We are rapidly approaching a year of lockdown work and travel restrictions, the result of which – for many, not all – includes “living at home” and “living with your family” to extents that I imagine has not been typical for years.

One of the challenges of this shift has been one of retaining some sense of structure for daily life; if you’re going to be facing several hours of Zoom calls without the cleansing masochism of commuting there needs to be something more than a mere jolt of coffee. There needs to be a motivation to get awake, get scrubbed and get going.

One way my partner and I have addressed this is “Dinner for Breakfast”, basically swapping the main meal of the day from the evening to the morning in order to provide enough nutrition and flavour to take us both through to a lighter, late-ish lunch.

It’s not obligatory – sometimes something delightful and silly takes its place, and/or there are occasions where porridge takes its place – but otherwise exactly as described, the goal is something that you would have for a full, nicely cooked dinner, possibly including dessert, generally between 0800 and 1130am … but skipping the booze.

Some pictures, below; and yes sometimes this means eating a proper meal in pyjamas, but by the end of breakfast you’re ready to face the day.

This morning: Egg Fried Rice with Onions and Chilli.

---

Previously:

The benefit is totally worth the investment, the only real hurdle is to stop thinking that breakfast should come out of a cardboard box, be overly sweet, and rattle as it hits the bowl. You feel less crappy at lunchtime, and the evening meal can be lighter – if you choose – and more fun. It’s helped change our relationship with food, too.

There is more potential to the “cooked breakfast” than a “Full English”. Give it a try.