Day 5 of 30- Moroccan inspired pork

Mondays are a strange kind of day.  The week is starting and people dread going back to work, but it's always another chance to start fresh.

It was a deligtfully warm 20 degrees F outside today with some headwinds for the entire bikeride in.  It's one thing to be a little tired when faced with this high resistance situation, but it's another to be out of breath, huffing and puffing, and sweating in this weather becaues of the wind.  Not to mention it was the day after a pretty intense weekend of yoga.  winner.  but the sun was shining and the streets were empty, and all you had to do was take a deep breath of the cold crisp morning air and life was ok again.

Today is day 5 of the 30 day challenge.  So far, it has not been difficult to keep up with the limited diet.  It's making me realize that I don't really enjoy meat all that much.  Occasionally, it's the perfect solution to the day, but to have it every day is just too much.  Maybe it's because I'm shifting from a largely meat absent diet to a largely meat present diet.  I'll be honest, the meals are tasty and they fill me up and keep me full longer, but there's an adjustment period and my body is not happy with the sudden onslaught of animal proteins.

My vegetable consumption hasn't changed much in quantity or variety, which is nice.  The hardest things have been giving up the grains (i looooooooooooooove rice..... and all grains) and exchanging my beans and legumes and dairy as a protein source for meat.  There's major temptation to just grab a bowl of rice and devour it, mixing it up with that delicious Moroccan sauce..... and eating it with the chicken and the salad.... but that'll have to wait.

In the mean time, here's a delightful recipe for last night's simple and easy to make Moroccan inspired dinner

Ingredients

Pork chops (1 serving = palm sized piece)
Coconut milk
Chicken broth
1-2 small handfuls raisins
1 small onion, chopped
Cumin
Cinnamon
Salt
Pepper

Since measuring equipment was not available, eyeball it to your hearts content and adjust to taste.

1.  Slice pork chops into strips, 1/2"-1" in width.  Salt and pepper the slices and cook fully in a cast iron skillet.
2.  Deglaze the pan with enough chicken broth and coconut milk.  Toss in a handful or two of the raisins, and the onions and let simmer for a bit.
3.  Add cumin and cinnamon.  Stir some more until the onions are translucent and fully cooked and raisins are soft.
4.  Toss the strips of meat back into the skillet and coat the meat in the sauce.

Serve with a side of some tasty vegetables.

Porky strips of deliciousness

enjoy.

til next time, eat well and be well