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I have a terrible time trying to figure out meals for DH and I for breakfast and or lunch. One problem is I get up around 8:00 and he gets up around 11:00. He wants breakfast and I'm past that. Most of the time we end up going out to get something to eat. I want to get away from that. Can anyone give me a sample of what the two of you eat for your early day meals?

Judy

For breakfast, we eat:

1 - fruit, toasted "good" bread and butter (and jam for me), coffee, tea

2 - steel cut oats, fruit, coffee, tea

3 - eggs (boiled or poached, baked or scrambled), toast, fruit, coffee, tea

On weekends:

we either add bacon or sausage to #3 or we eat an omelet or frittata (both with toast)

Lunch usually is soup in winter and salad in summer (although we sometimes have soup in summer)

I have a suggestion -- why don't you eat something light -- fruit and a piece of toast, perhaps when you get up and then around 11 do brunch for the both of you.

For example, you can make a BLT with A and E -- avocado and egg -- which would make it more brunch.

A burrito stuffed with scrambled egg, sausage and perhaps peppers and onions with salsa on the side.

A frittata with sausages and toast.

Hope some of these suggestions help.

Sometimes for either breakfast or lunch, I do do something different but most days, they are fairly the same.

Martha

We agreed when we both retired we were each on our own for breakfast and lunch. Occasionally if we are home for lunch together we might have soup. DH might have a sandwich and I might eat some cheese(cottage, stick,etc) and some fruit with soup. No one eats a full breakfast anymore unless its dinner time and I have not planned ahead for a meal at home. Always a good last resort for us.

I'm with Mamaspoon. If he is going to layaround in bed until lunch time, he's on his own.

I'm like Bess Truman, I married him for better or worse, but not for lunch.

DH and I are usually up around 6 or 7 and he fixes my cereal every morning, whether I want cereal or not.

I'm also with mamaspoon, I don't cater breakfast and lunch, sometimes I don't do dinner, but that is the only meal I feel I should prepare for him, never all three to fit his time. Usually for breakfast we have protein shakes we each make our own, he sometimes makes oatmeal himself.
Find out what he like that is simple to prepare, stock up on that, let him know it is there.
Are you both home everyday?

Dh is up at 6 ish and heads to the store down the road to hang out and gossip with the other old guys. Sometimes he eats there, and sometimes he eats at home. But whichever he's on his own as I am not a morning person. I usually get up as he is leaving and fix my breakfast after having coffee.

for lunch we have leftovers from the previous night or a sandwich or salad. we pretty much scrounge. I am in charge as he does not scrounge well.

I usually fix a regular dinner. But since I work from home and usually do so in the afternoons and evening, many times I will plan a meal and have him prepare it so that I can keep working.

I'm up at 6:30 (give or take). DH is up and dressed and out of the bedroom at 9 a.m.

I HAVE to eat breakfast or get sick feeling so on work days after getting dressed or pretty much immediately on weekends, I fix breakfast for only me.

DH generally does not eat breakfast. On occasion he will make a cup of tea and toast an English muffin.

If I were you, I'd prepare a good dinner for noon and perhaps have breakfast food for the evening meal.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: KeepYouInStitches,

DH is on his own for breakfast and lunch. He is usually up an hour or so before me and eats right away because of meds. Me? I hate eating right after I get up, so sometimes it near noon before I eat anything.

It's the reverse here. He's the early riser, me the late one. He has breakfast by 7, I don't eat till 10. Since I eat so late, I don't need to eat again till 2, but he's famished by noon. There's really no way I can think of to put shared breakfasts and lunches on the table in this kind of situation. The easiest - and maybe only - solution is to make each responsible for their own breakfast and lunch.

I've always been a full-time homemaker. When he worked, I got up at 6 with him, made his breakfast, filled his lunchbox, and had a full meat and potatoes supper on the table when he got home. When he retired, he wanted me to have life easier, too. I started sleeping late and those two mealtime responsibilities were eliminated.

So... consider whether you absolutely must breakfast together.

JMHO, forget shared breakfast/lunches and get together for dinner! That way both of you can do what you want without those pesky feelings of guilt! It is true that everyone has their own body rhythm ~ retirement is the time to let everyone experience their own time in their own way ~ and that includes spouses!

Then come together for dinner each night at a time you both will enjoy it....

Retired for years, DH is a creature of habit: he's up at 5:30 or 6 a.m.; makes the coffee and eats the same breakfast every single morning at around 7:30 a.m. which is shredded wheat cereal with fruit. (If I cook oatmeal, he'll have that instead.) He makes his own breakfast and always has a light snack at 10:30 a.m.

Me? I get up later and make my own breakfast: toasted Ezekiel bread with a poached egg or Greek yogurt, usually. Or cooked oatmeal; not instant. We almost never eat bacon or sausage anymore.

I always make lunch for us; occasionally he goes out with a friend. I rarely eat out because the local restaurants are for the most part fast-food joints, or just mediocre.

We always have dinner together, starting at 5:30 p.m. with a glass of wine on the porch. I always cook for the both of us. He cleans up.

We have settled into a nice routine: unexciting, but at least no drama over cooking or what to eat.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: aychihuahua,

Thanks for all the suggestions! I guess I assumed that because a couple is together all day you would need to eat together. We do always have the evening meal together whether I cook or we go out. I need to eat a little something in the morning as I have medications to take and usually eat something again later in the afternoon depending on what I'm doing. I'm not picky and can always find something. DH is the problem!! He doesn't scrounge well...lol

quote:

Originally posted by Becky56:
Dh is up at 6 ish and heads to the store down the road to hang out and gossip with the other old guys. Sometimes he eats there, and sometimes he eats at home. But whichever he's on his own as I am not a morning person. I usually get up as he is leaving and fix my breakfast after having coffee

for lunch we have leftovers from the previous night or a sandwich or salad. we pretty much scrounge. I am in charge as he does not scrounge well.

I usually fix a regular dinner. But since I work from home and usually do so in the afternoons and evening, many times I will plan a meal and have him prepare it so that I can keep working.

Becky, I am curious about what kind of work from home that you do. I would love to find something to fill my evenings but I am always afraid that it will be some kind of scam,

This message has been edited. Last edited by: grp18,

We're both up at 7am. DH starts the coffee and prepares his breakfast which is usually steel cut oats and one slice of toast or half of a bagel. I toddle in and have an apple and a small piece of cheese or 1 slice of toast with jam.

Most days I prepare DH's lunch and he takes it downtown to have after his swim/workout. It consists of a healthy sandwich (no mayo or red meat, e.g.) and a piece of fruit. This saves him time, and keeps him healthy - too often dining out options, while they are good here, do not fit our current needs. I usually fix lunch for myself at home or grab a light lunch out with friends.

I generally prepare dinner, but he can and does cook when I'm out of ideas (he's more creative than I am) or when my volunteer activities interfere.

Hope that helps.

quote:

Originally posted by grp18:

quote:

Originally posted by Becky56:
Dh is up at 6 ish and heads to the store down the road to hang out and gossip with the other old guys. Sometimes he eats there, and sometimes he eats at home. But whichever he's on his own as I am not a morning person. I usually get up as he is leaving and fix my breakfast after having coffee.
Becky
I am curious about what kind of work from home you do. I am looking for something to fill my evenings. I am always so afraid to answer ads I see thinking it may be a scam.

for lunch we have leftovers from the previous night or a sandwich or salad. we pretty much scrounge. I am in charge as he does not scrounge well.

I usually fix a regular dinner. But since I work from home and usually do so in the afternoons and evening, many times I will plan a meal and have him prepare it so that I can keep working.

I accidentally fell into a home sewing business when my first grandchild was born. It was a girl so I got out my dusty sewing machine, and my rusty sewing skills and made her a beautiful heirloom layette...that she never wore because all they put on her were onesies(eyeroll). But I made a few bright trendy boutique style things . They kept encouraging me to take some similar things to a local kids boutique and sell there...so I did... and expanded.... and Tater Blossoms was born. I love it! I get to do what I love and have a modest income and a modest following of customers.I never knew work could be fun!

quote:

Originally posted by Becky56:
I love it! I get to do what I love and have a modest income and a modest following of customers.I never knew work could be fun!

Great story!! How wonderful to do what you love and get paid for it!

We eat every meal together. It started right when we were married, my husband doesn't like eating a lone and we wanted to teach our children it was a time for sharing our day. For breakfast it's usually an egg over easy and a couple of slices of thin ham or turkey. Lunch is either something from the night before or salad or sandwich, and dinner usually chicken (yuk), fish, soup, trying to stay away from beef as it really isn't good for you but especially women. My husband is a good cook and he does cook when the mood strikes but I do about 85% of it which is fine because I enjoy it. But if I simply don't feel like it he always takes me out, he's a great guy!

The reason we don't always eat breakfast and lunch together- other activities, namely golf. In Fl. we each play 3x week and one or the other of us is always heading out for early tee time before the other is up and functioning. In MI it's only 2x week for each, so we do have more meals together.

We get up at different times - my DH about 9:00 AM and I'm not up until 11:00 AM - we never eat either breakfast or lunch together - and never did when either of us were working. So, we fix our own meals - but I cook dinner for both of us and we always have dinner together "if" I'm home. But I have a full schedule of volunteer commitents so I often am away for dinner too - but I aways plan a meal that only needs to be warmed up - or is easy for DH to fix. We eat dinner very late - usually 7:30 to 8 PM - and the dishes are not done until the next morning when DH does them. It works for us. I eat an egg substitute omelet for my mid-day meal; then I have cottage cheese or yogurt and fruit for a late lunch / snack. DH also eats egg substitute for breakfast or cereal or oatmeal. He has a half sandwich for lunch with fruit and a cookie.

Hubby is up at dawn and goes biking or fishing; he eats 'whatever' he's in the mood for when he returns.

I'm up around 7:30 and slowly ease into the day with coffee, oj and handful of cheerio usually.

Lunch is on our own as well whenever we are hungry.

At dinner, we cook 'the usual amounts' and eat leftovers the next day or freeze them.

I got nothin'.
DH is working, although eligible for a retirement package; I'm early retired & volunteer.
I sleep late and have no appetite until it's time to start dinner in the late afternoon.
I drink alot of water and some coffee or tea once I'm awake.

The only thing I thought of in reading these posts is that some folks may be at different stages of retirement. Not all are able to be up and out of the house and active around the community as the newly retired folks. In this case being home with one another most all of the time, might make sense to try mealtimes together. Try talking about what's best for both in a situation like this, maybe DH fixes breakfast & DW does lunch, or vice versa.

On weekends, DH gets up at the usual weekday time, is sitting in his pajamas waiting for me to get up and fix him a big 'ole hot country breakfast. As soon as he finished that by 11 AM and I choked down 1/2 a piece of toast with jam he's worrin' about what I'll fix for lunch. Then the -h-t hits the fan. "I'm not your maid. If you're that hungry, get dressed and drive through someplace. I'm going to fix thus and such for supper, but not 3 hot meals a day for you!"

FIL sat in his recliner for 28 years and basically rotted away while the MIL waited on his every whim. I'm not going to do that. I've worked our whole marriage on trying to get DH involved in some hobbies or other interests beside Lazy Boy TV. He knows he has to be more prepared for retirement than he is currently before he can sign those papers.

I have to agree that the substance of this thread really goes far beyond the "meal" issue. The bottom line is attempting to merge two lives in the same home when those same two lives have lived together, quite happily, for years until one or the other or both retires....

Some will become involved in outside activities while others will relish the freedom to do nothing. So it makes sense for everyone to sit down and talk and make a new plan for meals as they go forward.

But, the one thing that is sure to cause discord is to expect the other partner to continue the same old routine when life, itself, has changed. It's pretty easy for everyone to do breakfast/lunch on their own; then decide what type of dinner (and when) to fix and enjoy together.

Sounds easy but it's not ~ takes communication and a lot of it ~ it's worth it to take the time, though, to get it right as, hopefully, all will have many more years to enjoy after a lifetime spent working. So, speak up everyone, this is YOUR TIME ~ don't spend it in silence and resentment because you never got up the nerve to "have the talk." No, not about se*x, about retirement!

Lots of interesting points brought up. There's no way I'm getting up and making breakfast-period. I did that all the years the kids were home and in school-took all I could do as I am NOT a morning person. DH is, and if he had his way I would serve him a big country breakfast 7 days a week-yeah, when pigs fly!

If he had his way, he would be served 3 meals a day, and do nothing but vegetate in front of the tv- not in my house or my world! He comes from a long line of healthy men. His grand father lived alone and died at 94, his dad is following in his shoes and is 92. DH is 67 and retired at 62 (I didn't want him to). I am 11 years younger and I work from home.

DH has NO hobbies or outside interests. So I have to stay on him- and he has a good attitude. I refuse to let him sit and catch dust in front of the TV. So he gets sent out the door to hang with the old guys like him at the store each morning. He likes it now. I have jobs for him to do around the house, and he still gets his TV time and helps me out too.It took some time to learn to co exist together, but now I am liking him being retired, but I think if I had my choice, he would still be working as he is quite able to. In fact he does go back and work at his job 4 months out of the year- I treasure that time!

DH has been retired for 2 years, I still work full time. Since he retired, he's happy to go grocery shopping if I leave him a list, or we go together (which we never did when he was working).
He's happy to put dinner on if it's easy. He's also taken over the dishwasher. He's on his own for breakfast and lunch, and we do dinner together, either at home or out.
He's good about keeping himself amused- he volunteers twice a month at the hospital he worked in, he spends 2 mornings a week with his 90 year old mom in asst living, he fixes computers, and he's even been known to go babysit for our grandchildren if needed. Like someone else said, he's not allowed to sit around and get dusty!

OMG, I was fearful I was going to be the only DW on here with that couch potato problem in retired DHs (and hesitated to post so boldly.) Unfortunately, I'm not alone but in good company.

I guess DH does have his eye on a retired group that goes out for breakfast, plays a bit of golf, but I can't seem to get him involved in volunteering or thinking of our kids, what they could use for help or Dad time. It'd be great if he'd ever asked sons to golf with him "but then I'd have to pay their green fees," well YEAH Dad, that's what you're for!

I try to keep him mobile on the weekends, getting out to church is getting more difficult by week, we have to go sit at his Mom's every Sunday afternoon. YyyAaawwwNNNNNN.
One of the more recent times, she clipped me off with refusing to answer a question I asked of her that was legitimately deserving of her honest reply. When I got in the car to go home I told my DH this was THE LAST TIME I would go to MILs until he had come to visit me with my folks and it would continue like that for the rest of their lives. I'd just spent 2 yrs of Sundays sitting with his folks, and I thought my parents were in about the same shape as his healthwise and deserved equal attention.
Tomorrow we are taking my parents to a anniversary party of a cousin's.

Once again this interesting post highlights how diverse and sometimes alike the posters on this board are. Idaho Resident summed it up for me accurately. Plus I neglected to say that for 40 yrs I was up weekdays at 6:15 preparing 2 strips of bacon, eggs and toast for DH. The year before he retired, my mantra became, I married you for better or worse, but not for lunch & breakfast. I felt just cause he retired why should I carry the same load. Good luck to those finding their own solutions.

It was very interesting to me to read how all you ladies are coping with "early" or "long-time" retirement issues. We retired "early" 10 years ago - and the first year was really rocky - until we figured out to let the other person (me - who was in the home with kids most of the time - I had a late kid when I was 39) - and I found that going to bed late and getting up late - so he could have the morning to himself - worked out best. And - DH never wanted me to fix his breakfast even as newly weds - I grew up in a household where my mother put breakfast in front of my Dad - but my DH couldn't even begin to think of eating a breakfast before he went to work. Then, he worked as a salesman, so he ate lunches "out" and maybe weekly dinners "out" too. So - he loved being able to make his own breakfast when he was ready to eat it - and his own lunch. And we both stay pretty active - me especially - but DH works out at the Y - keeps up our half-acre grounds - works on keeping this 50-year old house in working shape - and paints watercolors - and is a golfer - loves his TV too - but not non-stop - he cares about his own physical shape. And I'm out of the house many days a week - but I'm good at planning dinners that can be heated up - and DH loves leftovers. So it works for us.

I'm a few (ahem) years younger than DH. When he retired, he wanted me to quit, which I did. We moved back to my hometown; did some painting in the new house; landscaped the yard; I quilted; he sat in front of the computer. We were going to travel. After a year, I started subbing at the local high school. I did that for five years. He sat in front of the computer except for the year that he and his DB each built a metal building for their respective shops and helped each other. Then he spent his time purchasing wood working equipment for the shop and sitting in front of the computer. He generally does one woodworking project a year...then back in front of the computer. We never travel except a week or so in Colorado every-other-year. I'm back working full time and absolutely love it!

He often repeats something his dad said, "Dad said he'd rather burn out than rust out." His brothers and kids just look at each other and raise an eyebrow.

I'm 59 and will work until I'm 66 at the earliest. 70 even sounds good to me.

I just have to jump in here. DH was already retired (at the old age of 49) when I met him. When I moved in, I was still working, needless to say. He did all the housework, all the grocery shopping, laundry, etc. Only thing I did was cook but if I wasn't in the mood for it when I got home, off we went to a restaurant. Then I quit work and we traveled. As time has gone by, we don't eat out as much and I cook only dinner. DH loves golf and played often when he was able. Now, he's limited to just bridge a couple of times a week. Yard work is sporadic depending on how he feels. Otherwise, its the TV, computer or a book. He'd love to be able to do all the yard work but sometimes he just can't. Oh, and he's older than me, too.