I like to eat, and sometimes I just wish I could eat the whole day (just kidding, not really). Unless I am traveling, the most meals I would eat in a day is three: breakfast, lunch, and dinner. In reality though, I usually only eat lunch and dinner, my two favorite meals.
Don’t get me wrong – I do like breakfast food, but sometimes I don’t get to choose when and what to eat for breakfast, and my whole meal schedule is just thrown off. Some breakfast foods make me so full that I am never hungry when it’s lunch time. That pushes lunch to a later time, which makes me not hungry for dinner, and then dinner gets pushed back too, but I don’t like to eat after 9pm, and then it’s just a big mess. With the right portion at the right time, I don’t mind it though.
When I was in college, my meals were pretty simple and on schedule. It would be the same routine every day, and I loved it. I would wake up at 6:45am to heat up my rice and cook my chicken or pork in the oven. Then, I would get ready, make sure I have everything for class and at 7:05am, cut my meat with scissors so it’s easier to eat, and pack it in my lunch box. I would be out of the door by 7:15am, latest 7:20am, and be in the seat I want by 7:40am for my 8am class. Lunch was either at 10:50am, because that’s when we would have our 10 minute break, or 12pm, when class was over. Dinner was at 5:30pm, and rarely after 6pm. Before going to bed, I would cook one cup of rice for the next day. Breakfast was never on my schedule, but I was fine with that. It was very important that my meals fit in with my study schedule, and I found that schedule to be most efficient!
My working schedule has changed a bit from my college schedule. Living at home with my family means that I am no longer in charge of the meal schedule and portions. Meals are served when meals are cooked. Portions are predetermined. Occasionally, I’d have a hard-boiled egg or pastry for breakfast, but usually I’d rather not have anything. Lunch would be some time between 12pm and 12:30pm, and dinner would be between 6:30pm and 8pm. The biggest change with this schedule is dinner time and the meal portions – dinner time was always a surprise.
My meal schedule has changed even more after working from home, and it’s been the biggest (and most difficult) change. Most days would consist of a late “breakfast” at 10:45am, lunch at 12pm, tea time at 4pm, and dinner at 6:15pm. Aside from tea time, the portions were at least 1.5 times my college meal portions!
With so many possible meals in a day, what would be your ideal schedule? If I could choose the time and food for every meal, this is how my day would go.
Breakfast
Breakfast time for me would be some time between 7am to 9am – the earlier, the better. This gives me enough time to be hungry again for lunch. Of course, this also depends on whether the breakfast is big or small. In general, I prefer something small, simple, and warm, but if you really want to take it up a notch, here are some fancier options that I would like:
• Rice Krispies, Reese’s Puffs, Cocoa Puffs, or Cheerios cereal with milk and sliced banana
• Fluffy scrambled eggs with pork sausage and a hash brown patty or tater tots (ketchup on the side)
• Sunny side up egg on a slice of buttered triangular toast
• Omelet with ham, sliced mushrooms, diced onions, tomatoes, and green peppers, spinach, and cheese
• Spam and egg sandwich (with no crust)
• Scallion pancakes
Brunch
After 9am, it’ll be hard for me to be hungry for lunch, so anything I eat might as well be considered brunch. When I eat brunch, I won’t be eating lunch (or breakfast) – the timing just doesn’t work out. Since this will be in place of breakfast and lunch, the portions are bigger than breakfast, but basically the same size as my lunch would be.
• Dim sum
• Porridge and noodles
• Medium rare steak with a sunny side up egg and a slice of buttered triangular toast
• Fried chicken and gravy
• Tuna sandwich and fries
• Banh Mi
• Roast beef croissant with lettuce, pickles, onions, tomatoes and cheese
• Rice noodle in soup
Lunch
Between 11am and 2pm is lunch time. It is the time for me to eat my favorite food, which makes it one of my favorite meals of the day. Lunch is very important to me because it’s the meal that can make my day better or worse. A good lunch leads to a happy me, while a not-so-good lunch leads to a less enthusiastic me. There are so many great options for lunch, it’s kind of hard to have a not-so-good lunch!
• Chinese entrees with rice
• Sushi, Poke, Ramen
• Hot Dog with ketchup, relish, and diced onions
• Dumplings and Noodles
• Tacos
• Salad
• Pho
• Fried chicken sandwich
Tea Time
Around 3pm to 5pm is when it’s tea time on my schedule. It’s not really one of the meals of my day, but there are restaurants that have specials with pretty good deals. If I had lunch, I wouldn’t be hungry for tea time, but if all I had was brunch, tea time would be the next meal, although I would push it to as late as possible and have it be my dinner, or else I’d be stuck with that awkward timing again. The types of food I would eat during this time are somewhat similar to brunch, but with more of a later-in-the-day feel.
• Meat and rice noodle in soup
• Chicken wings
• Fish fillet cutlet with french fries
• Lo mein
• Fried calamari
Dinner
Dinner would be between 5pm and 8pm, and I typically prefer something that can warm me up over something cold like salad. If I go out to eat for lunch, I try not to go out for dinner, mainly because the food is usually the same and the price is increased by a dollar or two – it’s just not as worth it! Since I have more time for my second favorite meal of the day, in addition to my lunch list, I like to look for something that requires more time to enjoy, but also not too heavy. Depending on the restaurant, I might add in some side dishes or appetizers to start, and dessert to end. Dinner is the perfect meal to celebrate the day or to end the day on a positive note!
• Korean BBQ
• Hot Pot
• Seafood
• Chinese BBQ
• Fried Rice, Fried Noodles
As much as I like eating, it really doesn’t feel that great when you eat too much and feel super stuffed. When you stick to a schedule and actually plan what you’re going to eat, it helps you be more aware of how much food you’re eating!
Now that you have my ideal meal schedule, I can trust you to prepare my meals for me right?