Beans for breakfast
As a plant-based eater, I'm a big fan of beans. In fact, I think one of the best things people, particularly in America, can do for their health is to eat more of them. Up until recently, I've reserved this staple for lunch and dinner. But a week ago I added them to my morning oatmeal and I'm now obsessed with beans for breakfast.
My daily breakfast is oatmeal, usually steel cut oats, with a cup of berries, flaxseed, chia or hemp seed, soy milk, and maybe some vegan protein powder. This usually gets me around 30 grams of protein, give or take a little, and about 20 grams of fiber. But recently when we were out of protein powder I made the swap with 1/2 cup of Cannellini beans. I chose this white bean because it has a creamy neutral flavor compared to other varieties. I've since also tried this with Great Northern beans and those worked just as well.
I cooked the steel cut oats on the stove like normal. While those were cooking I mashed the beans up with a fork and added them to the oats when after they were about done cooking. I simply mixed the two together in the pan thoroughly and then added the oat and bean mixture to my bowl along with the other toppings.
I couldn't even tell the beans were there! That may not be the case with other varieties that have a more distinct flavor, though. I still ended up with nearly the same amount of protein (I'm not a stickler about hitting a specific protein goal at every meal) and even more fiber.
Anyway, if you're looking to up your bean consumption, why not try them for breakfast? Another great way to have beans for breakfast would be in a veggie loaded tofu scramble, or mashed and seasoned and spread over toast straight from the can.