Food Life - Ep. 2: Pork w/ Sweet Potatoes & Pineapple

If you're trying to do low fat/high protein macros, and you want to actually enjoy the food you're eating: Pork is a terrific option.

It's lean, easy to cook, readily available pretty much everywhere, and it's not prohibitively expensive.

I tend to make a lot of meat-heavy chili to generally have around the house, and stash them in the freezer for "emergency" moments when I haven't had opportunity to meal-prep/plan... (I'll post a chili recipe in the near future - but today, it's time for pure comfort food based around savory pork, and naturally sweet sides.)

If your typical daily food intake looks ANYTHING like mine, (which it may, or may not) -one of the big changes that I made when I decided to change my lifestyle was: virtually no added sugar.

Added sugar is nothing but empty calories, and you get literally nothing of value from it. The effect this has in the long term, is that the calories I am eating, are more worthwhile, quality calories that my body can actually USE, and then when I actually do have sweet treats, I both appreciate it MORE, and EAT LESS of it because I actually appreciate the flavors, while not needing the sheer quantity anymore.

I've been told that science says: After the 5th bite of something you're eating, it doesn't get any better. The first 5 bites is where all of the flavor/taste enjoyment comes from, and after that, it's just quantity. - I don't have a reference for that, so we're just going to take my word on it, and believe it to be true because I want it to be true.

So why did I mention the "virtually no added sugar" bit? WELL - when you have very little sugar/sweetness in your daily dietary repertoire, whenever you introduce something that's even a little bit sweet, it tastes REALLY sweet. Like sweet potatoes, mixed with pineapple. O.M.G.

So - on to the actual recipe at hand: Sheet Pan Pork with Sweet Potatoes & Pineapple. 

Prep Time: About 20-25min (depending on how fast you are with your prep)

Cook Time: 20-35min (depending on the size of your meat... #jokes)

Ingredient List: (This is just a guide... I tend to make DOUBLE this recipe so I can have leftovers.)

• 1 pound sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into bite size chunks
• 1.5c pineapple chunks (I like Trader Joe's Tidbits)
• 1 red onion, cut into bite size wedges
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 to 1 teaspoon black pepper depending on your taste
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon paprika (I use smoked paprika, but either is OK)
• 1 teaspoon thyme (I use za'atar - the choice is yours)
• As much Red Pepper Flakes as you like
• 1 pork tenderloin/loin, trimmed (1.5lb to ????)

Start by prepping everything like you are your own prep-chef. I almost always pre-chop and prepare everything when I am cooking, so that when I am actually COOKING, I get to pretend like I'm on a TV show, and magically everything only takes 30 seconds, because it's already pre-measured out and chopped neat and tidy.

So - peel and chop the sweet potato, and red onion, and put in a bowl with the pineapple. Then put the tablespoon of olive oil in, and mix it all up with some salt & pepper. (Don't measure the salt and pepper, just use your heart, let it tell you how much to use. You know what's right and what's wrong here. Live a little.) - Also the last time I made this recipe, I had some adobo sauce leftover in my fridge, so I tossed a little bit in with the mixture to give it a little bit of smoky-chili-heat, but you don't HAVE to do that... It did turn out very nice though.

It should look a little something like this:

That's a big bowl of orange/yellow stuff....

Bite-Size. If you need to chew more than twice, it's too big.

Line a baking sheet with foil, spray it with some spray (not WD-40 please - make sure it's something edible) then arrange your mixture on the sheet.

After you have the mixture of veggies (we're calling it "veggies" even though a full third of it is pineapple, because it SOUNDS healthier, right?) - anyway, after you have the veggies arranged on the tray, you should preheat your oven..... to let's say 425 F, because, why not? I'm making this up on the spot, and that seems like a pretty solid number.

While the oven is preheating, you can make the dry-rub mixture for the pork. You can measure everything if it makes you happy, or can toss a little here, a little there, flinging spices around your kitchen like a fairy godmother... as long as you end up with something resembling this:

You might want to stir it up before you rub it on the pork, but hey, I'm not your REAL DAD, I can't tell you what to do.

Right before you start rubbing your pork (I cannot say that with a straight face) - put the veggies in the oven, but don't worry about starting the timer yet, and it's OK if the oven hasn't finished preheating. 

NOW you can put the rub mixture on the pork.

Once the pork is rubbed... you need to brown it in a pan for a few minutes on each side on MEDIUM-HIGH heat. If you feel like you need some oil in your pan for this, you're wrong. The pork should have a little bit of fat on it, and if you're having trouble with pan-stickage, (real word.. fight me bro) you can put a splash of chicken stock/ vegetable stock/ broth/ saliva/whatever in the pan. I would recommend against saliva, and would really stick with broth/stock on this one, and frankly, I keep chicken bone broth on hand at all times as an oil-cooking substitute (and I use it in salad dressings in lieu of olive oil/etc) so it's a good idea to own some in your life in general.

It shouldn't take more than a few minutes to brown the pork on each side, and then you can open the oven (which should be fully pre-heated by now, AND remember the veggies are already inside? You put them there a couple minutes ago) and you can lay the pork right on top of the veggies, close the oven, and set the timer for 20-25 minutes.

Just lay the pork right on top of the veggies, and close the oven.

Depending on the size of your pork loin, (smaller tenderloins will have a faster cook time) - your cook time could be shorter or longer. Most likely longer, as 20min is the minimum time I've seen for a smallish tenderloin. The temperature you're shooting for is 145 F when your thermometer is inserted into the thickest portion of the meat. (If you don't have a meat thermometer, get one. You're an adult, and it's totally unacceptable to not own a meat thermometer.)

When you pull it out of the oven, it's going to look like this, and your whole kitchen is going to smell amazing:

Obviously, since my thermometer says 146 F - It's ruined. The F is for FAILURE apparently.

Move the loin to a cutting board to cut it. It's right there in the name. (Oh my, look at that glorious browned-crust that formed... This is what happens if you use a larger piece of meat that requires a longer cook time.)

Let the pork sit for a few minutes before you cut it... I tend to let it sit around 5 to 10min... depending on how Hangry™ my girlfriend is.... (The struggle is REAL.)

Serving Suggestion - or, just eat it.... whatever. 

I portion it out with 3/4 cup of the veggie mixture, with 8 oz of pork. (Remember? I am assuming you own a food scale.) - At that portion, you'll get a solid meal, and the macros/calories are pretty solid:

• 3/4 cup of the veggie mixture: 146 Calories @ 31.3g Carbs, 1.6g Fat, 2.3g Protein
• 8oz pork: 240 Calories @ 2g Carbs, 5g Fat, 46g Protein

Combined: 387 Calories @ 33g Carbs, 7g Fat, 48g Protein

I like to splash a touch of soy sauce on it, with a little cracked peppercorns, but that is entirely up to you.... It makes great leftovers as well, and portions well for lunches on the go also.

Until next time... when we'll either be discussing CHILI, Homemade PROTEIN WAFFLES, or I'll introduce you to what my Girlfriend and I call "Trash Soup" and "Love Salad"......