{"id":42795,"date":"2023-07-31T20:44:48","date_gmt":"2023-08-01T00:44:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ifintechworld.com\/news\/why-girl-dinner-really-blew-up-on-tiktok-its-a-cheap-and-easy-way-to-eat-especially-in-the-summer\/"},"modified":"2023-07-31T20:44:50","modified_gmt":"2023-08-01T00:44:50","slug":"why-girl-dinner-really-blew-up-on-tiktok-its-a-cheap-and-easy-way-to-eat-especially-in-the-summer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ifintechworld.com\/?p=42795","title":{"rendered":"Why \u2018girl dinner\u2019 really blew up on TikTok: It\u2019s a cheap and easy way to eat \u2014 especially in the summer"},"content":{"rendered":"

When Alana Laverty, now 28, first moved from Ireland to Brooklyn in 2017, the summer heat and her sauna-like apartment almost made her book a return flight home.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would open the fridge, stand there to cool down, and start eating olives, pickles, a bite of cheese, a piece of salami \u2014 right out of the fridge,\u201d Laverty told MarketWatch. So she started regularly making herself plates out of her fridge-scavenges.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cI\u2019ve always called these \u2018snack plates\u2019 \u2014 but when I heard the term \u2018girl dinner\u2019 on TikTok recently, I resonated with it so much,\u201d Laverty said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

And she\u2019s not alone. With the \u201cgirl dinner\u201d trend accumulating more than 560 million views <\/strong>and counting <\/strong>on TikTok \u2014 and Google searches for \u2018what is girl dinner\u2019 more than doubling over the past week in the U. S. \u2014 everyone wants a piece of the action. Even the Restaurant Brands International-owned
\n QSR,
\n -0.46%<\/bg-quote>
\n Popeyes fast-food chain has created its own \u201cgirl dinner\u201d menu: several sides, including mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, Cajun fries and biscuits, meant to be ordered a la carte to create your own plate. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

\n \u201c<\/span>\u2018I would open the fridge, stand there to cool down, and start eating olives, pickles, a bite of cheese, a piece of salami \u2014 right out of the fridge.\u2019\u201d<\/span>\n <\/p>\n


\n \u2014 Alana Laverty, 28, in Brooklyn<\/span>
\n <\/small><\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

And, with food prices rising 5.7% in the 12 months ending in June, and July 2023 being declared the hottest month on record, the cheap, no-heat required \u201cgirl dinner\u201d might be the ideal dining solution when you\u2019re broke, or if you\u2019re just exhausted and it\u2019s too hot to cook.<\/p>\n

So what exactly is girl dinner? Put simply, it\u2019s throwing together a snack plate that can serve as a meal by spending as little time, effort and money as possible \u2014 almost like a smorgasbord for a single person. The key is minimizing time and effort while optimizing the ingredients you already have.\u00a0<\/p>\n

While some people have put up posts suggesting their \u2018girl dinner\u2019 is just a single pickle or a diet soda, the true trend is more substantial than that, women tell MarketWatch. In fact, being able to go through your fridge and pantry quickly and pull together a low-maintenance yet filling meal with all the important food groups is what girl dinner is all about, they say.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

\n \u201c<\/span>\u2018The girl dinner is stuff that I essentially hunt and gather in my own kitchen. It\u2019s what I already have. If it\u2019s the summer and it\u2019s hot, I don\u2019t want to cook.\u2019 \u201d<\/span>\n <\/p>\n


\n \u2014 Olivia Maher, 28, credited with coining \u2018girl dinner\u2019 on TikTok<\/span>
\n <\/small><\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cI have what I have, and I\u2019m gonna eat through it and save some money and really enjoy what I did,\u201d said Olivia Maher, 28, who is credited with coining the term \u201cgirl dinner.\u201d\u00a0 <\/p>\n

Maher\u2019s original \u201cgirl dinner\u201d post has accumulated 1.4 million views and counting on TikTok.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Maher <\/strong>told MarketWatch that she <\/strong>credits her viral way of eating with growing up in what she called an \u201cingredient household,\u201d where all leftovers and food items were always put to use before their expiration date.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor me, the \u2018girl dinner\u2019 is stuff that I essentially hunt and gather in my own kitchen. It\u2019s what I already have,\u201d Maher said. \u201cIf it\u2019s the summer and it\u2019s hot, I don\u2019t want to cook.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Laverty has also relied heavily on \u201cgirl dinners\u201d to meet her strict, post-graduate budget while living in pricey New York City. Laverty said she buys eggs, cheeses, meats and olives weekly to piece together her mini meals.<\/p>\n

\u201cCompared to doing a grocery run for all the makings of a lasagna or protein-carb-and-salad combination, this was way more affordable for me,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Laverty\u2019s \u201cgirl dinner\u201d combination of cherries, nectarines, burrata topped with hot honey, prosciutto, olives and tomatoes drizzled with olive oil, salt and pepper blew up on TikTok, accumulating 1.8 million views.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Some people are raising concerns over the nutritional value of \u201cgirl dinners,\u201d however, and asking if the trend is contributing to diet culture and the rise of eating disorders. Those posts where women suggested they were eating a single pickle, a can of corn niblets, sipping a diet soda or even less haven\u2019t helped.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t love that it\u2019s called \u2018girl dinner,\u2019 because in our diet culture, a lot of times that implies restriction,\u201d said nutritionist and eating disorder specialist Leslie Schilling.<\/p>\n

But girl dinners aren\u2019t all bad. In fact, Schilling told MarketWatch that nutritionists have actually been helping their clients come up with similar, \u201csnacky\u201d dinners for a long time by encouraging the use of ingredients they have in the house.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Schilling said this meal option is actually great for those who often feel overwhelmed in the kitchen, or for those who think that dining out is the only option to feed themselves, but they don\u2019t have the money to do so.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can really come up with [meals] using the things that they already have in the house to make either a girl dinner or a snacky dinner,\u201d Schilling said.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Keep in mind that the three most basic food groups essential to any diet are proteins, carbohydrates and dietary fats. Among other benefits, protein intake influences the formation of muscle mass and our metabolism; carbohydrates provide us with the glucose that our brains use for energy; and dietary fats give us the energy our bodies need.\u00a0<\/p>\n

So to get started on your own affordable and healthy version of \u201cgirl dinner,\u201d here is Schilling\u2019s advice:<\/p>\n

First, search around your kitchen for a protein, such as: a cheese; a deli meat like ham, pepperoni or salami; or vegan alternatives such as tofu or seitan. <\/p>\n

Schilling then recommends adding a \u201ccrunchy carb,\u201d whether it be pretzels, pita chips, or just a piece of bread.<\/p>\n

Grab a dip \u2014 hummus, guacamole, or even olive oil for your bread \u2014 for a healthy fat, and then your favorite fruit that you have on hand to add something sweet.<\/p>\n

The key, according to Schilling, is making this \u201csnacky\u201d dinner a full meal \u2014 not just a snack.<\/p>\n

\u201cMake it enough and then ask yourself, is this something that maybe I would have for a snack? And if so, it\u2019s time to add more,\u201d Schilling said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

There is no \u201ccorrect\u201d amount of an ingredient, just as long as your \u201cgirl dinner\u201d is a filling meal for you.<\/p>\n

Maher found that one of the beautiful results of her initial \u201cgirl dinner\u201d video was the inflow of comments from people like Laverty who have already been participating in this way of eating for years. Some online commenters have also noted that this is a similar eating style to tapas, or small plates.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt built a community of people who already eat this way and in this style,\u201d said Maher. \u201cAnd then, it introduced a whole other audience to \u2018oh, maybe I can also break it down and have a full meal that satisfies me and fills me up without all the bells and whistles that go with a full dinner.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Read the full article here<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When Alana Laverty, now 28, first moved from Ireland to Brooklyn in 2017, the summer heat and her sauna-like apartment almost made her book a return flight home. \u201cI would open the fridge, stand there to cool down, and start eating olives, pickles, a bite of cheese, a piece of salami \u2014 right out of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":42796,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"gallery","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[236],"tags":[83],"class_list":["post-42795","post","type-post","status-publish","format-gallery","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-featured","post_format-post-format-gallery"],"yoast_head":"\nWhy \u2018girl dinner\u2019 really blew up on TikTok: It\u2019s a cheap and easy way to eat \u2014 especially in the summer | iFintechWorld<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"When Alana Laverty, now 28, first moved from Ireland to Brooklyn in 2017, the summer heat and her 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