Spiced Pork with Sauteed Cabbage & Apples – Recipe! Whole30 Recipe!

Happy New Year! Well, for most Americans the new year brings a list of things we would like to do better, starting with our diet. I think losing weight and getting in shape is the number one new years resolution every year and this year isn’t any different.

I had ordered a copy of Whole30 about six months ago because I wanted to read about this diet that had been around since 2009. It is similar to the Paleo Diet, except that you can’t make pancakes, breads or desserts of any kind out of ground nut meals or gluten-free flours. Also, the Whole30 Diet allows fruits and potatoes, which most low-carb diets don’t. The premise of the diet is to eat proteins, vegetables and fruits (whole foods) for 30 days to see how you feel without weighing yourself.

For me, I am an avid exerciser. I do something to move myself most days of the week. I have been a runner for years and I am finding it more difficult to go the distance I like to run with each year. Not sure if that is going to change with a diet or I just simply need to shift into more power walking, but anyway, I am trying the Whole30 Diet, just to see if I feel any differently.

I started yesterday, and this is what I prepared for dinner last night for me and my husband – Spiced Pork with Sauteed Cabbage & Apples. This recipe is relatively easy to prepare and it has just a few ingredients, which makes it even easier to put together quickly. The dry spices I incorporated are any easy rub that gave the meat an extra boost of flavor. Also, I love fresh cabbage and this quick saute pairs nicely with the pork.

For the next month, I will share my recipes and feelings through my Whole30 process. I promise that I will not include any recipes that I don’t find delicious….as always, flavor matters, happy eating!

Ingredients

2-3 pound pork tenderloin

2 teaspoons fennel seed

1 teaspoon paprika

2 teaspoon onion powder

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon oregano leaves

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 small head of cabbage

1 Granny Smith Apple

1 cup chicken broth

2 teaspoons caraway seed

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

ghee – clarified butter

salt

pepper

olive oil

(Serves 4-6 Servings)

To Prepare:

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Toast the fennel seeds in a skillet until lightly golden brown. Pulverize the seeds in a coffee grinder or herb grinder until fine.

2. Remove the pork from any packaging and place it in a roasting pan with 3 tablespoons of olive oil.

3. Mix the fennel powder with the paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, oregano leaves, cayenne, 1 teaspoon of salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Rub the spice mixture on all sides of the pork.

4. Place the pork into the oven and roast for 25-35 minutes or until the internal temperature of the pork is 138 degrees.

5. While the pork is roasting, slice the cabbage and dice the apple. In a saute pan over medium high heat, add 2 tablespoons of ghee. Then, add the cabbage and apples to the pan and cook for 4 minutes or until the cabbage begins to wilt.

6. Next, add the chicken broth to the cabbage and continue to cook for 5 minutes or until the broth cooks down and the cabbage and apples begin to soften.

7. When the pork is done, remove it from the oven and let it rest in the pan covered with foil.

8. Then, add the caraway seed to the cabbage and toss to combine. Next, add the apple cider vinegar to the cabbage and continue to cook for 3 minutes. Then, add 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper or more to taste and turn off the heat.