What do you really need to eat?

I think we have a hangover from our heritage as an agricultural society. It is the notion that we must eat 3 large meals per day. In those days, we worked 18 hours in the fields, together, and the need for large meals was clear. These days, most of us are not manual labourers. Eating three large meals is a habit we have inherited from the days, long gone, when there was still walking, lifting, stuking, forking and cleaning of stalls to be done.

I'm not saying that mealtimes shouldn't be family times, but it might be time to examine the nutritional needs we have in our current society and set some new guidelines.

We know, for example, that it is important, especially for children, to get adequate nutrition in the morning. An egg, some WHOLE GRAIN toast with peanut butter and a glass of milk are a good start to the morning. In the winter, a hot cereal would be good as well.

A protein snack mid morning. A wedge of cheese and a carrott.

Lunch should be protein, veggies, a non-sugar drink and some complex carbs. Depending on your occupation on an afternoon, it should reflect the amount of calories you are likely to burn in that afternoon period.

A mid afternoon protein snack. A low sugar yogourt for example.

But supper? Should it be an extremely hearty meal when most settle down to an evening of TV watching or computer work?

Twenty five years ago when I was a military wife, we had Dutch exchange students at the base. They were quite horrified at the amount of food we ate at supper time. I don't know if it was just this group of Europeans, or if it is a Euro thing. My friend told me they had soup, a piece of cheese and some veggies in the evening, and a coffee later.

Given the obesity epidemic, the fact that a high carb meal is well known to slow one down, and our current activity levels of any evening, dinner/supper needs to be rethought as a small repast reflecting the energy needed in the upcoming several hours. Lunch at supper, and supper at lunch might be a better solution to our spreading waistlines. Unless you are stuking hay in the field or digging a ditch after your evening meal.