Quick Pork Stir-Fry Recipe

Quick Pork Stir-Fry
(majorly adapted from Food Network magazine)
(serves 4-6)
2lbs. boneless sirloin pork chops,cut into bite-size pieces
1T + 2tsp cornstarch*
1T + 2tsp balsamic vinegar
3tsp soy sauce
2tsp packed brown sugar**
1/3c water
1tsp Chinese Five Spice powder
2T coconut butter, softened/melted
2T minced garlic, heaped
3T coconut oil***
2 pkgs. frozen stir-fry vegetables mix****
s&p to taste

Toss pork with 1T each of the cornstarch and vinegar and 2tsp soy sauce.  In another bowl, place the brown sugar, remaining 2tsp cornstarch, remaining 2tsp vinegar, remaining 1tsp soy sauce, water, Chinese Five Spice, minced garlic and the coconut butter - set aside.  Heat 1T coconut oil in large pan or stir-fry pan over high heat.  Add pork and cook through, possibly doing in several batches depending on pan size.  When done, move to a paper towel lined plate.  Add remaining 2T coconut oil to same pan, over high heat, then add stir-fry vegetables.  Once vegetables are hot and at desired tenderness, pour the brown sugar sauce mixture over, then add pork back to the pan.  Add s&p as preferred.  Toss to mix and heat through.  Eat on its own or over jasmine rice.*****

*I used 1/2 cornstarch and 1/2 xanthan gum to cut back on the carbs.
**I used a loose teaspoon of brown sugar to further cut back.  You likely can omit completely or sub in your choice of sweetener.
***I used a mix of coconut oil and peanut oil.
****I used 2 Chinese stir-fry frozen veg mixes that I'd got at Walmart, which I believer were 12oz each.  Again, sub in your choice of veggies, fresh or frozen.
*****I allow myself 1/4c rice with stir-fry meals.



...Belly-Aching Alert...

11/3 - As I may have posted before, I have been having some chest discomfort and muscle pain (sometimes nearly spasms) in my lower & upper back, chest & ribs, for quite some time.  A couple of days ago I realized that I'd also had a couple heart palpitations again, which I hadn't had for a while.  I thought about my one cup of coffee each morning as possibly being the culprit.  But I've been drinking coffee for some years now and just don't believe that that once-a-day-most-days cup could cause the aching that I've been having off and on for around the last year, which I'd noticed has become around the clock recently.  Then I thought about medications.  The only one that I take is Losartan Potassium for my blood pressure, which is what I'd switched to when a previous one caused my potassium level to drop and another previous one I'd tried caused an irritating cough.  When I did a quick search I discovered that I was experiencing some known side effects, which made me decide to stop taking it yesterday.  I'm anxious to see if my symptoms drop off over the next several days.  (Yes, I did talk to my doctor regarding this over the phone last night.)  This possibly sounds like a really lame excuse, but I have been wanting to start doing my work-out dvd's again and have been hesitant to do so because of the discomfort in my chest.  I know that exercise is a key component that I have been missing while trying to continue to reduce my weight and increase good health.  I know that I feel better when I am somewhat regularly working out.  I just didn't want to fall over from a heart attack when trying to do the things necessary to avoid one in the first place - ha ha!  Now, just one day later, I am a little less sore.  But it is early in the day and may just be coincidence, so I am keeping this post as a way to help monitor.

11/4 - Woke with a small headache behind my eyeballs, which is what I notice when my bp is elevated.  But I also am getting a cold, so hard to tell yet what it's really attributed to.