Do we have to eat particular food in order? Is it really that important to eat cereal at breakfast and a sandwich at lunch time?

[SomeKindofWonderful]

I am wondering as this morning I had a lie-in.

DH let DD eat for her breakfast
1 yoghurt
1 banana
1 orange
1 mini baby bel

and now at snack time when she would have the above, he is doing scrambled egg on toast.

She has been known to have noodles and dumplings for breakfast before because she wanted them and DH likes her to eat what she wants.

I started to tell him she should have had had the toast and egg for breakfast and her breakfast now. And then I thought...

Why on earth does it matter what order she eats it in? She had what she wanted for breakfast, did not want any more and now she is hungry so is having something else. It is healthy food so does it actually matter?

What do you think?

I dont think it matters at all

Course it doesn't matter.

But I wouldn't fancy a madras for breakfast.

We don't observe conventional food order throughout the day - steak and eggs for breakfast and cereal for supper is not unheard of a casa snigger.

It is all culturally imposed and doesn't matter at all. In some countries noodles and dumplings for breakfast is normal; in others it's ham, cheese and bread - effectively a sandwich. Cereal is a relatively modern invention anyway. When I go to Malaysia I love curry and rice for breakfast at the hotel buffet!

Any former student will tell you - Madras is fine for breakfast

Cadelaide I have had leftover vindaloo for breakfast!

Funny isn't it, how we get into routines that we feel something awful would happen if it was not adhered to? All rules and stuff.

Like, we would not have roast dinner for breakfast, but would think nothing about cooking fried breakfast or burritos. But that is ok as it is 'breakfast'.

I find a bowl of cereal a really nice evening snack that stops me being so hungry at night (bfing at night so tend to wake up starving).

In different cultures/places they eat totally different things for breakfast. I was travelling in Thailand and decided to have the 'Thai breakfast' in the place we were staying - which was basically chicken chilli and noodle soup - rather alarming at 7am!!!

I don't think it matters, what matters is getting the right balance of food groups not the order you eat them in.

But it is curious isn't it? My parents often give the DTs weird things for breakfast that they know they like - like breadsticks and hummus. But then growing up we often had pizza for breakfast so perhaps we're a weird family!

Will be intrigued if anyone knows what started these cultural traditions. Did your DD mind or was she happy with the arrangement?!

singers - yes I agree with the noodles - my SIL is chinese and when we went to visit her earlier in the year, the kids were fed noodles for breakfast, and this is why DD likes it I think.

I agree it is culturally imposed, just never really gave it a thought until this morning, and thought...why do we do it?

penona it was what she asked for, so for that reason I then thought, it should not matter a jot should it?!

DD also likes weird combinations which we often indulge her in...scrambled egg and blueberries are one of her favourites

I just try to ensure the main food groups are covered in a day and don't worry too much about the actual form.

During the week dd has a cooked lunch at school and lots of fruit /yoghurt and the odd biscuit. Breakfast varies - a brioche/toast/cereal/yoghurt. In the evening she'll normally just have a sandwich and an apple/carrot sticks/ice cream and hot choc and a biscuit before bed.

S

Meant to add - at the weekend it all goes to pot and meals will kind of fall round what we are doing. She does love prawn crackers / poppadoms for bfast if we've had a takeaway

I suppose, historically, in the UK at least, the women (and traditional food-preparers) would be busy with milking or other such like tasks, and the morning meal would have to be fast but heavy, eg a fry, or porridge.

There'd be more time later in the day for a 'proper' meal.

This is fascinating, actually, I've never really considered it before, because we do eat fairly unconventionally, but I can see a whole ream of social anthropology reading coming my way

Cold pizza for breakfast, straight out the fridge, is delicious.

It's crazy and shouldn't matter what we eat when.

Cereal other than breakfast I just can't do for some reason. I notice adverts (persuading us eat it more often I guess) to have it during the evening. But years of conditioning...I just couldn't, but gawd knows why!

different cultures, i guess. The fruit, cheese, yog, would be the norm in some countries. Eggs bacon, baked beans would prob seem weird.!

DD has started wanting bread and cheese for brekkie, so i just let her.

It doesn't matter at all. All you need to worry about is if, over the course of a WEEK, you get reasonable amounts of carbohydrates, veg, fruit, protein and dairy.

I'm having leftover stir-fry rice with curry sauce and plum sauce and vegies for breakfast (late because I had a lie-in, whoohoo!!). I don't like breakfast cereal, much prefer something hearty and savory.

John Harvey Kellogg only started his breakfast cereal company to try to cure people of masturbation (I'm not making that up). 'Cereal' as a breakfast is both convenient and cultural convention, that's all.

More about the history of breakfast foods here.

Sushi for breakfast is an underrated joy, especially when combating a hangover.

My dd went through a phase of having taramasalata, bread and olives for breakfast - I think she must have been Greek in a past life.

balanced meal so they say. am not exactly following but i feel it's a must to have veggies and fruits daily.

No it is not that important.

It is ridiculous I know but I always refuse my children cheese for breakfast when at home because otherwise they would want it every day at every meal. So then DD has Nutella on bread which is no doubt nutritionally inferior.

They can have cheese at snack times and with midday and evening meal.

ds1 (4.5) regularly asks for a ham and hummous pita bread thing for breakfast. i occasionally relent at the weekends but something makes me thing he has to have a slow carb release type breakfast to get through the school morning until lunch. don't know why i force it. he can eat as many sandwiches as he likes after his cereal.

If you work in an international hotel and observe the guests at breakfast you will realise that there is an enourmous amount of varitey in the choice of breakfast food. Noddles and soup, cheese and ham, bread and waffles, eggs and bacon, juice and yogurt, fruit and jam, sweet and savoury muffins, prawns and kippers, toast and coffee - the list goes on and on.

That is why good international hotels have such a wide varitey of food at this time fo day, to try to please all the different guests.