Brinner, which is all about eating breakfast for dinner, is not just a cool term but is a trend growing like Topsy. The healthy movement began in the US and is now being followed across the world. Shrabasti Mallik finds out what’s cooking in our restaurants
The restaurants that boast of their extensive, well-planned all day-long breakfast menu are suddenly making sense to a lot of people. Pancakes, oats and eggs tonightIJ Don’t be surprised if someone asks you that. And don’t even mistake that as your supper. That can be your brinner. Brinner, meaning eating breakfast for dinner, is the latest healthy trend which began in the US and is fast catching up in the rest of the world. We, too, are learning to adapt. Though, sacrificing the kingsize late night meal doesn’t come easy to most Indians, there is a small number of health freaks who are taking forward the brinner trend in India and backing them are the new-age chefs who are coming up with interesting variety that can be had as breakfast for dinner.
The trend is not new, points out Rohit Tokhi, executive chef of Kempinski Ambience Hotel. “It originated in the West, where people have breakfast food for dinner. The only reason being breakfast food is easy to cook. There are reasons that the trend got so popular. One is that people are more health conscious now. Second, the social media plays a big role in promoting such cool terms. Everyone is exposed to Internet today. YouTube channels and international food shows are being watched by more number of people, these are the platforms where people get introduced to changing food trends across the globe. Third is that people no longer hesitate to try new things, switching from dinner to brinner is not something which needs a lot of hard work, so people are open to give it a try,” he says.
With all the talks about having light dinner doing rounds, youngsters are inspired to skip calorie-loaded meal in the night. An ideal brinner can consist of a balanced meal of animal protein like meat and fish and egg, lots of green leafy vegetables for iron and minimal amounts of starch, fibre and calorie. “It is better to stay away from fried and oily food if you are having brinner. One can also have beans and whole grains which are rich in carbohydrates because they are light and easy to digest,” says Subroto Goswami, executive chef of The lalit Hotel.
Switching over to brinner will only help you if you are careful about what you are having and in what portions, says Devinder Kumar, executive chef of le Meridien Hotel. “If you are fond of having sabzi puri as your breakfast and you start having that as brinner, it will surely not help. The idea is to not pile on calories in the night, so you should choose your brinner menu with caution,” he shares.
Chef Atul Shankar Mishra, executive chef of The Royal Plaza Hotel, has some simple, easy-to-cook options for brinner. “You can go for shakes. Mix cereals like corn flakes and muesli with cold milk and a few pieces of papaya and you will get a highly nutritious and filling shake,” he says.