Breakfast is usually the first meal of the day. Breakfast foods  often include a carbohydrate such as grains, fruit and/or vegetable, protein, dairy, and beverage. Coffee, tea, juice, cereal, pancakes, sausages, bacon, loaf cakes, fresh fruit, vegetables, eggs, baked beans, muffins, crumpets and toast with butter and/or jam are common examples of breakfast foods, though a large range of preparations and ingredients are associated with breakfast globally.

In England, whereas "dinner", when used for the evening meal, is fairly formal, "supper" is used to describe a less formal, simpler family meal. In some areas of the United Kingdom, "supper" is used to describe an evening meal when dinner has been eaten around noon. In some northern British and Australian homes, as in New Zealand and Ireland, "tea" is used for the evening meal. In parts of the United Kingdom, supper is a term for a snack eaten after the evening meal and before bed, usually consisting of a warm, milky drink and British biscuits or cereal, but can include sandwiches.

Traditionally, snacks were prepared from ingredients commonly available in the home. Often leftovers, sandwiches made from cold cuts, nuts, fruit, and the like were used as snacks. The Dagwood sandwich was originally the humorous result of a cartoon character's desire for large snacks. Beverages, such as coffee, are not generally considered snacks though they may be eaten between meals like a snack, or along with snack foods. A beverage may be considered a snack if it possesses a substantive food item (e.g., strawberries, bananas, kiwis) that has been blended to create a smoothie.