Why “Breakfast for Dinner” is Outdated

Today we are gathered here to discuss a hot topic, that has stayed prevalent in our country for decades. Breakfast for dinner. I’m not sure where the origin of this trend is, but it has confused me- and continues to confuse me- to this day. I myself refuse to acknowledge “breakfast for dinner”, because not only does it sound odd, but it suggests our meals have a finite group of foods that are assigned to them. Who decided that pancakes, eggs and bacon are only breakfast foods? Who decided that we couldn’t have hashbrowns for dinner or pizza for breakfast? I personally feel that if someone would like to have a hamburger and french fries at eight in the morning then that’s their personal choice and they should be able to make that choice without judgement.

While I do admire the “boundary-pushing” confidence of whoever invented “breakfast for dinner”, the name does bother me. By including the names of both meals they’re suggesting that “breakfast food” is being eaten at dinner time, further solidifying the norm of specific foods being consumed only at their designated times. To support my argument we could go all the way back to the meanings of the names of our meals. Correct me if I’m wrong, but growing up I’ve always thought the names “breakfast, lunch and dinner” were assigned to signify the time the meal takes place, rather than the foods commonly associated with them. Therefore, (in my opinion) I believe “breakfast for dinner” should hereby be referred to as “dinner”, purely based on the original meanings of these titles and on the belief that what we eat and when we eat it should not be limited by our language.