‘Boy kibble’: Healthy and convenient or a bowl full of nothing?

By Madeline Holcombe, CNN

Ever fill your dog’s dish, look down at the kibble, and feel a little envious?

No? Well, for some people the idea of one bowl full of all your nutrients that takes very little thought and effort is an appealing idea — and they are already eating it for many of their meals.

It is called “boy kibble,” a way of eating that has made the rounds on social media and basically strips meals back to their basics to deliver high protein as conveniently as possible.

“I just look at it as a bowl. What I make it with is ground beef, avocado and rice. That’s it. Super simple,” said content creator and boy kibble connoisseur Nick Finke.

Sure, it’s easy, and there can be debate about whether it is appetizing for all people, but is it a healthy dietary plan?

Boy kibble is the other side of another trend –– “girl dinner.” Both emphasize convenience and reduce thought, but where girl dinner grabs various snacks already available to cobble together a meal (think some cheese, crackers, cherry tomatoes and a yogurt), boy kibble is batch cooking and eating the same thing every night.

Usually that means a rice base with ground meat –– turkey, chicken or beef. Some people add a variety of spices or seasonings, but some don’t. Finke also adds avocado to get healthy fat in the meal as well.

This isn’t an occasional menu item or a convenient back up plan if he doesn’t want to cook. Finke said he eats boy kibble every night.

“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.”

What it’s based on

Boy kibble can be for anyone, Finke said, but it has been particular popular with men. And men who are looking to increase their fitness really resonate with this simplified way of eating.

One of the biggest benefits of eating this is way, according to those who adopt it, is a reliable way to meet protein goals. Those can be high for people trying to put on muscle, said Dr. Zachary Mulvihill, integrative medicine expert at Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian.

And protein is an important nutrient, but recently people have been taking it to the extreme, said Natalie Mokari, a dietitian based in Charlotte, North Carolina.

What we do or don’t know

One problem with boy kibble is that the ratios are off from what experts typically recommend. Generally, people should aim for half of their plate to be vegetables, one quarter to be carbohydrates and one quarter protein, Mulvihill said. But this plan is half protein and half carbohydrates with vegetables often optional.

Finke said that while he eats boy kibble for most dinners, he focuses on vegetables in other meals.

The Mediterranean diet has been hailed as one of the healthiest styles of eating for longevity and lower disease risk, and boy kibble does stray from the method in its heavy reliance on animal proteins and low diversity of plants, Mulvihill said.

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Experts like this trend but aren’t subscribing outright. Boy kibble might be helpful … with some caveats, both Mokari and Mulvihill said.

It’s good to move more toward home-prepared, whole ingredient meals instead of relying on restaurants or pre-prepared meals, and it’s great if boy kibble helps you do that, Mulvihill said.

However, Mokari does recommend making some additions for a more balanced diet. Adding in some vegetables, even if they are precut or frozen to increase convenience, is a great way to round the meal out, she said.

Long term, eating the same meal every day limits the variety of nutrients a person gets, so Mulvihill recommends that people who benefit from a repetitive diet to eat more whole, homecooked meals build in times where they switch it up.

“This can be a good starting point for some people,” Mokari said.

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