Inexpensive Smoked Pork Loin

Hello consumers.  Which the price of everything going up I have been trying to find good healthy choices that won't make me go broke.  

My wife and I shop at Sam's Club and yes we are Plus members.  We do that for the 2% cash back on our purchases and there are many things we buy and share with family members.  Also, if you use the Sam's credit card, you get an additional 3% cash back on all credit card purchases in the store and online with free shipping.  Well, that is enough of a commercial for Sam's Club, don't cha think?

On my last run to Sam's last week I was searching around for a good choice of beef to prepare and cook with my smoker.  My DynaGlo offset smoker does a great job and I love to use it.  Well, beef prices are absolutely absurdly through the roof.  A decent brisket that used to be in the $25-$30 range, they are all $70- 80.  For a freakin' brisket!!!!!  That is unacceptable for such a low end beef cut.  I can't do it, or actually, I will not do it.  

So, what I did find as a great cut of meat at Sam's Club was a pork loin.  It was a smaller one as you can see my my receipt clip and ad on SamsClub.com.

We cut it into 3 equal pieces and packaged it for the freezer.  

This week I prepared one of the pieces on the smoker.  My process is simple.  I brine it for 2 days in about 3/4 cup of salt in water in the fridge.  I put a light coating of TexJoy BBQ Seasoning Rub on all sides and smoke it for 6.5 hours at 200-225degF. 

I find that it really does not matter what type of wood you use to smoke, hickory, maple, cherry, mesquite.....they all work equally well.

And this is what is left after my wife and I had 2 meals with this pork sliced at about 1/8-1/4" thick.  It is tender and moist, the flavor is outstanding, and there is little fat left on the meat. (Personal pet peeve, I do NOT like meat fats, the texture to me is just nasty)  There is enough in this dish for at least 2 more meals for each of us, maybe three.  A great way to eat the leftovers and harden up the soft fat is to lightly butter or grease a pan and brown both sides of the slices.  That is soooooo good.

Another tip, while the meat is on the smoker, cut up a bunch of your favorite veggies, we typically like yellow squash, broccoli, onions, cauliflower. Put them in a ziploc bag with enough olive oil to coat all of the veggies and a dash more, then season to taste.  Salt and Pepper,  I use all purpose seasoning, but not a ton.  Shake it up to evenly lightly coat your choice of veggies.  Then, put them into an aluminum foil hammock  to fully enclose them.  Poke about five or six knife slits in the top of the foil tent.  Throw that in the smoker during the last hour of your cooking.  You will be incredibly happy with those results, I promise you.  This is the day after photo, looks rough, but they are excellent. And I tell you I can smell the smoke when I opened the container.

Happy cooking, and enjoy.

My Diet Plan that works - 33 lbs (so far) in 84 days this year

 JC’s South Park Diet: My unique version loosely based on South Beach (Dr. Agatston) and The Zone (Dr. Barry Sears)  diets 🡨Read these!!

Typical Breakfast

½ cup Egg Beaters omelette filled with a layer of turkey bacon or sliced ham and mozzarella (I like hot sauce with my omelette)

Typical Morning Snack (any one of the following)

Celery

Cauliflower

Broccoli

Sliced tomato w/slices of mozzarella cheese

Mozzarella cheese stick

Slices of cucumber with salt

Typical Lunch/Dinner

Hamburger (no bun) 

Lamburgers

Buffalo burgers

Baked or grilled chicken

Salads with Olive Oil (1/3) and Red Wine Vinegar dressing (2/3)….but limit the onions (sugars), no carrots (lots of sugar), no corn

Baked spaghetti squash (a JC favorite) topped with low fat spaghetti sauce or a spicy salsa and parmesian/romano cheese

Broiled salmon

Diced ham fried in olive oil with melted shredded mozzarella on top; put over diced fresh tomato (this is fab)

Typical Afternoon Snack (usually I need a little higer level of fat with low carbs, energy food)

Sliced tomato w/slices of mozzarella cheese

Mozzarella cheese stick

Slices of turkey bacon

Great adders to recipes above

“Silk” soy coffee creamer

Hot sauces (RedHot, Tabasco, whatever you like)

Low fat salsa on top of anything is excellent 

Cook everything in Olive Oil or even better use Pam Olive Oil spray

THE RULES: (the most important part)

1. IF YOU ARE HUNGRY, EAT.  DO NOT STARVE YOURSELF, DO NOT WAIT TO EAT IF YOU FEEL HUNGRY.   MAKE SURE YOU HAVE ACCESS TO A SNACK WITH LOW FAT, AND LOW CARBS AT ALL TIMES.   Your whole goal is to keep your hormones that regulate insulin in your body at a low, even level throughout the day.  Insulin is the substance that your body uses to store fat.  At low levels, you will not store fat, you will have great energy all day.   This is the most important rule.  

2. Read labels on your food; your goal is LOWER carbs (not zero), and LOWER fat (not zero) and ideally you want a little of both when you eat to maintain insulin as described in rule 1.

3. Limit (and by this I mean avoid if you can):

1. Sugars

2. Breads

3. Pastas

4. Alcohol

5. High fat foods

6. High carb foods

7. Anything that reads “Partially Hydrogenated (blank)”

South Beach-esque Diet Works

 A quick note to again acknowledge the power that the Low Carb, Low Fat nutrition regimen works.  I have been able to lose 30 pounds in 59 days in 2022.

Six smaller meals or snacks a day, I never go hungry. I feel great, have more energy, sleep better and more rested.  It is an amazing transformation.  

I have 60 more pounds to lose this year.  I will do it.  Good luck to all.

Great Vegan Burrito MIx

I bought a great vegan product from Sam's Club last week, it is the Tattooed Chef Burrito Blend product.  It is a great meat substitute product that tastes excellent.  It is a frozen product that heats up nicely in a pan with 4 tablespoons of vegetable oil.  Now, that being said, I had to doctor it up with about an 1/8 cup of Tone's Taco Seasoning and 1/8 cup of water.  Otherwise I find it less flavorful.  It is certainly personal preference, I enjoy spiced (not necessarily hot, but flavorful) food so I do this a lot to many prepared foods. 

To serve:

Put the fully heated product hot in a burrito wrap or taco shell with some sour cream, and simple salsa and you have yourself a meal.  I like soft tacos and burritos so that is my go-to. 

Here are the links to the actual product at Sam's Club and the whole Tattooed Chef product line.  

Enjoy

https://tattooedchef.com/collections/all-products

https://www.samsclub.com/p/beef-burrito-blend-tattooed-chef-2-ct/prod25240128?xid=plp_product_2 

Great breaded tilapia

Bought this tilapia from Costco. Best bet is to cook at 375deg for about 15 minutes flip and cook other side for 15 minutes or until browned and cooked thoroughly.

The tartar sauce is the best. 2 tbsp lite mayo, 1 tbsp polish mustard, 1 tspn ground pepper and 1 tspn of sweet pickle relish. Really good with a light fish like tilapia. Enjoy.

JC's Hearty Chili

This is a recipe that I changed somewhat from an Epicurious.com recipe. It is real easy to make with a large crockpot. I have added much more spice to make this hearty and full of flavor.

Ingredients:
2 lb. lean ground beef, sirloin is awesome in this.
1 large diced onion
2 cups diced red, orange, green peppers (use what you like, or what is cheapest)
1/2 cup diced smoked jalapeno peppers
2 tbsp chili powder (I use 3 in mine)
1 tbsp cayenne pepper
1 tbsp cumin
1 tbsp paprika
3 tbsp garlic
1 tbsp black pepper
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups water
1/4 cup brown sugar
dash or two of cinnamon

Ok here we go, this is too easy if you use a large crock pot

Brown the beef in a pot or pan with the diced onion.
At the same time, combine all the other in the crockpot on high heat.

When cooked thoroughly and browned to your taste, drain liquid completely as possible and add to crockpot. Cook in crockpot on high heat for about 2 hours.

With a dash of sour cream, this is the best. Reasonable burn, but no pain, lots of flavor, and not horribly bad for you. I have added a can of rinsed black beans to this with good results. Serves a lot :-)

Enjoy.

My new favorite spices

I've been trying to do some experimenting with spices for the past year or so. My goal is to determine how spices affect food taste. I think of myself as a cooking chemist, attempting to find interesting combinations of spices and foods. These are just some of the preliminary findings and please keep in mind these are MY OPINIONS based on my eating habits, my unsophisticated palette, and my quest for low fat/low carb foods to eat. OK, let's go.....

Paprika

The smokiness of paprika really intrigues my taste buds. Paprika has a slight bite to it but I have never found it to be overbearing. It also adds great color to food as well.

I would recommend using paprika in recipes that feature eggs, chicken, fish, and even in creamy dressings.

Garlic and onion

Mixing garlic and onion and browning onions is one of the most delicious combinations on the planet, bar none. If you are looking for a topping for a burger, salmon, even shrimp...try this...brown diced onions in olive oil, and then add in and stir in crushed garlic to taste. Oh my God!!!!

You can also dump this into your favorite salsa to give it a burst of flavor. (May store bought salsas are quite bland, except for Jack's Special Salsa found at Costco, it's out of this world great.)

Onions and garlic are great for you as well, eat as much of these as you can for good health.

Cayenne pepper or Curry powder

To test your palette, use cayenne or curry in eggs, on potatoes (in limited doses), on meats....especially if topping these foods with a good cheddar cheese. These peppers can make you sweat a little but are chock full of flavor. I don't understand the chemistry yet, but it is a flavor enhancer in these foods and is much better for you than salt. I love it.

Black pepper and salt

Believe it or not, black pepper is a wonderful way to make a dull food exciting. And you can call me a 'pepper snob' but in using plain pepper, you have to pay up for good black pepper, do not go cheap. I am as cheap as anyone but I have to tell you all that good black pepper is well worth it, and the more expensive black peppers are not THAT much more expensive. And expensive black pepper is less expensive than other spices, so if you are looking for flavor and don't want to spend a lot, high quality black pepper could be for you.

This is just a start for me. I am also looking at many other spices and will report as I gather more information to recommend for foods and recipes. If you have any ideas for spice/food combinations, please share with me.

Happy eating.

JC’s South Park Diet:

Bits of South Beach Diet (Dr. Agatston) and The Zone (Dr. Barry Sears) Read these they are both incredibly educating. They will help you to understand how your body processes what you input into you.

Typical Breakfast

½ cup Egg Beaters omelette filled with a layer of turkey bacon or sliced ham and mozzarella (I like hot sauce with my omelette)

Typical Morning Snack (any one of the following)

Celery

Cauliflower

Broccoli

Sliced tomato w/slices of mozzarella cheese

Mozzarella cheese stick

Slices of cucumber with salt

Typical Lunch/Dinner

Hamburger (no bun)

Lamburgers

Buffalo burgers

Baked or grilled chicken

Salads with Olive Oil (1/3) and Red Wine Vinegar dressing (2/3)….but limit the onions (sugars), no carrots (lots of sugar), no corn

Baked spaghetti squash (a JC favorite) topped with low fat spaghetti sauce or a spicy salsa and parmesian/romano cheese

Broiled salmon

Diced ham fried in olive oil with melted shredded mozzarella on top; put over diced fresh tomato (this is fab)

Typical Afternoon Snack (usually I need a little higer level of fat with low carbs, energy food)

Sliced tomato w/slices of mozzarella cheese

Mozzarella cheese stick

Slices of turkey bacon

Great adders to recipes above

“Silk” soy coffee creamer

Hot sauces (RedHot, Tabasco, whatever you like)

Low fat salsa on top of anything is excellent

Cook everything in Olive Oil or even better use Pam Olive Oil spray

THE RULES: (the most important part)

1. IF YOU ARE HUNGRY, EAT. DO NOT STARVE YOURSELF, DO NOT WAIT TO EAT IF YOU FEEL HUNGRY. MAKE SURE YOU HAVE ACCESS TO A SNACK WITH LOW FAT, AND LOW CARBS AT ALL TIMES. Your whole goal is to keep your hormones that regulate insulin in your body at a low, even level throughout the day. Insulin is the substance that your body uses to store fat. At low levels, you will not store fat, you will have great energy all day. This is the most important rule.
2. Read labels on your food; your goal is LOWER carbs (not zero), and LOWER fat (not zero) and ideally you want a little of both when you eat to maintain insulin as described in rule 1.
3. Limit (and by this I mean avoid if you can):
1. Sugars
2. Breads
3. Pastas
4. Alcohol
5. High fat foods
6. High carb foods
7. Anything that reads “Partially Hydrogenated (blank)”

Good luck, if you need ideas, assistance, coaching, or cheerleading please comment or email me, talk to me anytime. JC

South Beach Recipes

Does anyone have any South Beach recipes to share. I am back at it for this year. I am trying to shed 30-35 lbs by the end of April.

I have been diligent thus far, I have lost 8 lbs since the January 1st.

I would also like to hear success stories or if anyone has questions regarding the foods and regimine I use, please comment.

Good luck to all.
JC