What is better food, better health?

Am I a paleo blogger? No. Do I believe health starts with nutrition? Absolutely. If you're looking for a manifesto on clean eating and arguments in favor of a paleo lifestyle, you won't find it here. Check out The Whole9. In fact even if you're not looking for something radical check that site out anyway. It's a great starting point. It's got links and articles and a whole bunch of science - data - about nutrition and how our bodies use macronutrients. I'm not a licensed expert but I listen to experts who back up their claims with real compelling data. And I've tried a few different things to "eat healthier" over the years - Weight Watchers, Zone, starvation (that was a brilliant one) to name a few. Nothing has been better for me and yielded better results than eating low glycemic with a paleo foundation (it's actually similar to Zone too, but with less precision). I have a busy schedule, a two year old, a husband, a full time job, I work out and I have a closet for a kitchen. I figure there must be a few people out there who can relate to some of that. I used to think eating healthy and making time for regular meaningful exercise was "hard." It really just takes some guidance, awareness, and enthusiasm. So here's a start - here's what I cook and eat (and sometimes what I read).

Sunday, March 10, 2013

Almond Crusted Pork and Sautéed Kale

One good thing about making your own almond milk is that you get to keep the almond meal that you end up with. It makes a great crust for any number of proteins. We've been doing a lot of chicken lately so I got some nice pork tenderloin and cut it into medallions for dinner tonight. It was a hit!

Ingredients:
8 thin cut boneless pork tenderloin medallions
1/2 cup almond meal*
EVOO for the pan
2 cups kale**
Herbs of your choice
Salt & Pepper
2 eggs

* I use the left over almond meal from homemade almond milk.
** I use wilted/non-crispy kale chips - you can tell in my photo there is a mix of that and fresh kale.

Supplies:
Medium pan/skillet
Plate
Cereal bowl
Scratch proof tongs (2 pair)

Serves: 4

Scramble two eggs in a bowl. You might be able to get away with using one egg depending on the size of your pork medallions.

Rinse and dry pork *very throughly*. Since you are not doing a flour dredge before the egg wash it is very important to make sure the pork starts out very dry.

On a plate mix your almond meal with salt, pepper, and your herbs. This time I used tarragon and parsley. Heat the pan to just above medium, with a very small amount of EVOO. The almond meal will absorb the oil quickly so use it sparingly to avoid a greasy taste.

As the pan heats, wash a medallion in the egg wash, then dredge in seasoned almond meal. Lay gently in pan with first set of tongs. After about one minute turn over. Add a few drops of EVOO to help establish a nice sear/crisp and help the coating cook/bond onto the medallion. Depending how quickly you can work and the size of your pan and medallions, you may be able to do two medallions at a time.

Cooking time will depend how thin your medallions are. These were about 1/4 inch and took no more than 4 minutes to cook through. If you find your outside burning but the inside still raw, turn your heat down a touch. Remove from pan using second set of tongs to avoid cross-contamination.

Once the pork is done, toss the kale in a drizzle of EVOO and a dash of salt, pour into the same pan and toss occasionally with scratch proof tongs. I love using one pan - less clean up! But be careful not to cross-contaminate! The tongs you used to remove the cooked pork should be okay and the pan should definitely be alright. Kale is done when its just heated through and no longer crispy like lettuce. I like mine a little "al dente" though.

I made this today - I loved the flavor the almond crust brought to the pork!







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