To not understand the unwritten rule of not having 2 hot meals a day?

[Justanothernamechange2]

Seeing it more and more that people cant have hot food twice a day.. cant possibly have spag bol for dinner because they had soup for lunch etc. It was a recent debate in my workplace so wondered how the jury of MN feel.

Surely its more about portions than temperature?

Id happily eat hot food for every meal - lunch is just typically smaller than my evening meal or vice versa sometimes at weekends...

I have never heard of this.

I did know someone who had their own rule that they only had cheese in one meal per day. That is ridiculous.

How peculiar. Do these people never have leftovers heated up for lunch?

Some of my elderly relatives used to do this - it was a throwback from when they were children, I think. It's to save on fuel - gas, electricity, etc, I think. One main meal a day, and the other was a sort of "tea" - bread, sandwiches, etc.

I really can't be doing with people's weird food rules. I usually eat 3 hot meals a day when I'm home in the day.

Oh dear... yesterday I had porridge for breakfast (hot), a school dinner (hot) and an omelette in the evening (hot). The only thing I had that was cold was my wine!

I've witnessed it and it really amuses me. On holiday we'll eat out and have a hot meal then eat another hot meal in the evening with the inlaws. Inlaws always remark on how they only had a sandwich/cream tea because we were eating that evening.

I have never found the words to explain the fact we are out all day doing things then eat what we fancy (none of us overweight). I just don't get how it's somehow of note.

I have a rule that you can't have more than 1 wrapped biscuit a day (kit Kat, penguin, etc) My family think this is weird.

Seeing it more and more that people cant have hot food twice a day

Really? Where?

Never heard of this.

...for me it’s not about the temperature, but the effort. One ‘proper’ meal a day is more than enough ‘effort’, the other meal(s) are not ‘cooked dinners’. Often meals are both ‘nor proper meals’ .. I give not one tiny toss if they’re hot or cold, as long as they’re minimum fuss.

My Mum used to insist we had to have a roast lunch on Sundays. She was horrified after I got married, and we only had sandwiches for Sunday lunch.

I kind of have the impression that a rule like this might have been invented during WWII because there wasn't the food or the fuel for lots of hot meals. I know people ate hot meals at canteens and British Restaurants at lunchtime but I could imagine going home and being told "You've already had a hot meal today!"

Course, I could be completely wrong.

My ex had this rule. Cheese sandwich at lunch? Fine for hot dinner. Cheese toastie for lunch? Oh you’ve already “eaten” today (code for eaten a hot meal) Do you just want a sandwich for dinner!

Ive only ever seen this weirdo rule on mimsnet. It's a strange place on the site sometimes.

My Mum is like this, 'I won't have dinner as I had lunch'
What do you mean that was hours ago!!?? And she will be hungry for dinner but insist on only having something small like a sandwich. I don't get it.

I think two main meals, so if you've had "dinner" at lunch you don't need another dinner in the evening, but soup at lu nch and dinner in the evening is fine and normal.

It's a bit daft though as most shop bought sandwiches contain similar calories to a home cooked meal.

That’s so funny, user...345!

Yes I think this is an old fashioned thing, one main meal, which must be hot, and one light meal, which ideally should be cold. My parents tend to eat this way, although are sufficiently rebellious that they allow soup or something on toast for the lighter meal! When we were kids they would usually do a cold “high” tea if we had our main meal at lunchtime.

I think cooked breakfasts were much more common than they are now though so perhaps my mum didn’t want to cook 3 meals a day?

They also don’t seem to eat for the day after they’ve been out for a meal - “we’re just so full up!” - whereas I am always (hungover) extra hungry the next day...

Nope the OP is right. There is this unwritten rule that a hot dinner is a ‘proper meal’ and that you shouod only have one in the day.
Cue for plenty of parents telling you that their dc doesn’t need anything cooked in the evening because ‘they’ve had a hot meal at school already’.

Hear that one on MN quite a lot in MN actually.

And yes it’s bonkers.

upslidedown. Whilst I totally agree with you in principle, I just wouldn’t be ‘ready’ for another ‘proper’ meal if I’d have had one at lunchtime. If I’m going out for dinner I’ll eat lightly at lunchtime otherwise I just can’t do justice to dinner. However, if I’m away with people who are having ‘proper meals’ at lunch and dinner I’ll choose what I’m eating accordingly, no big fuss.

My in laws do this. Soup for lunch and it’s cake and tea for dinner. 😳😳😳😳😳

I think I follow this rule, but unintentionally. My mum used to only make one hot meal a day when I was younger and it's seeped in to my adult life. I'm not outraged if I end up eating more than 1 hot meal a day, but it does make a feel a bit weird. It's just habit (and laziness!)

Surely they mean proper meals? So small lunch, soup or a sandwich and proper dinner, spag bol or whatever. Or the other way round.

What if it is a bacon sandwich ? Sandwich is a lunch item it is a quandry

I do feel like I haven't fed the family properly unless they've had a cooked meal but I only feel the need to do that once per day. That's primarily because they won't have had any veg (generally good eaters but salad refuses)

I have never heard of this either, and i am probably an old weirdo