Forget girl dinner, There’s a new viral meal trending on TikTok, but this one is for the boys.
So-called “boy kibble” has been making the rounds on social media, especially among male content creators on TikTok promoting dieting and exercising.
Essentially, “boy kibble” (or human kibble) is a bowl of food containing macronutrients, usually with a base of ground beef and rice. If you want to keep it simple, you can have just the beef and rice, but you can also add vegetables, beans, or other healthy additions. The goal is to have a “simple, easily repeatable, healthy meal,” that is, partially in looks and mostly in workload, the equivalent of giving your dog kibble, Mashable explains.
There’s even a term for the practice of making and eating boy kibble: “ground beef o’clock,” according to The New York Times.
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While the term may be new to your vocabulary (or that of your child), this basic meal was already popular among athletes and bodybuilders, as users on Reddit have noted. Boy kibble may also be growing in popularity as an alternative for the largely similar “slop bowls sold at major fast-casual restaurants.
The trend may also be playing into another diet focus that’s been building for years: proteinmaxxing.
‘Boy kibble’ and proteinmaxxing
Proteinmaxxing (not to be confused with fibermaxxing) encourages the consumption of foods high in protein. It was at least partially to blame for a cottage cheese shortage last year, and has prompted brands like Starbucks, Frito-Lay, and even Pop-Tarts to find ways to bring the macronutrient to their offerings.
One of the simplest such forms became available at Chipotle in December. Among the items on the fast-casual chain’s High-Protein Menu is the High Protein Cup, which is just adobe chicken and nothing else. Chipotle claims the cup provides 32 grams of protein, while the steak cup version carries 21 grams.
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We do need protein in our diet, but you likely don’t need to max out your consumption, health experts say. Generally speaking, as long as you’re eating enough food, you are most likely getting your necessary protein intake, Federica Amati, nutrition lead at Imperial College London and head nutritionist at the health science company ZOE, told The Associated Press last year.
Amati noted that our bodies have learned how to make protein using amino acids.
If you are interested in increasing your protein intake, you may want to consider something more diverse than ground beef and rice. When contacted about the new Dietary Guidelines for Americans released earlier this year — which do put proteins at the top of the inverted pyramid — Registered Dietitian Julia Zumpano of the Cleveland Clinic Center for Human Nutrition told Nexstar that popular protein sources also have saturated fats.
“I agree that most Americans need to focus on protein, but people may not recognize that red meat, egg yolks and full fat dairy are sources of saturated fat; therefore these foods still need to be limited (in portion and frequency) and protein selections should vary to often include lean protein such as fish and seafood, egg whites, skinless poultry and legumes,” Zumpano said.
There are also concerns that animal proteins require more water, land, and energy to produce than plant-based proteins like beans. The latter can also be a useful tool if you’re fibermaxxing, though health experts have advised caution over that trend, too.
