A dutch day of eating

Eating schedules differ considerably among cultures. The following list presents the way of eating which most Dutch people perform during a normal weekday.

Breakfast
The day is started around 7:00 in the morning (for people who go to school or have a job) with open sandwhiches/slices of bread topped with peanut butter, jam, hagelslag, cheese, or other spreads (usually butter is involved too). This is eaten with a glass of milk on the side.
Another option is yoghurt with granola, cruesli, fruit, nuts et cetera. Besides that oat meal is coming up as well. Furthermore, people who fancy something a bit lighter eat (rice)crackers with cheese, nutella, peanut butter, jam, et cetera. Another thing which is common is drinking a glass of fruit juice, like orange juice.
In the weekend Dutch people sometimes like to ameliorate their breakfast/lunch by transforming it in a brunch together with their families or just by themselves. Often this happens on Sundays, around 10:30 in the morning. Fruit juices, French toast, croissants, bake off sandwhiches from the oven, American pancakes, smoothie bowls, and lots of other things are often presented on the table. This is a moment of relaxation and bonding with the family after a long and busy week.

 

Lunch

Lunch is usually held between 12:00 and 13:00. In the Netherlands, lunch is not a big deal and the break only lasts about 30 minutes. It is very common that you take your own sandwiches (prepared at home in the moring) to school or work. Dutch lunch is actually quite simple; regularly just a bunch of sandwiches with cheese or meat (and again butter). Milk, or a substitute like soy milk or fruit flavoured yoghurt drinks, are also drunk. Sometimes fruit, like an apple or a banana, is added to the lunch. 

Citizens who prefer a more elaborated lunch eat soup, salads, or more special sandwiches like hamburgers and 'broodje kroket'. These are the lunches which are usually sold at canteens at schools or business complexes. It is not common that you buy something for lunch at this canteen every day, most Dutch people bring their home made lunch.

 

Dinner

The dishes eaten at dinner time, which is around the clock of 18:00-19:00, are described with more detail in the section 'Dutch dishes and snacks' on this website. Dutch people see their meal as divided in three parts; meat (proteins), vegetables, fats and carbohydrates. The Original Dutch dinner is compiled out of potatoes , meat, gravy, and vegetables; think of 'stamppot' or a simple 'AVG'. However, due to international influences recipes such as pasta, stir-fry with rice/noodles, taco's, and numerous other dishes are added to the inventory of the Dutch kitchen. Nevertheless, the plates still contain all of the elements named above, at all at the same time. Exclusively on special occasions multiple courses are served. Although many Dutch households do eat a dessert, which is usually 'vla', subsequent to their main dinner course during a normal day.

 

Snacks

Dutch people very commonly eat snacks. In primary- and high school, there are even special breaks designed for those snack moments. The first interval in which a snack is normal is around 10:00, this is called the '10 uurtje', which refers to the time it is eaten. The second snack moment would be around 16:00, which is respectively named the '4 uurtje'. The third point of a snack is after dinner, which variates between 20:00 and 23:00. The first two snacks are quite similar to each other; often fruit or biscuits (like Liga or Sultana) are eaten, together with a fruit juice. The third snack is more like a 'guilty pleasure moment' which might be something like crisps, chocolate, cookies, peanuts et cetera.