Sesame Orange Pork with Spaghetti Squash

Hi, back again! Today I begin with a more complexed recipe. Lots of ingredients and even more fun!! Words you'll need to know are:

Julienne:Food is cut with a knife or mandoline into even slices, then into strips.

Zest: Nope, not the body soap...Only the colored portion of the skin (and not the white pith) is considered the zest. The aromatic oils in citrus zest are what add so much flavor to food.

Whisk: A utensil used for whipping ingredients (such as cream, eggs, sauces, etc.),. Strange, but this put air into your food to give it a "whipped" texture. They come in different sizes for different tasks and are most often made of stainless steel or tinned steel.

Sesame-Orange Pork with Spaghetti Squash
1 large spaghetti squash, cut in half, seeds removed (~2lbs. )
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup beef broth
Juice of 1/2 medium orange (~2TB.)
1 (1/2 inch) piece of fresh ginger, peeled and grated (~2tsp)
2 medium cloves garlic, minced
1 TB. cornstarch
2 TB sesame oil
2 (12- to 14-oz.) pork tenderloins, cut into 1-inch cubes
Salt
1/4 tsp dried rep pepper flakes
2 large zucchini, julienned (~ 2 cups)
12 whol radishes, sliced (~1 cup)
4 oz. baby portobello mushrooms, thinly sliced (~1 cup)
Zest of 1/2 medium orange (~1 TB)
Sesame Seeds

Steps:
1. preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place spaghetti squash on lipped baking sheet and roast for 30 to 40 minutes. Shred pulp with a fork.

2. Whisk together soy sauce, beef broth, and orange juice in a bowl. Stir in ginger, garlic, and cornstarch; then set aside.

3. Heat 1 tablespoon seasame oil in a wok over medium-high heat. Season pork with salt and red pepper flakes; then stir-fry pork in the wok until golden (it takes about 3-5 minutes). Transfer to a bowl.

4. heat remaining 1 tablespoon of seasame oil in the wok. Add Zucchini, radishes, and mushrooms, and stir-fry for 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in orange zest, add in pork and pour in soy sauce mixture from step 2. Cook until sauce thickens, about 1 to 2 minutes. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and toss with speghetti squash before serving.

Serves:4
Prep time: 40 minutes well worth it!! (this includes roasting the squash)
Cook time: 10 minutes
Serving size: 1/4 stir fry...maybe 3 cups.
Each serving has: 27 g. carbs, 12 g fat, 2 g fiber, 27 g protein.



**Tip of the Blog**
What are net carbs? Where do I find them? That's easy!! By reading food labels. Just take the total carbohydrate grams and subtract the fiber and sugar alcohol grams. The remaining carb grams are considered a given product's net carbs.

Diets that are constructed around the idea of low-carbs consider things such as fiber and sugar alcohols to be "non-impact carbs." This means our bodies can not metabolize then or use them so they don't count. When you work with the equation above what you are doing is taking total carbohydrate grams and subtracting those from fiber and sugar alcohol.

Now the issue is whether or not the packaging really and truly tells the truth about carbs? Well...maybe, but unlikely. All they're trying to do is to sell you a product. So, no, the information they give you is not always EXACTLY what is contained in the foods.

I recommend if you are going to eat low carb, get away from the processed foods, even including those low carb processed foods. These foods have been altered and changed "for you benefit" but the truth is that many processed foods are missing things your body needs. Instead, you should eat things like from nature. Cheesy, I know, but nuts, fruits, vegetables, who grains and healthy oils (olive oil) are things you're body will thank you for in the long run. If you absolutely, positively cannot live without sweets (I understand--I'm like that too) then you can use a more herbal sweetener like stevia that won't upset your digestive system and mess with your metabolism.