A social media food trend is reducing dinner to a single bowl of basic ingredients, usually centered on meat and rice. Known as “boy kibble,” the routine promises plenty of protein with minimal planning, complicated cooking or nightly decision making.

The concept has emerged as a counterpart to “girl dinner,” another viral approach that emphasizes convenience. Girl dinner typically combines available snacks such as cheese, crackers, cherry tomatoes and yogurt, while boy kibble relies on batch cooking and repeatedly eating the same meal.

A common boy kibble bowl starts with rice and adds ground turkey, chicken or beef. Some people use a range of spices and seasonings, while others keep the preparation extremely plain.

Content creator Nick Finke makes his version with ground beef, avocado and rice. The avocado adds healthy fat, while the simple combination allows him to prepare multiple meals without devising a new menu each day.

For Finke, boy kibble is not an occasional dinner or a backup when he does not feel like cooking. He said he eats it every night and prepares the main ingredients in batches at the beginning of the week.

“It’s super easy to meal prep,” Finke said. “I just batch my ground beef at the beginning of the week and my rice, and then I have it for lunch or dinner every single day of the week.”

Although Finke said the approach can work for anyone, it has become particularly popular among men. The stripped down meal also resonates with men trying to increase their fitness and looking for an uncomplicated way to eat.

Supporters point to protein as one of the trend’s biggest attractions. Dr. Zachary Mulvihill, an integrative medicine expert at Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian, said protein goals can be high for people who are trying to add muscle.

Protein is an important nutrient, but enthusiasm for it has recently gone to extremes, according to Natalie Mokari, a dietitian based in Charlotte, North Carolina. That heavy emphasis can throw the meal’s overall proportions out of balance.

Mulvihill said people should generally aim for vegetables to fill half of their plate, with carbohydrates and protein each taking one quarter. Boy kibble, however, is often divided equally between protein and carbohydrates, with vegetables treated as optional.

Finke said he focuses on eating vegetables during other meals even though boy kibble makes up most of his dinners. His version also includes avocado, but the broader trend does not follow one fixed recipe beyond its basic emphasis on convenience and protein.

The Mediterranean diet has been hailed as one of the healthiest eating styles for longevity and lower disease risk. Mulvihill said boy kibble departs from that approach because it depends heavily on animal proteins and offers little diversity among plants.

Still, Mokari and Mulvihill did not dismiss the trend outright. Both said it could be useful, provided that people recognize its limitations and make changes that create a more balanced eating pattern.

Mulvihill said moving toward meals prepared at home with whole ingredients is preferable to relying on restaurants or prepared foods. If boy kibble helps someone cook more meals at home, that shift can be one of the trend’s practical benefits.

Mokari recommended adding vegetables to round out the bowl. Precut or frozen vegetables can preserve the convenience that makes boy kibble appealing while bringing the meal closer to the proportions experts generally recommend.

Eating the same meal every day over the long term can restrict the variety of nutrients a person receives, Mulvihill said. People who benefit from a repetitive routine should therefore build in opportunities to change their meals while continuing to prepare whole ingredients at home.

“This can be a good starting point for some people,” Mokari said. The trend’s ease and protein content may make it attractive, but vegetables and greater dietary variety remain important caveats for anyone turning the bowl into a daily habit.