| Author | |
Mary Chris
Forum All-Star
Joined: Jan 27 2005
Location: Virginia
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 2175
|
| Posted: Feb 06 2008 at 1:41pm | IP Logged
|
 |
|
If any of you eat lunch as your main meal will you please share your how tos. Because of sports practices in the late afternoon/early evening and dh being gone I am thinking of trying this.
What do you eat at night? A healthy snack? After swimming my kiddos are sure to be starving.
__________________
Blessings, Mary Chris Beardsley
mom to MacKenzie3/95, Carter 12/97 Ronan 3/00 and wife to Jim since 1/92
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
JodieLyn
Forum Moderator
Joined: Sept 06 2006
Location: Oregon
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 12234
|
| Posted: Feb 06 2008 at 1:50pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
I don't do this all the time.. but on the occations I do this.. I just have lunch at dinner time.. so it can be mac and cheese or pb&j sandwiches or whatever fairly simple thing we'd have for lunch.
Today I'm doing this so dh's "big" meal is midday.. and we'll just have sandwiches or leftovers this evening.
__________________
Jodie, wife to Dave
G-18, B-17, G-15, G-14, B-13, B-11, G-9, B-7, B-5, B-4
All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education.
-Sir Walter Scott
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
Mary G
Forum All-Star
Joined: Feb 07 2005
Location: Virginia
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 5790
|
| Posted: Feb 06 2008 at 4:12pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
This is how many European cultures do their meals -- we enjoyed "when in Rome, doing as the Romans do" so had our big meal midday. Of course, at least in Austria, the folks take 2 hours for lunch and a rest ... than they're ready for the afternoon till about 6 and have a relatively small supper -- hearty soup and bread; healthy sandwiches; pizza without too much on it; etc.
This is probably a healthier way to eat as you have all those hours to wear off the hearty midday meal -- and they could eat  !
__________________
MaryG
3 boys (22, 12, 8)2 girls (20, 11)
my website that combines my schooling, hand-knits work, writing and everything else in one spot!
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
Natalia
Forum All-Star
Joined: Feb 07 2005
Location: Louisiana
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 1343
|
| Posted: Feb 06 2008 at 8:36pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
Mary Chris,
That is the way I grew up and I have to say that, even after being in the U.S for 17 years, my stomach still prefers the Dominican way of the main meal at lunch.
For dinner we would have things like eggs, bread, light pasta dishes (plus the ever-present Dominican staple: plantains)some light soup, etc. I would love to implement this at home but the logistics never seem to work out.
Good luck to you!
Natalia
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
Servant2theKing
Forum All-Star
Joined: Nov 13 2005
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 1505
|
| Posted: Feb 07 2008 at 6:24am | IP Logged
|
|
|
We often have our main meal at noon when my husband has a weekday off, or on nights when he won't be home until late evening (usually two days a week). If you are able to begin meal prep during breakfast cleanup, a main meal around noon is much more feasible. After much practice, you can even prepare a lighter meal for evening at the same time...perhaps put a meal in a crockpot, or prepare sandwiches to take along if you'll be on the run in the evening. If you work on more than one meal at a time it helps to group ingredients for specific meals in separate places as you work, to lessen confusion. I like to create imaginary "zones" in my kitchen where I focus on separate cooking projects. It helps to think of an assembly line when doing multiple meals!
We like to chop extra ingredients all at once, such as onion, celery, carrots and peppers, layer in a container or pack individually, then freeze or refrigerate for future use. You would be amazed at how much one small step like that eases future meal prep! You can also brown ground beef or chop cooked chicken and freeze those for future use. We also like to make pizza crusts ahead on bread baking day...bake for five minutes, then freeze in 2 gal. Ziploc bags.
We tried once-a-month cooking but couldn't handle the intensity of doing so many meals at once, however you can borrow concepts from cookbooks that focus in that direction and come up with your own shortcuts or ways to prepare ahead. I like to imagine what a chef would do to streamline preparation...cooking in bulk lends itself to creative ideas toward lessening the bulk of it all!
We are still using bags of sliced zucchini, summer squash, peppers and onion that we froze last summer from our garden...each time we harvested, we sliced, bagged and froze! We simply saute the still frozen vegetables with a little butter, minced garlic and seasonings, pour over hot cooked tri-color rotini in a baking dish, add diced or sliced seasoned canned tomatoes, cover lightly with cheese, add a little more seasoning, bake until cheese melts and we have a wonderful meatless casserole. Prep for this meal takes less than half an hour from start to finish.
Soups and casseroles lend themselves well to advance preparation. The crockpot can be indispensable for advance meal prep. We also rely on extra meals that we bank in the freezer from batch cooking (the zucchini casserole above freezes well). With the addition of sides like salad, bread, vegetable, and/or fruit, we're set.
When we have the main meal at noon we sometimes have breakfast food for dinner, We also have "every-man-for-himself" on such evenings...we'll have leftovers, sandwiches, etc. Olders help feed youngers and I do tagteam to make sure everyone is eating sufficiently. We still eat and pray together at the table, but it's more like a smorgasborg, which boys especially seem to enjoy. I tend to make larger meals with the intention of having leftovers for this purpose!
__________________
All for Christ, our Saviour and King, servant
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
~Rachel~
Forum All-Star
Joined: March 29 2005
Location: Virginia
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 677
|
| Posted: Feb 08 2008 at 10:01am | IP Logged
|
|
|
When we do the main meal at noon, we have a 'lunch' in the evening 
We did this a lot when I was growing up  and often do it on weekends. Actually you feel a lot better doing it!
__________________
~Rachel~
Wife to William
Mum to James 13, Lenore 8
Lighting a Fire
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
nissag
Forum All-Star
Joined: Nov 23 2006
Location: Massachusetts
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 1511
|
| Posted: Feb 08 2008 at 10:59am | IP Logged
|
|
|
Yes, we do, too. I've found that we feel better when we have our main meal earlier in the day. We take tea in the evenings, as we used to do in England. Our last meal looks a lot like what most folks would have for luncheon. Salads, soups, sandwiches...
I'm also a big fan of marathon or batch cooking. We're so busy with work, homeschooling, ministry and diaconate classes. Having something to take out and warm in the oven is a real lifesaver. And planning simpler, lighter meals for evenings eases the burden on my teens who are in charge of the house twice a week while we're at class.
We're having fun posting weekly menus on the Simple Gifts email list, if you need some inspiration.
__________________
Nissa
Deacon's wife, mother of eleven, farmer, teacher, creator, cook.
At Home With the Gadbois Family
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
|
|
4Real Forums : Our Lady's Loom, Larder, and Laundry
Topic: Lunch as your main meal
