Three Meals a Day

It is Time to Return to Three Meals a Day
Eating three meals a day had been the standard across western cultures for centuries.

Breakfast Lunch and Dinner
Prior to the mid-nineteenth century, the largest meal of the day, Dinner was eaten in the afternoon. As the distance between home and the work place increased, it was not practical for the worker to return home to consume this meal. Dinner, moved to the evenings, when the family could dine together at a more leisurely pace. The midday repast came to be called lunch. Lunch evolved into a small, light, and frequently rushed meal--often something brought from home in a tin pail or a brown bag, or a quick bite in a workplace cafeteria. Sandwiches, soups, and salads became common luncheon foods. After World War II, the American meal pattern changed yet again and snacking became increasingly common as the century progressed, and the "three squares" diminished in importance.

Loosely plagiarized from the Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America, Andrew F. Smith editor [Oxford University Press:New York] 2004, Volume 2 (p. 65-7)