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

FAQs

How do I make a simple weekly meal plan? ›

After thawing beef in the refrigerator, you don't have to cook it right away. Ground beef can be stored an additional 1 to 2 days before cooking; beef roasts and steaks may be stored 3 to 5 additional days before cooking.

Pick recipes based on common ingredients.

This tactic will help keep your grocery list a little bit shorter, and maybe even help you come in under your weekly budget. Just because you'll use the same ingredients for multiple meals doesn't mean they all have to taste the same.

Is the action of deciding meals in advance using your schedule, preferences, foods on hand, seasonal produce, sale items, etc. Consequently, meal planning usually leads to grocery shopping once a week, for only the items needed and having others (e.g. family) involved in creating the menu.

A healthy eating plan: Emphasizes vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and fat-free or low-fat dairy products. Includes lean meats, poultry, fish, beans, eggs, and nuts. Limits saturated and trans fats, sodium, and added sugars.

Assigning theme-night meals based on different meal types—like Slow-Cooker Sunday, Meatless Monday or Stir-Fry Friday—or based on pantry staples like brown rice and whole-grain pasta (think Rice Bowl Thursday or Pasta Wednesday) is a good way to stick to your budget and also reduce meal-planning decision fatigue.

Planning meals to prepare at home is a good way to improve your food choices. Planning can also help you avoid less healthy drive-through meals. A good place to start is MyPlate Plan.

Is it OK to eat week old ground beef? ›

Generally speaking, you shouldn't eat meat past its expiration date, notes the Cleveland Clinic. You don't have a long window of time to use up raw ground beef to begin with—aim to eat it within two days—but checking the expiration date is always a good habit.

Make a meal plan of about four days of safe storage in the fridge and about four months of safe storage in the freezer. Watch for changes (smell, color, texture, and mold) to your meal prep food as a sign that it's gone bad. If you're unsure if food has spoiled: when in doubt, throw it out.

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.

Write a list of the foods your family likes to eat and keep it taped inside the kitchen cabinet. When you try a new recipe that everyone likes, add it to the list. Make enough menus for about a two-week cycle. Plan for breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, or five to six “mini-meals” per day.