Meat Extenders Explained + Lentil Burger Recipe

I know everyone hates talking about money, but today I'm going to give you a tip to help you SAVE money!

Meat, poultry, protein in general is usually the most expensive part of your meal / grocery budget.

Don't worry, I am not going to tell you all that you need to become vegetarian!😆

I am going to tell you how to make your meat go further in your meals. I've mentioned this before in some of my content, but I'm going to share it again. Allow me to introduce to something called "meat extenders."

Meat extenders are other food sources that can be prepared with your meat to help increase your total volume. For example, instead of using 1 pound of ground turkey for a meal, instead you could use a 1/2 pound of ground turkey and one of these other food sources that pairs well with your meal. Let me give you some ideas of what foods these might be...

Examples of Meat Extenders:

• Lentils (today's recipe)

• Beans

• Quinoa

• Oats

• Mushrooms

I have some recipes saved on my Pinterest page that incorporate some of these ideas. I've done some of my own creations in the kitchen using black beans in meatballs, quinoa and black beans in tacos, chicken and lentil soups, and more.

Now you may be thinking "okay Liv that sounds great for my budget, but that's increasing my carb intakes!" You are right, it will. These are fantastic carb sources with protein and fiber that we want in our diets. They will provide lots of energy to your body, keep you full for hours, and improve your gut health!

This is your friendly reminder to NOT FEAR CARBS.

Let's get on to today's recipe, so you can try adding lentils to your diet and save money!

Lentil burger ingredients

Lentil burger ingredients in the food processor. (Step 4)

Lentil Burgers
Prep time: 20 minutes and Cook time: 20 minutes
Makes 5 servings
Nutrition info: 138 Calories, 9g P, 3g F, 18g C, 6g Fiber

Ingredients:

• 1.00 cup, Green Lentils (Uncooked)

• 1 cup, Chicken Broth Low Sodium

• 0.50 cup shredded, Carrots

• 2 tbsp, Tomato Paste

• 1 cup, Italian Parsley, chopped (Raw)

• 1 tbsp, Garlic, minced

• 0.50 tbsp, Smoked Paprika

• 1 tsp, Ground Cumin

• 0.50 tsp, Spices, onion powder

• 0.50 tsp, Ground Black Pepper

• 0.50 tablespoon, Toasted Sesame Seed Oil

Directions:

1. Cook the lentils with 1 cup of low sodium chicken broth in a small saucepan. You can swap chicken broth for any broth of your choosing, although I recommend using low sodium in general! Bring the broth to a boil with the lentils in the saucepan. Turn the heat down and let simmer until the broth has been soaked up by the lentils. They take about 5 minutes to cook.

2. While the lentils are cooking you can measure the rest of your ingredients and prepare in a large mixing bowl. Buy shredded carrots to save you time. Fresh parsley adds flavor, so this would be better than the dried herb. Add only half of the amount of oil to the burger ingredients. You will save the other half for the pan to keep the burgers from sticking.

3. Get out your food processor. Add your cooked lentils to the food processor. I used my Ninja blender, puree setting twice to get a sticky texture.

4. Then add the rest of the ingredients to the food processor with the lentils from your large mixing bowl. Use the puree setting again or process for 2-4 minutes, until the ingredients are well combined. Stop halfway through and use a rubber spatula to make sure all the ingredients are thoroughly combined.

5. Once you have a good burger mixture, measure out 5 equal contents of lentil burger. I used parchment paper in between my counter and the lentil mixture to stay a bit cleaner. With my 5 portions of lentil mixture I took each individual portion and formed them into burger patties.

6. After all 5 burger patties are formed, prepare a baking sheet. I covered mine in foil to make clean up quicker. Use the rest of the sesame oil to thinly coat the foil so the burgers don’t stick to the pan. I used my Ninja air fryer setting, 315 degrees for 15 minutes. Any air fryer would work. If you bake them in your oven, I would try baking at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes, flipping them halfway through the cook time.

7. The edges of the burgers should be crispy. I enjoyed my burger in a low carb Mission tortilla wrap with Greek style hummus, spinach, and pico de gallo for lunch! Store in the fridge up to 1 week, if they last that long.

Check out more recipes on the blog and don’t forget to comment below!