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I’m addicted to watching baking and cooking videos on social media, so much so that I’ve seen countless food trends come and go. One week it’s oxtail, the next Japanese cheesecake. I’ve come to notice that most of these trends last about as long as our attention spans, but one has proven to be the exception: “girl dinner.”

The trend, which first took off in 2023, featured young women assembling low-maintenance meals they prepared for themselves with whatever they had on hand.

I, for one, loved this trend. As a high school senior balancing school, sports, clubs, work, internships and other responsibilities, “girl dinner” served as a reminder that the main point of a meal was simply to satiate you. Not every meal needed to be perfect or aesthetic, but rather, realistic and satisfying.

Recently, I noticed that the trend I had known and loved reemerged, this time with a new spin. “Girl dinner” has become a restrictive nightmare that seems to encourage young women to eat snacks in place of full meals. When done correctly, “girl dinner” can range from a generous........

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