Slow-Cooker Pork and Sweet Potatoes (healthy comfort food!)

Do you like meat and potatoes?  I do. Especially when it's cold outside.  And especially when I'm feeling a little sad or stressed.  Meat and potatoes is really the ultimate comfort food, don't you think?!  Well, unless you consider ice cream, chocolate, peanut butter.....ok, so I'm more of a sweets person when it comes to comfort foods, but I'll have my ice cream after my meat and potatoes!

When I found this recipe for Slow Cooker Pork and Sweet Potatoes I knew I had to make it because I saw that it contained cinnamon.   My Italian grandma, Lois, used to add cinnamon to her lasagna and I swear it made the dish that much more amazing.  Ever since I was young I've been adding cinnamon to my savory dishes, but it's rare that I see recipes that do the same.  The recipe below is a different spin on meat and potatoes, and it's a healthier one that I promise you and any picky relatives or loved ones will enjoy every bite.

Slow Cooker Pork and Sweet Potatoes

Serves 6

Source: http://www.cdkitchen.com/

Ingredients

1 1/2 pound pork tenderloin, cut into 3/4-inch thick pieces (excess fat removed)

 3 cups raw, sliced sweet potatoes

 1/2 cup chopped onion

 1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper

 1 can (14.5 ounce size) diced tomatoes

 2 tablespoons brown sugar

 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon dried parsley

 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
Parsley for garnish (optional)

Directions

Spray crockery with cooking spray. Combine pork, sweet potatoes, onion, and green bell pepper.

Combine tomatoes with brown sugar, cinnamon, parsley, and black pepper; pour over pork mixture. Cover and cook on LOW setting for 8 to 10 hours. Stir to mix before serving.

Note:  If you are following a low FODMAPs diet be sure to chop the onion into larger pieces so you can easily take them out/avoid them when you are eating this dish.  You could omit the onion (if you are really sensitive to the water soluble GOS and fructans this is probably the best idea), but I liked getting the flavor of the onion in the dish and it didn't seem to both me.  Also keep in mind that sweet potatoes, when eaten in excess of about 1/2-cup/sitting, could cause some GI discomfort for those who are really sensitive.

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Nick couldn't wait to get his hands on this when he came home from work.  And he wasn't angry when he had it for leftovers for about 2 days afterwards :)

Estimated Nutrition facts for 1/6th of recipe

Isn't it comforting when your comfort food is so ..... light?!   

Nutrition Highlights:  One full serving has only slightly more than 4 grams of fat (probably because there was no extra fat added to the recipe, only the pork), less than 100 mg sodium (notice, there was no salt added in this recipe. The 75 mg/serving is from the canned tomatoes) and a good source of fiber (thanks mainly to the sweet potatoes), and vitamin A, and an excellent source of vitamin C.

Need some comfort? Make this recipe. Pronto.

GIVEAWAY WINNER!

I posted a vegetarian slow cooker cookbook giveaway last week and the winner of the cookbook is.....

Michaela

I asked everyone to write a comment telling me their favorite vegetarian protein source.  Most of you indicated you love beans, especially lentils and chickpeas.  There were also many votes for tofu and tempeh (tempeh is my number one favorite too, in case you were wondering, which I know you were, haha)

Michaela, please send your mailing address to GCsmiler19@yahoo.com, and happy slow-cooking!

Thanks for reading!

The Candid Rd

NOTE: I love comments!  But, be sure to come back to read any replies to questions or comments, as they do not go directly to your e-mail.