Girl Dinner and Boy Kibble: Meal Prep Trends that May Create More Problems Than They Solve

If you spend time on TikTok, Instagram or any other social media platform, you may have come across videos depicting "Girl Dinner" and "Boy Kibble." Both are convenience-driven approaches to meal preparation.

Convenience is of utmost importance these days—especially to busy young people who live or work in New York City and tend to eat quickly at their desks or on the run.

Maybe you’ve even embraced these trendy approaches to cooking—or, in the case of Girl Dinner, not cooking. Girl Dinner is all about assembling what amounts to a snack plate and using it as a meal substitute.

Dr. Zachary Mulvihill, an internist with a strong background in integrative medicine, understands its popularity. Young women in particular are motivated by:

• a lack of time
• a need for convenience
• a lack of skill and experience where cooking is concerned
• limited finances

Young men share these motivations, plus one more: Many of them are using food to get in shape and get ripped.

Dr. Mulvihill, an assistant attending physician and assistant professor of clinical medicine in the Division of General Internal Medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine, describes himself as “a bridge between Western, functional and Eastern medicine.” As such, he has plenty to say about how to optimize nutrition in the context of real life and its pressures and constraints.

What Is Girl Dinner?

“It isn’t really dinner at all,” he says. “It’s a snack plate of cold or room-temperature items taken straight from the fridge or the pantry.”

However, Girl Dinner can vary greatly, both in terms of quantity and quality.

For instance, in one video, the plate included nothing more than a few strawberries, some popcorn, a cheese stick and a hard-boiled egg. In another, it featured more nutritious choices: humus and raw veggies; healthy fats such as those found in olive oil and avocado slices; and protein-rich foods like Greek yogurt, nuts, sliced turkey breast and Swiss cheese.

But having uncooked food for dinner night after night isn’t advisable, Dr. Mulvihill says, no matter the composition of your plate. In Ayurvedic medicine—one of the modalities he has studied in depth—food should be hot and fresh, especially in the fall and winter. That means it shouldn’t be consumed straight from the fridge, much less from a jar or a package.

If time is a major concern, he advises, consider investing in an Instant Pot.

“You can prepare a variety of soups or stews in a short amount of time,” he says. All it takes is a little planning.

Dr. Mulvihill is also steeped in Western nutrition. Every meal, he says, needs to contain protein, fats, fiber and carbs. Ideally, half of your plate should feature vegetables, with one quarter carbs and one quarter protein. That applies to both Girl Dinner and Boy Kibble. Speaking of which…

…What is Boy Kibble?

Here’s what it isn’t: dog food. But to an unsuspecting onlooker, it may look like dog food. That’s because it can resemble some of the commercial dog foods that come in the shape of pellets.

Boy Kibble can be prepared quickly in one big pan. Its main ingredients are minced meat and rice, with an admixture of eggs and chopped vegetables. But meat and rice dominate, making it short on fiber.

Fans of Boy Kibble cook a large quantity, divide it into containers to be refrigerated or frozen, and proceed to eat it twice a day.

It’s about reducing body fat while keeping or increasing muscle mass.

What’s missing?

Generally, Girl Dinner could use more protein, while Boy Kibble would benefit from the addition of vegetables—in other words, fiber.

Also missing from Boy Kibble is color, Dr. Mulvihill says. “At least with Girl Dinner, it’s easy to pay attention to color. But it isn’t just a question of aesthetics. In fresh fruit and vegetables, color corresponds to different nutrients.” These phytonutrients can be antioxidants, or they can have anti-inflammatory properties.

To add color to Boy Kibble, just chop some carrots and green peppers into the pan, or add some cooked beets.

He also favors consuming protein from plants, such as tofu, edamame or lentils. Animal protein is fine in small doses, but plant-based protein comes with greater health benefits.

What about breakfast?

Eggs and oatmeal are common choices in the morning, he says.

Have your eggs in any style you prefer.

Add ground flax, hemp or chia seeds to your oatmeal (preferably steel-cut). That’s a great way to sneak some healthy fats into your breakfast meal.

Potential problems and shortcomings

Asked which meal prep approach is better, he reluctantly replies “Boy Kibble.” At least the food is cooked. And it’s easy to remedy its shortcomings with respect to fiber and color.

Girl Dinner, on the other hand, can be problematic precisely because its ingredients are mostly cold and raw.

Dr. Mulvihill is also concerned that the snack plate trend could foster disordered eating due to portions that are too small, resulting in a restrictive mentality. It can also aggravate any problems with digestion, such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).

Here are a few additional pointers, straight from the holistic doctor’s playbook:

• Plan ahead. Decide what you’d like to have for dinner and shop accordingly.
• Have a substantial lunch, and eat a lighter meal in the evening—preferably before 8:00 p.m.
• Limit takeout.
• Minimize microwave use.
• Buy pre-made Indian/Ayurvedic meals and add any desired vegetables.
• In the summer, choose cooling foods such as fruit, salads and coconut water.
• Girl Dinner is okay now and then but not on a regular basis.
• Boy Kibble can be fortified with vegetables and protein from plants.
• Use spices to liven things up.

And remember, he says, eating should be pleasurable, not boring. There’s no harm in developing your palate along with your muscles. Mindful eating is the way to go.

Looking for expert nutritional guidance? Find a doctor at Weill Cornell Medicine here.