The Intuitive Cook: A Healthy New Year

January is always a good month to consider changes, and if one of your resolutions is to eat healthier and/or lose weight then you’re like millions of other Americans with the same goals.

The hard part is actually following through.

Here are five easy tips to guide your eating decisions toward a healthy body.

1. Know your fats. Try to eliminate trans-fats; make an effort to reduce your intake of saturated fats; increase your consumption of unsaturated fats.

2. Choose whole grains.

3. Eliminate artificial sweeteners.

4. Switch to sea salt.

5. Eat a varied and colorful diet.

Of course, these tips can really be summed up as: Eat whole foods rather than processed foods!

Not every bite needs to conform to this rule, but the more that do, the better you’ll look and feel.

Here’s a recipe to get you started on the right path toward a goal of healthy eating.

Honey and Spice Pork

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 1 – 1 1/2 lb. pork tenderloin (Look for boneless center-cut loin pork, 1/2″ thick. Or substitute turkey tenderloin or boneless salmon steaks for the pork.)
• sea salt and pepper, to taste
• 1/2 cup honey
• 6 Tbsp. Dijon or Cajun style mustard
• 1 tsp. ginger, ground
• 1 tsp. cinnamon, ground
• 1/2 tsp. cloves, ground
• 10-16 small potatoes, new or creamer, scrubbed
• 4 carrots, sliced in rounds
• 30-40 green beans, trimmed

Instructions
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Spray inside of 3.5 or 4-quart cast iron Dutch oven and lid with canola oil.

Place pork in pot. Lightly salt and pepper. In a small bowl, mix together honey, mustard, ginger, cinnamon and cloves. Pour over pork. Slice each potato in half and add to pot. Sprinkle carrots and green beans over potatoes.

Cover and bake for 48 minutes, or until the aroma wafts from the oven.

Notes
Pork fans will enjoy the sweet and spicy flavor of this meal. Together with the potatoes, carrots and green beans, you’ll have a flavorful, well-rounded dinner loaded with nutrients and low in saturated fat.