinner’ for around 2pm. I usually make it for 5-6pm, as our evening meal but earlier than we would usually eat (more like 7-ish).

I prefer it at lunchtime but we've gotten into the habit of going to the local pool's family swim session on a Sunday, and those happen over lunchtime, so it's the evening for us.

We have our tea at 16.00 so he makes it for then, it gives us time to relax and digest and play before our DS bedtime routine ensues.

Not lunch for me, other than possible as a rare occasion. Roast season tends to coincide with autumn / winter and so there’s not enough light in the day anyway. Wouldn’t want to spend my day inside eating, much prefer to do a walk in the light then come back for the eating as it’s getting dark! Even our Christmas meal tends to be more like 4 - 5pm so that the kids can get some exercise beforehand.

Evening always otherwise it takes out too much of the day when we could be doing other things, we are usually all out somewhere. Ideally start cooking around 5, eat at 7-7.30 and relax for the evening. We don't have roasts all that often though, certainly not every week.

Around 7pm, we go out and do stuff on a Sunday so just eat our big meal in the evening.

A whole chicken takes about 45 mins in a ninja and all the veg can go in it together. Then steam some peas and your done.

We never do them in the week either, no airfryer and no intention of getting one.

I have my roast on now.
We'll have it about 1 and then just doss for the day.

For me the point of a Sunday Roast Dinner is that you have time to do all the sides and sauces - stuffing, yorkshires, any veg in sauce (Cauli cheese / leeks in white sauce / dauphinois etc) - all the things that make the best of oyr chosen meat and make it 'special'.

And also to have time to linger over seconds, have dessert, chat, make it an occasion.

Not rush off to activities etc.

And the afternoons will be so short now.

So we do evening.

But it all depends on the age of your kids etc.

Sometimes a lovely long all-afternoon boozy Sunday lunch is good with relaxed adult friends

Lunchtime suits me best

Agree a heavy meal later is too much. I like a latish light breakfast then lunch at 2. We went to a friends last weekend and she served it at 3, too late really. Don't want a full dinner after that but still want something - I had a sandwich and salad but didn't feel right! I don't go to bed til midnight so even a 4pm meal I'd be wanting a snack later!

Early evening. Lunch time means that it dominates the day, especially if you have a glass of wine.

Hate doing roast dinners into Sunday evening so if staying home I prefer to do them late afternoon.

To answer a pp who asked about if other meal times get pushed around when eating a roast at 4 - yes they do pretty much. I really only eat one - two meals a day maybe. Not through any dieting thing just I have an autoimmune disease that affects my appetite and makes me full very fast. So if I eat at 4 pm I might have had some yoghurt beforehand then that will be it for me. (this is no competitive small eating thing - I'm 13 stone so no slim whippet!). DCs will have their breakfast at usual time- a small lunch around noon then dinner at 4 pm and supper if required. They are 13 and 11 though.