Refried Bean & Kale Sprouted Corn Breakfast Tacos
Breakfast is a tough meal when you're training and working. My solution is to make breakfasts in advance so I can grab them and eat them quickly post-workout/pre-going to work. Frequently I take breakfast to work with me and eat there, at my desk, so I can stress out over whether or not my co-workers can hear me chewing (Damn you, person who created the open floor plan concept for offices. You're awful. You really weren't thinking of the introverts on this one.)
Once the weather starts to get a little cooler and I'm doing my morning workouts in the dark, I really want a savory breakfast. Which I think is a fancy way of saying "Running in the cold and the dark makes me think I've earned sodium." The recipe below is one you can make a batch of and then take with you where you need to go. The main ingredient is pinto bean, so they also have a lot of plant-based protein, which is ideal for a post-workout breakfast, and/or surviving a day in an office where you accidentally make eye contact with your co-workers a lot, due to the aforementioned open floor plan concept.
What You Need:
One head of kale, roughly chopped
One cup of pinto beans, rehydrated/one can of Pinto Beans
One small onion/One half medium onion, chopped
One garlic clove, minced
Handful of fresh cilantro, chopped
Tablespoon (or more) salt
1/2 cup of water
Two tablespoons vinegar of your choice
Package of corn tortillas (I used Food for Life Sprouted Corn Tortillas)
Optional: Hot Sauce
Salsa
Directions:
You're prepping three separate things here, then putting them all together at the last minute, so the order doesn't really matter too much, but basically, you need to do the three things below prior to step four, where you make your breakfast tacos.
Step One: Put your two tablespoons of vinegar in a saucepan and heat it up over medium heat. Once it's warm, add your kale and stir until it begins to wilt. Put the burner on low and leave the lid on, checking occasionally that it isn't burning.
Step Two: Prepping your tortillas. You can do this one of two ways. The goal is to get them to be a bit more flexible so they don't crumble or break during assembly. If I'm making these to eat right away I'll do step two, but if they're going in the fridge and going to be reheated all week, this is a bit time consuming and I'll go with the microwave method in step one.
One: Put the tortillas in the microwave, covered with a wet paper towel, for about 30 seconds. Keep doing this until they're slightly rubbery and bendy.
Two: Heat up a skillet with some oil. I use my cast iron pan. One by one, put the tortillas on the pan and let them sit on each side for about 45 seconds. This will toast them. Trust me though, it makes the tortillas taste WAY better.
Step Three: Time to make your beans. This is essentially a quick, oil-free way to make refried beans.
Heat up another saucepan to medium heat.
Add the onion and garlic and saute.
Once the onions are translucent (a few minutes) add your beans + liquid. If you're using canned beans, I would use a 1/2 cup of the liquid from that. If you're using rehydrated beans, add your 1/2 cup of water.
Start mashing the beans with a fork while stirring constantly. This is going to take a few minutes.
Once you're getting a refried bean texture, add your salt and cilantro. Keep mashing and stirring.
Add more water/liquid if needed
Step Four: Now that you've got all your ingredients prepped, you can just scoop out a spoonful of kale and spread it evenly onto one side of a tortilla, then layer some beans on top. Fold it over. The beans will make it stick together. Do this until your tacos are assembled. As mentioned you might choose to put some salsa or hot sauce in these, or even just more salt. You ran in the dark. It was cold out. You earned it.
Let me know what you think about these--If they're not hearty enough for you, you can always add potato, other veggies, tofu, even eggs if you eat eggs. I save these in a big glass Tupperware container and put a paper towel between the layers so they don't get soggy. Let me know if you come up with any fun variations!
