Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Sautéed Kale and Buttered Pasta

Grilled Pork Tenderloin

'Bobo' tea-tapioca pearls with Cream de Cassis and Coconut Milk

Sautéed Kale and Swiss Chard, pork tenderloin and buttered parsley pasta

Furukake sprinkled on the pork as a 'condiment'

A delicious low-fat healthy dinner that is full of flavor in each and every bite!

Pork Tenderloin

Rub olive oil over the tenderloin and season with salt and pepper (I use pink Himalayan salt since it comes from deep within the earth and is not contaminated along with fresh ground black pepper). I also prepared a small dish of jelly and balsamic vinegar which got basted onto the tenderloin while is was grilling. I use what I have on hand and today it was a jalapeno passion fruit jelly. Approximately equal amounts (I don't measure anything-can you tell?). Heat your BBQ grill on high until it reaches 400 degrees F and once you get the tenderloin on the grill, turn the heat down to medium. Baste the top with the glaze and when it is time to turn it over (how long depends on how much your tenderloin weighs and how think it is)-it is ready to turn over when the meat no longer sticks to the grill. Once you turn it over, use the rest of the glaze for that side. Cook until it reaches an internal temperature of 140-160 degrees F (depending on if you want it medium rare to medium well). I usually turn the gas off about 5 minutes before it is done and keep the lid closed and let the heat that is in the BBQ finish cooking it off. When it is cooked to the doneness you want, pull it off the grill and onto a platter and let it rest in a draft free-animal free area (last thing you want is your kitty or doggie to help themselves!). Slice it on a diagonal when ready to serve, but let it rest for a good 10 minutes or more so that the juices stay in the meat when cut.

Sautéed Kale and Swiss Chard

You don't have to use both-one or the other is fine. The kale I got was a young kale-the leaves were the size of Arugula. Cut up the kale and chard into bite sized strips. Heat up you pan and olive oil-when heated (not smoking though-about medium high heat), drop some julienned fresh ginger into the oil and get it going for a bit before adding the cut up kale and chard. This is the time to drop your salt and pepper in-again, I use pink Himalayan salt and fresh ground pepper. Cook this until everything is wilted and soft. Add a couple of tablespoons of butter or non-trans fat margarine and a white balsamic vinegar (I used a Serrano-Honey vinegar you can get on line at the Albuquerque Olive Oil site). Optional but a rather tasty element-sprinkle with Furukake before serving.

Buttered Pasta

I love using the pasta from Costco (Garafolo)-it is organic and made in Italy, so it is a high quality pasta that never gets soggy when you cook it. Being pre-diabetic, I also found that it doesn't mess up my blood sugar, so it must have a lower glycemic index than most pastas. Rice is pretty much off limits for me. Cook your pasta up in a pot of water that has been salted and brought to a rolling boil. When cooked, drain it but DO NOT RINSE IT! Doesn't take long to drain-put it back in the same pot or a serving dish, add a few tablespoons of butter and flat chopped parsley along with salt and pepper (again, I use pink Himalayan salt and freshly ground pepper).

Happy cooking!

Turkey Meatballs in a Non Dairy Basil Cream Sauce

Perhaps not the best presentation of this meal but, you'll have to take my word for it that it was not only delicious, but very healthy to eat.

Pictured below is the end result accompanied by a nice glass of Cabernet Sauvignon. The meatballs are turkey and pork, served up with steamed purple sweet potatoes and steamed Swiss chard (heirloom variety). A balsamic vinegar and olive oil was drizzled over the Swiss chard.

Making the meatballs

I used equal amounts (roughly) of ground turkey and ground pork-perhaps a pound each. In a large bowl, combine the ground meats with some freshly chopped parsley (flat or curly), one beaten egg, breadcrumbs or rolled oats (about a half a cup), salt, pepper, Worcestershire sauce, freshly chopped basil (or the dried herb), and some garlic (fresh or powder-I used powder since that is what I had on hand). How much of the seasonings is entirely up to you and your taste buds!

Mix all of this thoroughly and form into balls onto a greased baking sheet. Bake them in a pre-heated oven at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes-be sure to turn them over halfway through. When the juices run clear, they are done. If you're still not sure, use a meat thermometer and it will need to read 160 degrees.

Basil Cream Sauce

In a blender, combine approximately 3 cups of coconut cream (not coconut milk!), some chicken broth base-which is a concentrate (I use the "Better than Broth" brand and I used 1 tablespoon-if you don't have this, then omit it and add more salt to taste), some freshly chopped basil, parsley, fresh black pepper and garlic. Since I have a Vitamix, I used the 'hot soup' program and let it run until it was done-giving me a sauce that was already heated. If you don't have this, just be sure to blend everything together well and then transfer the liquid to a saucepan and heat it up until just before a boil. If you want a thicker sauce, use your favorite method of thickening technique (I myself will do a roux but I didn't use anything at all in this recipe). This is a good point to correct your seasoning by tasting it and seeing if you need to add any more salt or pepper.

Coconut cream and fresh basil and parsley

Preparing the Swiss Chard and the sweet potato

Nothing complicated about either of these-they were both steamed in a steamer on the stove! Just make sure to wash everything well before steaming. I prefer steaming the potato instead of baking it-not to mention that it cooks faster since it is cut up into large chunks.

Swiss Chard-the heirloom variety

Steamed purple (Molokai of aka Okinawan) sweet potatoes

And, there you have it! A scrumptious dish that is better for the heart and waistline!