Easy Ground Beef Meal Prep Recipe (Paleo, Whole30) (2024)

FAQs

Can you eat ground beef on Whole30? ›

Ground beef is one of the most common protein sources when doing a Whole30. But you might be bored with your regular choices. So this list compiles over 20 Whole30 recipes with ground beef, including burgers, chili, soup, meatloaf, protein bowls and more.

Every week I meal prep 2 lbs of ground beef or turkey (stay tuned for separate how-to) for my family to eat throughout the week.

The Short Answer: Yes! Burger Patties are allowed on the Whole30 program. Buns are not.

What about bananas? Yes, both pickles and bananas are allowed on Whole30. Yet if they are a potential trigger food for you (for instance, the sweetness of bananas sets off a craving for other treats or makes you want to binge on the fruit), then you may consider including them on your “don't eat” list.

However, it is possible to eat too much fat on a Whole30, and that can negatively affect your hunger levels, energy, and digestion. We see this most often when people mindlessly snack on nuts and seeds.

Weigh the meat when it's uncooked, or look at the total amount contained in the package. After it's cooked, re-weigh it, and then divide this new weight by the number of servings you wanted, based upon it's raw weight. Then just portion it out.

Quick tip: Purchase about 1 pound of ground beef or boneless roast for four servings.

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.

What Whole30 menu items to order at Chick-fil-A: It's probably best to skip Chick-fil-A altogether during your Whole30, Yawitz says. But, if you find yourself there, you could ask if they could make the grilled nuggets without the marinade on a Cobb Salad with no bacon, cheese, crispy red peppers, or corn.

What happens if I cheat on Whole30? ›

The Whole30 diet has strict rules. The overall goal is to restrict your eating. So, if you “cheat” on a day of your challenge, they recommend you start again from day one. You're supposed to be breaking food habits and cravings.

The Whole30 compatible Wholesome Bowl comes with adobo chicken but you can also build the same bowl with carnitas for a compatible meal.

When you cook your meat, it will shrink by approximately 25%, due to the loss of water. So, for example, 4 oz of raw ground beef will end up being about 3 oz cooked. 8 oz of raw chicken will be about 6 oz cooked. Although the meat will weigh less, the nutritional value remains the same.

If you are cooking very lean ground beef, heat a tablespoon or two of vegetable oil or extra virgin olive oil to the skillet. Add onions or other chopped seasoning vegetables about 2 to 3 minutes before the beef is ready, or cook them separately.

While it's fine to get rid of some excess grease, you always want to keep some of it in the pan. If you rinse away all the grease, you're literally rinsing away flavor, and your beef will end up dry.

Ground Beef Percentages

If you see the lean point listed as 70/30, this means the ground beef is 70% lean with 30% fat. One serving of 70/30 ground beef will contain 30% fat by weight.

Avoid: Bypass all commercially-raised processed meats (like bacon, sausage and deli meats). Next, wander over to produce section (and the freezer, for economical options). Remember, high-quality protein sources are of a higher health priority than organic fruit and vegetables.

Fatty meats are OK on Whole30, too! This is not a “lean and mean” diet. If you have the budget, go for the best choices: grass-fed, pastured, wild-caught, organic. Avoid: processed meats (deli meat, sausages, burgers, bacon) with sugar, carrageenan, MSG, sulfites, nitrites/nitrates.