To think it's a bit iffy to stop for a snack on the way to a meal in someone's house

[BananaThePoet]

I invited someone to Sunday lunch. I asked before hand if what I was planning to cook would appeal to them a week in advance so they could have told me if they wanted something else - I am easy about a Sunday roast - no odds to me if they prefer pork or beef or lamb or whatever.

Then when checking beforehand to see if they were still on track for arriving at the time arranged (to get my cooking timings right so it would be ready for when they arrived which was the meal time) it turned out they were stopped to have a snack en route.

I'm not stingy with food and I like to think my hygiene standards are good and they were not travelling far - much less than an hour door to door - so it threw me a bit.

We had a nice time and they ate what I served up but it just made me feel a bit confused.

I snack if we're going to MIL for roast dinner because we never eat close to arrival time, it's always much later by which point I'm normally too hungry to enjoy my food because I'm trying to inhale it.

Having a small snack just before arriving stops this insanity.

However, I'd never be so rude as to admit to snacking prior to a roast dinner being cooked for me and always clear my plate.

MAybe 'snack' was a euphemism.
Maybe the gap between their last meal and this one was big (they'd had breakfast early or not at all).
Maybe they've had experiences like we always have at a relatives. We turn up at, for example, 11:30 for lunch at midday(ish). We finally get fed at 5pm.
Maybe they have small children (you didn't say) who need feeding frequently. When my eldest was very young, we'd often snack as we set out to someone's for lunch. She needed to eat little and very often or hanger set in. The snack meant she'd arrive at the hosts in a good mood and not as the devil child.

If they ate your food and seemed to enjoy it, then don't worry.

Bluntness100 - they asked for small portions so that's what I served them :)

Went to stay with my auntie, she served tiny portions, every night after dinner my husband and I went for a walk...straight to the chippy. The funny thing was, when they came north to stay with my granny they couldn't half put the food away.

We took a friend and her son out for a meal, our treat. Once we'd ordered she pulled out a bag of Haribo (family size not the teeny ones) and handed it to her son. Guess who didn't eat any of their meal?

Maybe the snack was a coffee and a biscuit? I wouldn't call a burger a snack.

I'd expect a roast to be ready maybe an hour after i arrive somewhere so having a coffee and a biscuit half an hour before getting there seems pretty normal to me!

Did they have children with them?

I always have a snack before going to people's houses for food - so I don't have an embarrassingly rumbling belly, or take massive pig portions because I'm so hungry when the food is served.

It's a bit different, and probably not applicable, but I have to snack as soon as I'm hungry at the moment because I'm pregnant, and if I don't it triggers off morning sickness or faintness.

I also get travel sick and have found eating something helps to stop it.

They might have low blood-sugar or misjudged the gap between breakfast and getting to yours.

I used to have a friend who'd come and eat a french bread pizza at mine (after a hamburger somewhere else) and would then go home and eat his mum's roast dinner! Needless to say he was putting on weight.

I have a friend who is notorious for cremating food and spectacularly under catering. I usually eat before one of her parties. Last time she burnt the popcorn. I rest me case!!

You only need to look at the multiple threads on here were people are starving because of hosts portion sizes. Are you sure you're offering enough?

Im thinking hungover, hangry or suffering from low blood sugar.

This drives me mad as well. My mate always eats a chocolate bar or something on the way to a meal out. Apparently she can't cope with getting over hungry and worries there might be delays in the food arriving or she might not like it.

Then like the op's guests hardly eats anything because she says already full!

We're probably raising a whole generation of kids who are going to be like this with the constant snacking that goes on.

This would irritate me too! PIL came round recently for a meal to be served at about 6.30 which they knew about in advance. They decided to go out to have a late pub lunch with all the trimmings at 2pm-3pm, and ate a tiny bit of the food we made them!! They said "oh we're just too full" then proceeded to spend the rest of the meal sending playing on their phones. We'd wasted our day making everything nice spent a lot of money on the ingredients including beef from the butchers and put a lot of effort into cooking. DH is an amazing cook so definitely didn't taste bad! They haven't had an invite since ... inconsiderate arseholes!!

We have an aunt who whenever we visit we eat on way to and from (5 hour round trip in car) she always under caters. One lunch was chicken breast (cut from whole chicken which I saw in fridge) cooked and divided into 5 with salad. 2 slices of cucumber and a small tomato each. Honest to god we were starved. As kids parents could only persuade us to go if promised happy eater on way up KFC on way home interestingly whenever they come to my parents even now their 3 kids eat mum out of house and home. Mum buys extra in as it's like they panic eat to stock up!!!

Ps you may be BU. How are your portion sizes