The rise of BRINNER -breakfast food for dinner!

A third of Brits eat breakfast food for their evening meal at least once a week
80 per cent of Brits have eaten breakfast foods for dinner at least once
Top “brinner” choices are eggs and toast

The best way to start the day is now becoming our favourite way to end it, as 80 per cent (an estimated 40.9 million*) of Brits have eaten typical breakfast foods for dinner, “brinner”. In fact, a third (32 per cent) say they munch on breakfast foods for their evening meal at least once a week according to a new survey** published by Cancer Research UK today to support its Britain’s Biggest Breakfast campaign.

“Having a healthy breakfast is a great way to start the day, but our survey shows that people are also choosing to end the day with breakfast too!” – Claire Rowney, Cancer Research UK
Top “brinner” choices were eggs (35 per cent), toast (33 per cent) and a bacon sandwich (28 per cent). However, more than a quarter of Brits (26 per cent) said they had eaten cereal for their evening meal.

Brits are also keeping chickens busy with figures indicating we eat around 4.6bn*** eggs per year for breakfast, that’s around 90 eggs each per year. And how do Brits like their eggs in the morning? Well the top choice is scrambled (39 per cent) followed by fried (35 per cent) then poached (23 per cent) and only one in 10 said the hard boiled variety was their favourite.

Brits are also getting more adventurous when it comes to breakfast choices thanks to social media, as more than a third (35 per cent) said they have been inspired to try new things for breakfast because of what they have seen on social media such as Facebook or Pinterest.

The survey, which asked 2,159 adults about their breakfast habits, was commissioned by Cancer Research UK to mark the launch of Britain’s Biggest Breakfast. The campaign calls on the nation to come together with friends and family on 11 March and be part of a breakfast to raise vital funds to beat cancer sooner.

Madeleine Shaw (link is external), celebrity nutritional health coach and food blogger said: “There are so many amazing healthy breakfast recipes that can be whipped up to keep you going all morning. We often stick to the same breakfast, but I love trying out different recipes that are tasty and keep me full until lunch.

“Britain’s Biggest Breakfast gives us all a perfect opportunity to mix it up and keep it healthy with our breakfasts; whether it’s a new twist on your classic porridge or recreating your favourite eggs in a new style. Breakfast is the perfect meal to gather your friends and family together and share some tasty food. After all, breakfast is the most important, and epic, meal of the day!”

Claire Rowney, director of innovation, campaigns and events at Cancer Research UK said: “Having a healthy breakfast is a great way to start the day, but our survey shows that people are also choosing to end the day with breakfast too! Whenever you prefer to have your breakfast, make it count by taking part in Britain’s Biggest Breakfast on 11 March. It’s an excellent way to do your bit to raise money to help beat cancer sooner.”

Take part in Britain’s Biggest Breakfast this March – host a get together and help beat cancer sooner. Visit cruk.org/breakfast

* Estimated from the proportion of people in the sample population who indicated that they had eaten breakfast foods for their evening meal at least once and extrapolated to the UK 18+ population (mid-2014).

** All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from Censuswide. Total sample size was 2,159 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 5th – 9th February 2016. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all UK adults (aged 18+).

*** Estimated from the average number of eggs usually eaten per breakfast and the average number of times eggs eaten for breakfast in a typical week in the sample population and extrapolated to the UK 18+ population (mid-2014).