You’ve had a long day at work and you need to eat something.
You ordered out for lunch; you don’t have kids or a partner to share a meal
with. This sounds like the perfect time for a Girl Dinner.
Girl Dinners are taking over TikTok as the trendy meal of
the summer. There’s no recipe for a Girl Dinner though, because it’s whatever you
have on hand that requires the least amount of preparation. Popcorn and wine, a
bowl of cereal, a pint of ice cream or a plate of veggies, cheese and
crackers – those are all perfect examples of what a Girl Dinner might look like
to you.
Just to be clear, a Girl Dinner is not a diet either. It’s
not about cutting calories, eating tiny meals or eating a specific thing to
coincide with a trendy eating style. It’s more about food being an afterthought,
a necessity but not the focus. You need sustenance and don’t have time to shop
or cook so you raid the fridge and pantry and see what you can cobble together.
You eat in front of the TV on the couch, snacking your way to satiety.
With over 50 million views on TikTok and its very own song, Girl Dinners have
become a movement, some say rooted in rebellion. This is because a Girl Dinner is
about just being a woman, not a homemaker who’s expected to cook a full dinner
for a husband and children. It’s about shirking gender roles, being independent and eating what you want when you’re alone.
If we’re being inclusive, anyone can have a Girl Dinner
because it’s about the vibe, not the gender. The idea of a Boy Dinner doesn’t
feel as subversive, however because single men have been eating random dinners alone
forever, without any pressure to do otherwise. Call Girl Dinners whatever you
like, but it’s about the freedom of not conforming to anyone’s idea of what a
dinner is.
You, too, can have a Girl Dinner, even if you do have dinner
companions. Try it sometime just for the heck of it. Your family members can
each make up their own plate of what they find in the kitchen. For moms, this
concept could be freeing (or something you’ve been practicing secretly for
years). It’s time for everyone to own their Girl Dinners and be proud. If you’ve
never indulged, will this be a new tradition?