AIBU never to serve starters or puddings?

[2posh]

...AIBU never to serve starters/ puddings at family meals. I only ever do that if we have guests. Is this normal or do others prepare 2 or 3 courses as part of ordinary family life?

We eat starters when we go out to restaurants, and often they are my favourite part so it's not like I don't like them, it's just that it never occurred to me to bother until a friend mentioned the other day that she regularly does a starter for weekend family meals - salmon on blini, or roast almonds, or soup or similar. That all sounded so delicious that I wondered if IABU not to?

I have never done a starter for my family other than when guests are here. And puddings tend to be a yoghurt out of the fridge if you want one.

ditto SandStorm

Not here either. Never a starter, although occasionally the garlic bread might be ready too early... But pudding is fruit if anyone wants it and mostly no one bothers. Once every 5 years I might go mad and buy something nice but it's never more frequent than that.

I think it's unusual to have starters and puddings for a normal everyday meal, but perhaps once a week it is nice to have a starter/ pudding (say after sunday lunch). I don't want to say 'yabu' or 'yanbu' because I don't think -in a nice way- that you should get worked up about it.

I only bother with starters when I have friends round.

Deserts are a bit hit and miss but certainly not essential to the family meal.

When we go out we often have a starter to share and I can't remember the last time I had a desert. I'm not really interested in them.

Nope, no starters here ever, not even at Xmas! Pudding only happens on special occasions, if anyone is still hungry then there is fruit.

no serve what you want but if you like them and you have the time/interest in cooking, you could do so occasionally, why not?

never do starters and puddings are rare. There's no need for either, imo.

No not normally. But I am trying to lose weight at the moment and having a salad before a main meal means I can eat small portions and be happy and get OH to eat more salad than normal.

we do, my children love baking, so we always have fudgecake, carrot cake, favourite one currently is giant cupcakes with icing and a design of their choice, which is currently footballs for the boys and pink sparkle stars for the girls.

We always have homemade soup too, or pate.

excellent. I feel reassured that I am not way out of line here! Nobody has ever asked me for starters/ pudding so I probably won't start now. I had a sudden feeling that I might be the only mother in England not to be serving proper 3 course meals. I can go back to relaxing now.

I only do three courses if we are having guests and not always then, often skip starter unless a very special type meal. When it is just us DH and DD sometimes have dessert but it is just a yogurt or fruit, or occassionally an ice lolly/ice cream.

Only with guest plus occasions like Easter, Christmas, birthday meals etc. I make a lovely home made lentil soup.

Not for normal family meals no. Although the kids will get yoghurt after their dinner normally.

I always would if we were having someone over for dinner though.

I do a starter if we have a sit down meal with guests, or at xmas/new year meals.

Likewise with pudding, but the rest of the time "pudding" is just ice cream or cake if we still feel a bit hungry an hour or so after our meal.

I only do proper desserts on Sundays, but ds has started occasionally asking for pudding on his non-nursery days as that's how they have it there. For those days, fruit or a mini yoghurt is on the menu.

Like you, OP, I love starters in restaurants, but never really make it at home.

Nope, don't have starters, I think it'd be unusual to have starters reguarly for an average family meal. If my kids are starving I'll often chop them up a quick salad to eat before the main meal is ready, good way of getting them to eat more veg.

My boys have puddings but it's usually something simple like a yogurt, or jelly.

I never bother with starters for an ordinary meal an don't usually eat puddings myself, though I do give them to DS. WHen he was weaned I used to give jars of fruit puree or yoghurt, and when he got bigger I kept it up. These days the odd chocolate cake has crept in.

Sometimes we have starters, a soup or salad, but not regularly. Almost never have puddings, but smoothies sometimes. I guess it depends on how much time you want to spend in the kitchen.

Only do starters if having friends over.

Don't have puddings really either although have started having ice-cream on Sunday evenings after dinner. Usually Viennetta as we all love it! Naff I know.

No I don't do starters or pudding either, although we may have strawberries and cream/jelly sometimes. That's really just to get the kids to eat fruit though.
We do have cakes and biscuits fruit and yoghurts as snacks though.

Do your family snack between meals?

I do a lot of fruit at home after the main course in the week we may have fruit salad or pinneapple with mint, yogurt and banana and another favourite is banana and custard.

if though I do fruit pudding I find my family don't then snack into the evening, if no pudding is served i find they raid the fridge later in the evening.

Weekend meal - pudding often, starter never (maybe thats how you get a small chicken to last 6 meals for people though )

For normal family meals we never have starters or puddings. The DCs have pudding after lunch and tea but it's always fruit and maybe yoghurt/mousse/icecream if they want it. None of us are that keen on puddings generally so it only gets wasted if I make something. The only time I'll bother to make one is if someone comes for dinner.

Mine (esp DH) get all grumpy if I don't do puds, though sometimes the DC can be fobbed off with yoghurts, and chocolate always goes down well

We never, ever have starters, not even at Christmas!