These Mini Muffins Make The Cut in my Performance Kitchen

Let me be clear. I’m no baker. Breads, cakes, pastries and pies? That whole genre of cooking just isn’t my forte.

Fortunately, I’m pretty good at performance bars. I can also cook up a storm when it comes to off-bike nutrition, so all in all, Joe’s a pretty lucky guy to have my performance kitchen at his disposal.

Still, I’m always on the hunt for alternative snacks that work both on and off the bike.

My criteria? Easy, time-efficient, tasty, nutritious, a good balance of macronutrients and, preferably, savoury. After all, we’ve usually got the sweet stuff covered.

Oh, and they need to hold their form when wrapped in foil in a back pocket or handed out of a crew car into a sweaty hand!

These mini muffins tick all the boxes. This non-baker is relieved to have one more bite-sized, savoury option that works equally well on two wheels as it does on two feet.

Savoury Mini Muffins

Makes 12 mini muffins

Ingredients

• 3 tbsp olive oil
• ½ red pepper, deseeded and diced into small pieces
• 1 tbsp pumpkin seeds
• 1 tbsp sunflower seeds (optional)
• 3–4 rashers smoked bacon, grilled until crispy and crumbled
• 200 ml milk
• 1 egg
• 300 g wholemeal self-raising flour
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• ½ tsp salt

Feel free to adjust the ingredients to suit your taste. You could try adding grated cheese and a teaspoon of mixed herbs, for example.

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C fan / 200°C conventional / 400°F. Lightly oil a 12-hole shallow muffin tray or line it with paper cases.
2. Grill the bacon until crispy, then set aside to cool before crumbling.
3. Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Sauté the red pepper for 4–5 minutes. Add the pumpkin and sunflower seeds and cook for another minute or two. Add the crumbled bacon for the final minute.
4. In a bowl, whisk together the milk, egg and remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil.
5. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, smoked paprika and salt.
6. Add the pepper, seeds and bacon to the wet ingredients and stir to distribute evenly.
7. Gently fold the wet mixture into the flour. Take care not to overwork the batter; mix only until everything is combined.
8. Spoon the mixture into the muffin tray. Sprinkle with extra seeds, bacon bits or grated cheese if you fancy.
9. Bake for approximately 20 minutes, until golden on top and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Allow to cool before packing.

Two wheels, two feet, or around the kitchen table?

These muffins offer a savoury alternative to the usual sweet ride snacks, with carbohydrate from the wholemeal flour, alongside fats and some protein from the seeds, egg and bacon.

They’re worth trying on training rides or adventures when you’re looking for something a little different. As always, practise with new foods during training to see how well they sit with you, particularly when the intensity picks up.

They’re also fantastic for sharing, with a skim of butter, sitting around the kitchen table.

A snack truly worthy of two wheels and two feet!

One final note: please recycle your foil. We endurance cyclists and our teams need to do our bit for the environment, too.

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Make your nutrition work for you

Fuelling well doesn’t have to mean complicated plans or the same old snacks. It’s about finding practical, enjoyable ways to support your training, recovery and performance.

At Nutrition with Jill, I help athletes develop personalised nutrition strategies that fit their training, goals and everyday lives.

 Let’s start a conversation about your training and where the right nutrition strategy could take you.