What is 'girl dinner'? 
It’s a system of ‘no-cook’ snacks set up on a platter in a mish-mash style, showcasing a variety of foods like olives, cherry tomatoes, pistachios, grapes, cheeses, almonds, figs, salami, bell peppers; and eating this upscale-looking snack platter for dinners. It is dubbed as the ‘girl dinner’ because this is mainly prepared by women professionals living alone, who, at the end of the day, don’t have the time or the mind space to cook a meal.

Is it really healthy? 
The girl dinner concept is a practical approach that enables a fusion of culture and health on one plate. The only critical aspect would be to balance the meal composition in such a way that it provides carbohydrates that are rich in fibre, good quality protein, healthy fats and micronutrients. The concept of easy meal prep using balanced meal ingredients in a meticulous way is essential. It’s all about ‘my plate, my rules’. It is a creative way of eating food rather than making it a compromised meal.

How to adopt this concept? 
There’s no need to directly replicate the international trend with their ingredients. Let the Indian thali be your reference point, just that you will put it all in one pot. You can include a salad with vegetables, fruits and a handful of nuts with peanuts in coconut oil dressing; roasted ragi khakra with chutney (similar to hummus and vegetables) or a vegetable open sandwich with buttermilk.

You can also use some cooked leftover quinoa or roasted quinoa with salad leaves, olives, nuts, with a dash of cheese and adding some form of protein; or another example of fibre would be some kale chips with salad and nuts with cheese. As an alternative, if you like jowar crackers, add some guacamole to it along with carrot sticks and cherry tomatoes with some cured meat (sparingly as they are high in fat and sodium). Yet another option is if there’s leftover grilled chicken or fish, then it can be clubbed with avocado as a salad; or make a platter with lettuce, chicken pieces, veggies, cheese, herbs and spices with carrot sticks or zucchini chips.

For whipping up a quick meal, you can also sauté fish or prawns with a little bit of butter, garlic, basil and drizzle some black bean sauce and have that along with some sticky rice or quinoa poha. This only takes about 10 minutes.