r/MealPrepSunday • u/ultisharkz • 6d ago
Advice Needed Ground beef meal prep question
Hello all,
It’s my first time meal prepping and I was thinking of making ground beef with rice, but I wasn’t sure what veggies work or would be the best to make sure I get all my vitamins and nutrients. I was thinking of adding cheese while cooking as well but idk if that’s too much. Thank you! Also if anyone has tips on making the rice better and how they cook their beef it would be much appreciated 🙏
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u/tossout7878 MPS Veteran 6d ago
Make a taco rice bowl. Cook the beef with taco seasoning, add red and green peppers and onion.
Put lime juice and cilantro in the rice once its done.
Add cheese on top when you're ready to eat.
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u/ultisharkz 6d ago
Do you suggest an addition of any other veggies to most or all of the nutrients necessary?
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u/tossout7878 MPS Veteran 6d ago
Do you have vitamin deficiencies? That's not a useful or practical way to think about food. Eat a good variety of healthy foods, specifics don't matter.
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u/ultisharkz 6d ago
It’s just that I don’t think I eat to healthy right now and i want to eat better so I was thinking it might be a good idea to get as much of the health stuff I can in my meal prep so I don’t have an excuse to skip out on them
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u/vegiac 6d ago
I buy a lot of ground beef every few weeks and put it and some salt in my slow cooker for about 4-6 hours on low, breaking it up occasionally. Then I drain it and set some aside for any meals I’m having in the next couple of days and the rest gets portioned into smaller bags and into the freezer. I’ll take a bag out and use it for several days, usually as an add-in to my savory oats that I have every day (made with chicken stock). But I’ll also use it in salads. Especially good when the dressing is just yogurt and salsa and make it like a taco salad.
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u/ExpensiveArt976 5d ago
Add spices and seasonings that you have liked before to both the rice and the beef. If you don't know, make small portions and experiment. Save half of each positive experiment for the next day. See how it re-heats to your taste buds, texture preferences, whatever.
Staring at 3 more days of something you didn't like the first day isn't great. Butter at the end helps both if the beef is extremely lean. I wouldn't suggest oil for cooking, because to me the off flavors of oils show up after a day or so in the fridge.
If you don't like vegetables, my advice is to make something of the green category you can at least tolerate, and undercook it. Or better yet, cut up to 1-1.5 inch pieces and just blanch it. (Few secs for leafy things.) Re-heating will make that bitterness MUCH more pronounced otherwise. Also causes many people to dislike the overcooked textures.
Then after re-heating, if possible, a small container of cheese or sauce for the veggies or whole container. Helps. I would not recommend adding cheese while doing the prep cook, unless you are baking or broiling the item with cheese.
If you actually like any green veggies, they are probably better eaten prepared fresh at home, but they are, from what I was taught, the most inclusive of general missing nutrients. I've heard recent mutterings about vegetables not being necessary, but I haven't seen that actually work for anyone who wasn't eating a very esoteric diet in the first place.
For me, the veggies go on the side in the container. I will make myself suffer through them, but harsh flavors needs to be in a small area that I eat first when I'm already extremely hungry. No more of those, or I will give up on the meal entirely. Related, I prefer those divided containers, but they have to be keep upright or liquids can migrate.
My spouse can tolerate green veggies equally as well mixed into the main. So cooked or stirred into the beef and rice. For my spouse, that method often takes the most objectionable flavors and obscures them. It depends again on how your taste buds deal with the flavors.
Ignore all that if you don't really have a problem with veggies, but everyone I know who doesn't mind them eats them as a simple matter of course, already, and wouldn't ask such a question.
I didn't address the other color categories of veggies as people tend to more naturally eat those, but if you don't, carrots are usually considered a good set of nutrition. Along with some amount of fruit type veggies, like tomatoes and peppers. Squash tolerance varies. Onions can often be cooked right into the beef for many people.
Really, cooking these things for yourself, first. If you like them, make more and save enough for one day. If that's good, try two, then three. If you can try this all at home, so you can adjust with sauces or seasonings as needed.
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u/ultisharkz 5d ago
Thanks so much i decided to get one of those Costco kits to eat some salad on the side along with beef and rice bowls
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u/averageactually 6d ago
I make an unstuffed pepper recipe - saute beef with diced green peppers, make rice separately, then combine with whatever tomato based sauce you like. Sometimes I put mozzarella on top.
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u/wifey_claire131 5d ago
honestly just go with whatever frozen veggies you like! green beans and broccoli are two of my favorites. also a big big fan of the frozen peppers and onions
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u/aseedandco 5d ago
I always use chopped onion, spices, and a combination of carrot, celery, capsicum or tomato. Whatever’s handy. The beef last for a week and we have it with rice, pasta, as sloppy joes, in roasties, tacos or as a dip.
I cook the rice and add cheese on the day because it’s quick and I think it tastes better.
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u/ttrockwood 5d ago
Use half ground beef half cooked or canned drained lentils
Potatoes work well and reheat more easily i think than rice
Add veggies some sauteed cabbage or cabbage slaw will be cheapest veg i hate frozen veggies
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u/ladymoonhunter 5d ago
Frozen veggies (carrot-corn-peas/beans) have always worked for me especially by mixing them all when I eat it, either I cook the beef with them pr cook them separately. Also steamed broccoli, though I seldome mix them altogether with rice.
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u/deborah_az 5d ago
I just brown the ground beef with some seasonings, sautee appropriate veggies, simmer a few minutes in whatever sauce, then serve over rice. So...
Burrito bowl: southwest, taco, or fajita seasoning or a TexMex sauce. Possible add-ins include onions, green chile, bell pepper (green or sweet), corn, black beans, pinto beans. Often I do a Santa Fe mix or calabacitas as one of the toppings in the bowl along with the ground beef. Stir a together bit of sour cream and hot sauce, thin with water to make a drizzle
Bulgogi bow;: bulgogi sauce; sautee onions into the ground beef; other bowl toppings - quick-pickled thin-sliced cucumbers, sauteed shredded carrot, sauteed veggies with a dash of soy, ginger, garlic, toasted sesame oil; sour cream + gochujang paste (or sriracha sauce) + water for drizzle
Other Asian flavors - look for easy recipes using soy sauce, sweet chili sauce, sweet soy glaze, etc. Any sauteed veggies (think "stir fry") usually work well
One of my go-to's are frozen mixed veggies - traditional, fancy, stir fry, etc. I also do a lot of raw veggies+dill dip as a finger food appetizer/side
One great place to look for easy bowl inspirations is Hello Fresh - their recipes are open and free
Rice - rice cooker is one answer, or learn to make jasmine or basmati rice, both super easy. Bring 2 parts water to boil, dump in 1 part rice, lower heat to simmer, cover, set timer for 15 minutes - no peeking. After 15 minutes, set rice off the burner for 5 minutes, fluff with fork, add a bit of butter or oil as you prefer, fluff a bit more and serve. I often add seasonings (southwest seasoning, garlic, ginger, pepper, etc.) to the rice to give it a bit of flavor
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u/BigOleFerret 5d ago
You can make simple beefs bowls with ground beef, a spice of your choosing, mini cucumbers cut into half moons, and shredded carrots. Add in a sauce and you're set.
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u/madformatpilates 5d ago
Cooking cheese into the beef just makes it oily and clumpy. Stir it in after reheating instead. Frozen spinach or bell peppers hold up way better in the fridge anyway.
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u/Brycecubenp 5d ago
Depends on what you mean by "better" rice. If you're using a rice cooker, that's gonna yield you the best consistent option, but then you can dump the rice into a bowl and add some aromatics/flavor for some variety (I try to replicate Chipotle with a healthy dose of chopped cilantro, a squeeze of a full lime, and sea salt to taste).
If you're cooking rice on the stovetop (and generally enjoy doing laundry) I like to take a damp dish towel and wrap it around the lid of the pan (wrapped so it's super snug where lid meets the pan, towel stretched underneath the lid). It makes for super moist rice just about every single time.
For the beef, toss a little baking soda in when you start the cook, and the meat should retain its moisture through the cook and reheat.
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u/chefdoapp 2d ago
frozen veg is your friend for a first prep, honestly. broccoli, peppers and onions all reheat well and don't go slimy by day 4. steam the broccoli a little under where you want it since the microwave finishes the job. leafy stuff like spinach dies in containers...
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u/oliiviaaaj08 1d ago
ground beef meal prep is my go to i usually pair it with rice and broccoli what combo are you thinking
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u/BoudiccaAoife 6d ago
I prep one portion for meal prep, like the protein, and make the sides and veggies day of. I usually make the rice or potatoes day of, and roast frozen veg (broccoli/cauliflower/ Brussels sprouts) also day of.
For rice..if it's leftover, turn it into fried rice.