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.

Cheater, Cheater

For the last six weeks, I've been participating in a weight loss challenge at work. I wanted to lose a few pounds (I've lost about four) and basically just kick-start the healthy habits I know are in there. Specifically, I wanted to work on my food journal-writing. All of my trainers made me do this, but it fell by the wayside when I was no longer required to show it to someone else.

I had tried My Fitness Pal before, but find that this time, it's easier to make myself post what I'm eating (there's even an iPhone app!). So I've been plugging along, drinking four 17-ounce bottles of water a day, 2-3 cups of tea, and using the loo a lot.

The best part is not being 5th in the standings (as of last week), as much as it's really learning about what I'm putting into my body. My Fitness Pal shows exactly how many calories, fat grams, protein grams, carbs, sugars, etc. you need each day based on your height, weight, and goals. It modifies them for the day when you input exercise, which I love because I exercise six days a week and need more than the applications' allowed calories for me (1,320 if I want to lose a pound a week) if I want to stay alive. Running makes a lady hungry.

The hardest part of the challenge has been the "no sweets" aspect, and here, I've lost points a time or two because I've allowed myself little indulgences, like a few pieces of Dove chocolate one day, or a cookie another. But last week, it was double points for avoiding sweets, so I put on a brave face and went for it. I figured my one "cheat day" would even things out.

Then I weighed in for the week and found that...I'd maintained my weight to the decimal.

It seems that in weeks when I allow the occasional treat, maybe every 2-3 days, just a small amount of chocolate, I actually lose more weight.

Now, I'm not saying that chocolate is now some magical diet cure-all. It's not. I can't eat six Hershey bars without facing the consequences, but I'm learning that if, 2-3 times a week, I just allow myself that small amount of chocolate amid all the veggies and fruits and lean proteins and crazy workouts, I do a lot better overall, and I'm happy because I don't feel like my diet regime is restrictive...and it's really not, because I eat a lot of flavorful, healthy foods. Still, I want my chocolate sometimes.

This has gotten me thinking about the concept of a "Cheat Day" in dieting. I ran my thoughts by the teacher in charge of the challenge and she agreed that she sometimes overindulges on her "Cheat Day" to make up for all the times in the week she was "good." I do exactly the same thing, and in the long run, it doesn't seem to be successful for me. But when I get my exercise days in, eat a lot of healthy food, and indulge in small treats a few times a week, I'm just fine. But then, eating some Justin's Peanut Butter cups (140 calories for the dark chocolate ones, and better than Reese's!) is a drop in the pan when I have a 4-mile morning run.

It all goes back to a beef I have with the so-called "diet industry" overall--that losing weight is somehow sentencing yourself to never enjoying food again, to always "being good" and never having treats. It's not true! We need to eat to stay alive, but I maintain that food should be enjoyable. Yes, I make mine mostly healthy foods (if you knew how much spinach I consume in any given week, you'd be surprised I'm not green), but there is nothing boring or tasteless about eating a veggie "fajita" of spinach, mushrooms, sweet peppers, onion, garlic and goat cheese, or my daily breakfast of scrambled eggs with veggies and black beans.

The more I learn about my eating habits and how they work for me, the more I realize that I can live a very healthy lifestyle and not feel like I'm cheating of being horrible to myself on those times I indulge in a little bit of something decadent. I hope others can learn that, too, because a healthy lifestyle isn't an all-or-nothing prospect. I don't feel like I've given anything up, except 90 extra pounds...but I've gained so much.

I'm interested in hearing what others have to say about this. Drop a comment!

Pumpkin Butternut Quiche

I promised my friend Erik I'd share the recipe, so...here you go, Erik!

For starters, I used a quiche recipe I've been using for years:

3/4 cup Bisquick
1 1/2 cup milk
3 eggs

You can modify the mount of milk and Bisquick you use, but this time I used these values, only I used Silk instead of cow's milk.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. I use Pam on the pie plate to prevent sticking.

From there you can add anything to quiche--the possibilities are endless. For this one, I chopped up some butternut squash into thin slices, and added them to the pie plate with some chopped onion. For the batter, I mixed the Bisquick, Silk and eggs, then added a can of pumpkin, a dash of nutmeg, and a little bit of curry powder (this is optional, and obviously to taste).

I used an electric hand mixer to beat everything together, poured it over the squash and onions, then baked it for 45 minutes. Voila! An easy, healthy meal. And delicious.

Gratuitous Food Post

Earlier this week, I had a yen for a good curry. I have a few tried-and-true recipes I've found in the last few years, but they are time-consuming, so making a curry dinner isn't just something I can throw together. I figured Friday would work, as I had today off from Petite School. This afternoon, I set out to make the whole house smell of spices.

Lots and lots of spices.

My favorite part of making Indian food is measuring out all of the necessary spices into small bowls, keeping them with the appropriate recipes. It streamlines the process later. I also chopped a couple of onions to have on hand--all three recipes call for onion. The prep work for my recipes--curried chicken, a potato and cauliflower dish, and spinach-lentil dahl, is pretty hefty. I have to wash and chop the veggies, soak the lentils, measure stuff out.

 

Then I start cooking at chaos reigns. Stir this, check that. Don't let this one boil over, or burn to the sides of the pot. By this time today, I had Mom assisting. We added fresh low-fat coconut milk to the dishes to make them a little bit creamier.

Curried chicken on the left; potatoes and cauliflower on the right. I ad-libbed
that recipe and it came out a lot like korma.

Spinach Lentil dahl. So good for you, so delicious.

The cooking part goes pretty quickly, and before long, we were serving up platefuls of spicy curry. Mom and Dad were very complimentary, and I almost licked that plate clean. This meal was made with all fresh ingredients--nothing from a can, unless you count the spices, but I don't. No butter, only bits of olive oil. The most fat in these recipes comes from the coconut milk, which, compared to cow's milk, is really low. 

The best part? Tons of leftovers.

Pumpkin Snickerdoodles

If you are friends with me on Facebook, you might recall a week-and-a-half ago, when I mentioned making eight dozen pumpkin snickerdoodle cookies in one Sunday morning.

Yeah. Oy.

They are fantastic cookies (recipe can be found here--came to me via Pinterest)--soft, chewy, with a lovely flavor that is not overly sweet. If you love pumpkin, you'll love these.

Anyway, the cookies were made a week in advance of a Christmas Cookie Exchange that Mom's friend Harriet hosts each year, and a day in advance of Mom's shoulder surgery. We froze them for a week and thawed them on Saturday morning--they were still soft and gorgeous.

Anywho, enough words. I attended the exchange with Mom (she can't drive just yet) and had a lovely time. I took a few pictures because who doesn't love cookies?

I had some almond-flavored champagne. It was gorgeous.

The table, groaning under the weight of all that sugar!

The marshmallows would be super-easy to make, and kids would LOVE
them.

On the right--Cherry Drop Chocolate Chip cookies.

A little blurry, but yes, they do look delicious!

I made an unabashed pig of myself. No regrets. Harriet even provided
ice-cold milk, which was just perfect.

I Scream, You Scream...

We all scream for ice cream!!

I love ice cream. While the Cake vs. Pie debate rages on forever on the Internet, I'll just be in my corner, eating straight out of the carton of Ben and Jerry's. Dublin Mudslide (think non-alcoholic Bailey's ice cream). Red Velvet cake. Ben and Jerry know their ice cream, and how to make me happy.

Of course, my new lifestyle doesn't allow for tons and tons of ice cream. I have the occasional treat, once every couple of months, and believe me, I enjoy it. A lot. But no longer do I buy pints of Ben and Jerry's, or half gallons of Dreyer's. I just can't if I want to maintain the level of fitness I've reached. Ever try going for a run after overindulging on ice cream?

It's not pretty.

Anyway, temps have been soaring here in the Sacra-tomato Valley. If it's not 100 degrees today, it's very close, and has been every day this week. Even with the air conditioner cranked up and aimed directly at my face and armpits, driving around out there is miserable, and sometimes, a girl gets home and just wants ice cream.

Here's my solution.

I recently indulged and bought myself the chocolate-flavored protein whey supplement at the gym. I've been using the vanilla for months in my daily protein smoothies, with lots of fruit and spinach. I got the idea to try the chocolate, and blended it with a banana, a handful of spinach (you don't taste it, and it's packed with nutrients), a tablespoon of peanut butter, and some chocolate-flavored almond milk (much better than cow's milk). Needless to say, it's delicious. Even better? It's healthy, and something I have to consume anyway.

A few days ago, I got the idea to try freezing it. What do you know? It comes out just like frozen yogurt. I can trick myself into thinking I'm getting ice cream instead of yet another smoothie (I drink two a day to help my muscles recover from all the working out I do).

I have a feeling I'll be eating a lot of "ice cream" this summer.

Taken with Instagram on my new-yes-I-absolutely-love-it iPhone.

Breakfast At Saul's

I went to Summer's choir concert in Oakland last night, and to avoid the two-hour drive home at 10:00, I stayed the night at her place (she and Ben are so hospitable and welcoming). This morning, after Ben left for work, Summer and I headed out to get some brunch. Rudy's Can't Fail Cafe in Emeryville was packed to the gills, so we ended up at a fantastic Jewish deli that Summer knows of in Berkeley.

Of course, I texted Maayan that I was getting latke, and felt the need to take a picture of the ever-present Cali Swimmy on said latke.

The lady at the table next to us did a double-take. Summer said, "It's a long story." I giggled and mentioned that the duck has four other ducky friends around the world, one who is Jewish. The lady loved it, though she did point out that it was a first for her, seeing someone take a picture of a duck on a latke.

And this, my friends, is what I love about my silly little duck.

Whole wheat toast, spinach-feta omelet, latke, applesauce and sour
cream. I ate about half of that and walked away FULL.

Ladies Who Lunch

In our effort to have a mini-adventure on the first Friday of every month in 2012, today Summer and I met in Dixon, California, to try out a tea shop. Dixon is a farming community off of Interstate 80, about halfway between Summer's home in Oakland and my home in Lincoln. After a good workout at the gym this morning, I showered and then set off to meet Summer.

Linde Lane Tea Room is absolutely darling. We had a marvelous time, sitting for a couple of hours, chatting, sipping tea. I took pictures, of course, because everything was done beautifully and the food was delicious. So without further ado, here are my pictures...

They don't do "matchy-matchy" tea services, which I found charming.

Our table.

Across from us, a chess table.

I had caramel tea--and I love the idea of using dog ID tags to ID the flavor!

Italian Wedding Soup...so yummy.

Sorbet and a cookie.

I had the Duchess Tea--less food than the Queen Tea, which is great for a
woman who is watching calories (guess who's going LIGHT for dinner
tonight?).

Triple Berry Jam and clotted cream.

Summer

Yours Truly being cheesy.

Is this fabulous, or what?

I kind of want to make something like this now.

Linde Lane was absolutely charming, and I love this, from their web site:

You will notice that at Linde Lane, we DO leave our crust on our tea sandwiches.  We do this to conserve waste out of respect for those who are less fortunate.

We had a marvelous time and I'd love to go back someday. 

Christmas At the Cooper's

I've been taking a lot of random pictures yesterday and today, and thought I'd share them here. I hope everyone is having a very happy holiday, filled with family and good cheer. Ours here has been quiet. I ran for thirty straight minutes this morning--no walking, no stopping, no intervals, just thirty straight minutes of running. After that, I've just stayed at home, playing around on my Kindle, helping Mom make our lovely Christmas Eve dinner, and enjoying some quiet time with Mom and Dad. 

Without further ado, here are my pictures...

Yes, I bought a dumbbell ornament at the gym!

I also bought this one this year. Too cute!

One of my favorite Hallmark ornaments. Push the button and it
does the trombone "wah-wah" teacher voice!

My ridiculous tree on the kitchen table.

"Harassing the tree? Me? Never! If you're going to
accuse me, I'm going to have to call my apurrrney."

Mom's magazine-worthy tree.

The official White House ornament--given to Mom and Dad by some
friends.

Last night, Santa Swimmy (yes, I bought a Santa duck) and I watched
"A Charlie Brown Christmas."

People assume I watch this every year, but in fact, it had been a few years
since I last watched. This is my favorite part. : )

A Christmas gift from Dad--his interview for the
Veteran's History Project on DVD. There is a copy of
this interview in the Library of Congress.

Millie and Duchess sharing the bed and some Christmas cheer.

Yummy! Pumpkin pie...

There's a Swimmy in the tree!

It's often impossible to get a clear pic of my constantly-moving cat.

Harley reacts to learning that Santa Paws will be leaving him dog food
in his stocking for unrolling the toilet paper two days in a row this week
and harassing Bella.

Cheers! Mom and I had some sparkling wine.

Bella and Duchess enjoying some sister time.

Me and my girl...

Dinner. I have printed this picture to show M. the Reasonable on Monday
that I, too, can be reasonable when it comes to eating holiday dinner!

Pumpkin soup.

Sweet Spot Sweeties

I got up to help Mom serve up the pumpkin pie...didn't take him long to
move right on in.

We wish you a Swimmy Christmas and a Happy New Year.

I hope you are enjoying your Christmas Eve as much as I am! Merry Christmas, friends!