Cinnamon Pinto Bean Muffins
I know, I know… Bean muffins? Where does it end?
Honestly though, I love using beans as a base for baked goods! They’re versatile, cheap, and packed full of fiber and protein! Just like you would use bananas or sweet potatoes, beans can be blended in to a liquid and provide the dense base in many desserts or dishes. Also, we all need a bit more fiber!
They can be a great addition to your morning breakfast, you have them as a filling snack, or or you can add them on your smoothie bowls like I do!
Prebiotics + Health:
We are just now getting into the science of the gut microbiome, which largely impacts our health, our mood, and the development of disease in our lifetime! What helps to keep our gut microbiome healthy? A diverse intake of whole foods does, but mostly: fiber!
We’ve been told the well-known tale that fiber keeps us regular, and while it does that and it feels so good to not be stopped up, it also acts as a prebiotic, which is essentially food for our gut bacteria (which are probiotics). Prebiotics has several benefits to our health, I cannot express this enough! They can:
Boost our immune system
Stabilize your blood sugar
Heal our digestive tract lining
Decrease inflammatory biomarker levels in the body
Improve our skin and cardiovascular health
Give us ENERGY!
How cool and powerful is that?! We need this prebiotic fiber! In fact, researchers and now calling it the nutrient of concern, since so many people do not consume the daily recommendation (which is still low, in my opinion) of 25-30 grams.
Beans in particular contain the prebiotic fiber called galaco-oligosaccharides, which are fermented in by our gut bacteria and produce the gas we associate with bean consumption. You know the song: beans, beans, good for the heart…. (sing it, lovie!).
However, this does not mean that you need eliminate them! The more you consume them, the more easily fermentable they become as you begin develop the right bacteria (healing the gut), and long term, most people bulking up on high fiber plant foods do not appear to have any problems with gas (also speaking from experience, my loves). With the fiber, you want to go low and slow. I love this recipe because you can eat a muffin or two and feel full from the fiber and the protein while also providing your gut bacteria with what it wants and craves!
This recipe is packed with prebiotic fiber in the pinto beans and chickpea flour! Pinto beans are one of my favorite beans. They area also packed with folate, which is essential for cell division and growth, and copper, which is essential for proper liver detoxification and the proper use of iron in the body.
I also love that there are no oils in this recipe, which is really common with a lot of baked good recipes. I say no to oils any time that I can, as they are technically not a whole food, but processed. Here is a list of some inflammatory oils to avoid, but I just avoid them all if I can. I love my oil free life!
Can we make these already?!
Makes: 12 muffins
Time to make: 45 minutes
Ingredients:
1 can pinto beans with fluid
3 eggs
1/2 cup raw honey
1/4 cup almond butter (no added oil)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 heaping tbsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup chickpea flour
Recipe:
Pre-heat oven to 350*F.
My best trick in making muffins or pancakes is to use the Vitamix.
Add all ingredients into the Vitamix except the flour. Blend on low until incorporated and beans have been broken down.
Slowly add in 1/4 cup of flour at a time to the Vitamix. Turn up the blender and blend until smooth, about 2-3 minutes.
Line your muffin tin with liners (I love these) and use an ice cream scoop to scoop in mixture evenly into 12 muffins.
Bake for 30-35 minutes, let cool for 10, and enjoy with almond butter on top!
Other References:
BULSIEWICZ WILL. Fiber Fueled: The Plant-Based Gut Health Program for Losing Weight, Restoring Your Health, and... Optimizing Your Microbiome. S.l.: AVERY PUB GROUP; 2022.
LeVeque K. Body Love Every Day: Choose Your Life-Changing 21-Day Path to Food Freedom. New York, NY: William Morrow, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers; 2020.
Hill S. Proof Is in the Plants. Penguin Random House Australia; 2021.
Greger M, Stone G. How Not to Die Discover the Foods Scientifically Proven to Prevent and Reverse Disease. London: Pan; 2018.