Speedy Recipe for Runners: Black Bean "Muffins"

I call this recipe "muffins" for lack of a better term. Originally, I came across this/tweaked it/kinda made it up after looking up black bean fritter recipes. I avoid frying for several reasons, but most of all because it's messy, and while olive oil is okay, I use enough of it in other ways that I don't really need to fry my food.

So I modified. And I've come up with something pretty darn tasty, filling, and share-worthy. I've been making these for the last few weeks, always tweaking the recipe here and there, and thought today it might be nice to take some pictures of the process and share it here on the blog.

These bean muffins are super-easy to make. I use them as part of my breakfast on weekdays, and have found that they are great re-heated or eaten cold. Runners are often in a hurry, what with getting a run in before work and heading out the door. I, personally, need a big breakfast to get through my day. Beans have both protein and fiber, and the vegetables in this recipe also help make me feel full. I don't eat just the muffins; I usually pair them with a small piece of quiche and a small bowl of fruit.

The ingredients are easy. I use low-sodium beans, and wash and drain them well to get the slimy stuff off.

After washing the beans, I mash them in a bowl with the goat cheese (you can soften it a bit in the microwave first, or just mash it cold). I don't mash all beans down; it's nice to have a few whole beans in there.

Next, I add the eggs, flour and corn starch, then mix everything up with a wooden spoon. Finally, I add the veggies (for today, I used some shredded zucchini I had on hand. Because it had been frozen for a while, it added a little bit of water to the recipe, which doesn't hurt anything). I used pre-shredded carrots, and chopped up a bit of leek.

I love adding chili powder and ground cumin, which you can add to taste. I fill muffin tins to about three-quarters with the mixture, and bake them for 20 minutes at about 400 degrees. They come out a lot like muffins, especially when I use a metal muffin pan and plenty of cooking spray. For some reason, they crumble more if I use the silicone muffin pan.

So delicious I ate half of one before I could take a picture!

For those counting calories or nutrients, here's the nutrition information, per muffin:

As you can see, they have a decent amount of protein, and are low in fat and calories. Again, I eat these in addition to other foods at breakfast, because on their own, I'd have to eat about five of them to feel satisfied! I find that adding beans to my breakfast in some way gets my day off to a great start nutritionally, and when made on Sunday afternoon, I have enough of these for a week's worth of breakfast, and even a quick snack here and there.