"Boy Kibble" — TikTokers Have Rebranded the Struggle Meal, and There Are Only Two Ingredients

Part of becoming an adult and learning to take care of yourself is realizing how often you need to decide what to make for dinner, make a list, go to the grocery store, cook food, and wash dishes. And then rinse and repeat again and again and again. All of the planning and decision-making that cooking involves can get overwhelming when you don't meal-prep and instead have to start from scratch each day.

Gym bros on TikTok have an answer for this conundrum. Much like Steve Jobs decided to wear the same black turtleneck each day to combat decision fatigue, some TikTok users are forsaking complicated meals and opting to cook the same exact thing every night: lean ground beef and rice. They call it "boy kibble."

The purest "boy kibble" meal is literally just unseasoned lean ground beef over rice. TikTok user @thequadfather03, a bodybuilder, seems to have started the trend with this combination. The idea is to get your protein in the simplest way possible.

"Y'all may have girl dinner, but I got boy kibble," @thequadfather03 said in his video. "It's 8 p.m., and I'm 'raw-dogging' some 93/7 ground beef. We're not the same," he elaborated.

In the comments of the video, some TikTokers praised @thequadfather03's idea while others questioned the lack of seasoning. "Why do gym bros never season their food? Seasonings aren't going to impact the macros," @dynami999 wrote. Another said, "Seasoning doesn't affect macros. Worse-tasting food isn't better for you."

Not to be confused with "slop bowls" often purchased at chains like Sweetgreen, Cava, and Chipotle, the traditional "boy kibble" dinner does not have a lot of flavors and ingredients. People hoping to gain muscle mass or lose weight by eating boy kibble seem to view food more as fuel rather than something to be enjoyed, and they're not too concerned about how it tastes. However, some people do use boy kibble for convenience rather than as a way to lose weight.

Some TikTok users have jazzed up their boy kibble by adding frozen veggies, beans, and even sauces or seasonings. They also report swapping out ground beef for chicken, turkey, or other proteins.

TikTok user @jackson.hadley explained that people often have trouble figuring out how to eat healthy." You don't have to overthink this. Find one thing that you really like and just eat that all the time," he said. He also suggested getting everything frozen to make things a little cheaper and easier.

TikTokers pointed out that when you have the same base each night (beef and rice), it's easy to keep combinations of sauces and add-ins on rotation to spice things up a bit. This way, you get a little variety and taste while still not having to think much about what you're cooking each night.

One person suggested alternating beef and rice with salmon, rice, and sriracha.

"Girl Dinner" is similar to "boy kibble" in the way that it creates a name for the meal one might eat when they are simply too tired to think or cook. However, instead of lean beef and rice, "girl dinner" is more like creating a charcuterie board from random snacks you've got in the house and calling it a meal. Giving a struggle meal a name, regardless of gender, can make people feel a little less alone while they're eating it. Life is busy, and most people can't cook a gourmet meal every night.