Easy and Delicious Ground Beef Recipes - Weekly Meal Plan (2024)

FAQs

Can you cook ground beef for the week? ›

After you've cooked the ground beef to a safe internal temperature of 165 degrees, you have about three to four days to eat it. You can also store a meal with cooked ground beef in the freezer for about four months without compromising the quality, the USDA says.

It is safe to store ground beef in the refrigerator for 1–2 days, and eat leftovers within 4 days. A person can store ground beef in the freezer for up to 4 months.

USDA recommends using cooked beef within 3 to 4 days, kept refrigerated (40°F or less). Refrigeration slows but does not stop bacterial growth. USDA recommends using cooked leftovers within 3 to 4 days.

Raw ground beef is generally safe to consume within 1 to 2 days of refrigeration. After 4 days, there's an increased risk of bacterial growth and spoilage. To ensure food safety, it's best to cook or freeze raw ground beef within a couple of days of purchasing it.

A clean-eating meal plan includes tons of fresh fruits and veggies, high-fiber whole grains and legumes, healthy fats and lean proteins (like fish and chicken). It skips added sugars and minimizes sodium and saturated fats that can damage our hearts when we eat too much of them.

Also, if you want to enjoy red meat, official guidelines recommend a "relatively lower consumption" of red and processed meats. While there is no specific number dedicated to red meat, the overall recommendation for animal protein sources (meats, poultry and eggs) for a 2,000-calorie diet is 26 ounces per week.

However, regularly eating burgers can negatively impact your health, causing a slew of life-threatening diseases and conditions, including high cholesterol, risk of diabetes, high blood pressure, and even kidney stones.

Beef safety

Keep wrapped meat on a plate or pan to catch drips that might contaminate other foods. Generally, you can expect to be able to use ground beef one to three days after the sell-by date depending on how it has been handled. Steaks will likely be good for another day or two.

How to eat for 100 dollars a week? ›

Planning out your meals so you use all of the ingredients, both raw and cooked, plus pantry staples and frozen goods means you can make a week's worth of dinners for around $50 in groceries.

It can go rancid quickly, so you don't want to wait too long to cook or freeze it. You really only have about two days to use ground beef before it starts to spoil, according to the USDA. To reduce the chances of eating bacteria-laden beef, choose carefully next time you're at the grocery store.

For raw ground meats, poultry, seafood and variety meats (liver, tongue, chitterlings, etc.), refrigerate them only 1 to 2 days before either cooking or freezing. Beef, veal, lamb and pork roasts, steaks and chops may be kept 3 to 5 days.

If ground beef is refrigerated promptly after cooking (within 2 hours; 1 hour if the temperature is above 90°F), it can be safely refrigerated for about 3 or 4 days. If frozen, it should keep its quality for about 4 months.

Beef safety

Keep wrapped meat on a plate or pan to catch drips that might contaminate other foods. Generally, you can expect to be able to use ground beef one to three days after the sell-by date depending on how it has been handled. Steaks will likely be good for another day or two.