Ground beef

vavina1995
vavina1995 Posts: 2 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I got a large bowl of ground beef (from Moe's Southwest Grill) for free from this event I volunteered at. It was actually left overs. They were giving out the lefts overs, and asked me if I wanted it cause they were going to throw it in the garbage. I didn't want it to go to waste so I took it, but I'm not sure if ground beef is healthy or not or the way that restaurant makes it. I was wondering if it was still healthy for me to add to my diet until I finish it off or finish what there before it goes bad. It seems like it was cooked with some kind of tomatoe sauce too.

Replies

  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    You have to log it and see how you end up calorie- and macrowise.

    Then you have to make a decision if it's worth the calories. Some ideas to help you consider:

    Does it taste good?
    Will it make me overeat?
    Can I combine it with other foods, or will it crowd out the other foods I had planned?
    Is this a rare occasion, which would dictate stretching my principles a bit?
    Is this good resource management, or am I really allowing Moe's to treat me like a garbage disposal?
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    Restaurant ground beef is going to be a higher fat percentage compared to a lean you might buy -- if you can, find out what they use (you could estimate 70/30 although that might be a bit higher than the reality, or 75/25).

    Then it all depends on how it fits in your day or what you eat with it. Nothing wrong with ground beef.

    (Also, nothing wrong with carbs, and vegetables are carbs, as another poster pointed out. So are potatoes, sweet potatoes, beans, so on, obviously. I would eat vegetables with it, because I like eating vegetables with everything, but that's nothing specific about ground beef.)
  • OliveGirl128
    OliveGirl128 Posts: 801 Member
    jessiornelas wrote: »
    It's healthy if you add fresh veggies and no carbs.

    Veggies are loaded with carbs ;)
  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
    lemurcat12 wrote: »
    Restaurant ground beef is going to be a higher fat percentage compared to a lean you might buy -- if you can, find out what they use (you could estimate 70/30 although that might be a bit higher than the reality, or 75/25).

    Then it all depends on how it fits in your day or what you eat with it. Nothing wrong with ground beef.

    (Also, nothing wrong with carbs, and vegetables are carbs, as another poster pointed out. So are potatoes, sweet potatoes, beans, so on, obviously. I would eat vegetables with it, because I like eating vegetables with everything, but that's nothing specific about ground beef.)

    The tomato sauce you said it was cooked with is going to be the big unknown. It could be anything from plain tomato sauce to ketchup and the calories and macros are very different between them. I would look up both and pick a calorie count somewhere in between. If it is really saucy (like sloppy Joe's) assume 2 cups sauce per lb. of meat. Semi saucy (like taco meat) would be 1 cup per pound.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    Oh, I didn't notice that she said it was already cooked. Absolutely that's the big unknown.
  • xvolution
    xvolution Posts: 721 Member
    Given it's beef from a restaurant, it's probably loaded with fat and sodium. If you can fit those into your macros, then it can be healthy, but you'd be guessing at how much fat/sodium/protein/etc is in the beef.
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,423 Member
    vavina1995 wrote: »
    I got a large bowl of ground beef (from Moe's Southwest Grill) for free from this event I volunteered at. It was actually left overs. They were giving out the lefts overs, and asked me if I wanted it cause they were going to throw it in the garbage. I didn't want it to go to waste so I took it, but I'm not sure if ground beef is healthy or not or the way that restaurant makes it. I was wondering if it was still healthy for me to add to my diet until I finish it off or finish what there before it goes bad. It seems like it was cooked with some kind of tomatoe sauce too.

    You are questioning whether the food is healthy or unhealthy.
    Do you think the ground beef was contaminated or spoiled? Are you allergic to anything that may be in the food?

    If the ground beef is not contaminated, spoiled or containing an allergen then it is fine for you to eat. It contains nutrients. It is not going to harm you.
    Usually cooked food should be eaten within about 4 days (refrigerated) so if it is more than you can finish in that time throw it away or freeze it.
    You just have to figure out if you want to eat it and does it fit your goals. If your concern is mainly about calories you will have to guess a bit since you do not know exactly what is in it. That does not mean it is unhealthy.

  • jayemes
    jayemes Posts: 865 Member
    edited August 2017
    If you like ground beef, eat it and fit it into your daily calories. Compared to chicken or fish it's going to be fairly high calorie and high fat but that's ok if you make that choice and account for it.

    More importantly, don't make someone throwing out food your problem. People bring cake to my house when they come for dinner and then leave the leftovers here. Unless it was something amazing, when I'm cleaning up at the end of the night, I throw it right in the trash. I'm not a vacuum cleaner and I don't need to clean up other people's leftover food.

    **edited to add that wasn't meant to sound bitchy, even though I think it sounds that way!
  • whitpauly
    whitpauly Posts: 1,483 Member
    Why not measure out portions, weigh it,freeze it in zip lock bags? Can always use it for a taco salad or in another recipe
  • AlabasterVerve
    AlabasterVerve Posts: 3,171 Member
    Ground beef is healthy.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    vavina1995 wrote: »
    I got a large bowl of ground beef (from Moe's Southwest Grill) for free from this event I volunteered at. It was actually left overs. They were giving out the lefts overs, and asked me if I wanted it cause they were going to throw it in the garbage. I didn't want it to go to waste so I took it, but I'm not sure if ground beef is healthy or not or the way that restaurant makes it. I was wondering if it was still healthy for me to add to my diet until I finish it off or finish what there before it goes bad. It seems like it was cooked with some kind of tomatoe sauce too.

    It will be higher in fat and sodium than if you made it yourself, so you'll have to guesstimate high.
  • SLLeask
    SLLeask Posts: 489 Member
    I would cook up a portion of spaghetti, whack on a big spoonful of the meat, since it's already in tomato sauce, grate on some nice sharp / vintage cheddar and thoroughly enjoy it. Freeze the rest and do the same another day... Free food, nom nom!! :smiley:
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    SLLeask wrote: »
    I would cook up a portion of spaghetti, whack on a big spoonful of the meat, since it's already in tomato sauce, grate on some nice sharp / vintage cheddar and thoroughly enjoy it. Freeze the rest and do the same another day... Free food, nom nom!! :smiley:

    Sounds good to me!
  • robm1brown
    robm1brown Posts: 71 Member
    Come on unless you're loaded eat it. Free food it a valuable commodity. Estimate high and have small portions space it out. It is not the best thing for you but I can think of far more calorific foods in creamy sauces or more fatty cuts of meat. (Yes it is bound to be higher % fat than the lean mince in the shops though).

Categories