Asian-Inspired Pulled Pork with Pickled Vegetables

Ingredients

Pickles

2 cups water
3 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoon kosher salt
2 cups white or rice vinegar
1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated
1 bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 red onion, thinly sliced
1 cucumber, thinly sliced

Pork

1 tbsp ghee
4lb pork shoulder - I prefer bone-in pork shoulder but either will work
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 cup dry white wine (I like sauvignon blanc for this recipe)
1 cup low-sodium tamari
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 yellow onion, chopped
2 - 3 tbsp fresh ginger, grated
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper, optional

Directions

  1. Heat ghee in a large skillet or cast iron pan over medium heat. Sear pork shoulder, about 5 minutes per side, to brown all sides.

  2. Remove pork and place in your slow cooker.

  3. Drain all but about 1 tbsp fat from the pan.

  4. Add onions and sauté until starting to soften.

  5. Add garlic and ginger and sauté until fragrant, about 1 - 2 minutes.

  6. Add white wine and simmer for 2 - 3 minutes to cook off the alcohol.

  7. Add tamari, chicken broth, and crushed red pepper. Bring to a simmer.

  8. Pour contents of the pan over the pork in the slow cooker.

  9. Cook pork shoulder on low for 8 hours or until the pork easily shreds with a fork.

  10. While the pork is cooking, thinly slice all pickle vegetables. I like using a mandolin for this. Once sliced, put into a large glass jar.

  11. In a small saucepan, add water, vinegar, salt, and sugar and bring to a boil. Once boiling, stir to dissolve sugar and salt. Remove from heat and stir in minced ginger. Pour liquid over veggies in the glass jar. Let them sit until you’re ready to eat!

Serves 8

Notes

No slow cooker? You can follow the steps above, but using a large dutch oven. Preheat oven to 300 degrees. After step 6, put the dutch oven in the oven and cook for about 3 hours or until pork easily shreds with a fork.

Don’t want to make your own pickles? Thinly slice your veggies and then save some of the extra liquid in the slow cooker (after cooking!) to use as a dressing for the veggies later.

What should you serve this amazingness on? I like quinoa, black rice, or cauliflower rice for blood-sugar friendly options. I used black quinoa in the photo above. Black quinoa has more antioxidants than regular quinoa, so it’s a favorite of mine!

Nutrition Facts
As written, this has:
Calories: 357
Total fat: 10g
Carbohydrates: 19g
Protein: 38.9g
Fiber: 2.5g
Some notable vitamins and minerals include:
Iron: 16.8%
Vitamin C: 50.9

Beet and Lentil Stew

Ingredients

1 tbsp ghee
1 red onion, diced
1 carrot, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 medium/large beets with their greens, peeled and chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
½ tsp dried thyme
½ tsp dried oregano
1 bay leaf
1.5 c dried lentils
4 c vegetable broth
½ tsp sea salt (more to taste)
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
5 oz goat cheese (I like garlic and herb goat cheese here best!)

directions 

  1. Chop all your veggies.

  2. In a large pot or dutch oven, heat the ghee over medium heat. Add all the chopped veggies. Sauté until the start to soften, about 5 minutes.

  3. Add garlic, thyme, and oregano. Sauté for 1 – 2 minutes, until garlic becomes fragrant.

  4. Add lentils, broth, and bay leaf, and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 25 minutes or until lentils are softened.

  5. While the lentils and veggies are simmering, clean and chop the beet greens. No greens on your beets? Sub 2 – 4 c spinach, Swiss chard, or kale.

  6. After simmering, stir in red wine vinegar and beet greens. Stir until greens are wilted.

  7. Top with goat cheese and enjoy!

Serves 5

If nutrition facts are your thing, as written, this has the following:
Calories: 340
Fat: 9 g
Carbs: 47 g
Fiber: 8 g
Protein: 20 g
And some standout vitamins and minerals:
Vitamin A: 51%
Vitamin B9/Folate: 80%
Vitamin C: 9%
Iron: 29%
Phosphorous: 15%
Magnesium: 10%
Zinc: 18%