For Arden Moss, dinner didn’t happen at six o’clock. Most nights, she wasn’t even home until eight. Between work, errands, and the occasional yoga class, her evenings ran late. “I used to feel guilty eating past seven,” she admits. “Like I was breaking some nutrition law.”
And for a while, she tried to follow that advice—early dinners, light snacks, avoiding food after sunset. But she was starving by bedtime, and the restriction just led to midnight kitchen raids.
“I realized I needed to stop punishing myself for my schedule,” Arden says. “Late dinners were my reality, so I needed to make them work for me.”
That’s when she began experimenting with low-carb meals that were satisfying but not heavy. She wanted something that would nourish her body without sitting in her stomach all night. Her solution? Simple, high-protein dishes with lots of veggies, warm spices, and healthy fats.
Instead of a bowl of pasta at 9 PM, she’d make zucchini noodles with garlic shrimp. Stir-fried greens with tofu and sesame oil replaced greasy takeout. And when she wanted something cozy, a bowl of cauliflower soup with roasted chickpeas did the trick.
The change was almost immediate. “I stopped waking up feeling bloated or sluggish,” she says. “And I actually looked forward to dinner again.”
Arden learned that eating late isn’t the problem—it’s what you eat that matters. She still lights a candle, still enjoys the ritual of dinner, but now it’s done with intention. “Food should never feel like a punishment,” she says. “Especially not at the end of a long day.”
