Roasted Pork Pitas

Does anyone check LearnVest? It’s one of those “women friendly” sites where they’re trying to empower women to get a grip hold of their finances and all that jazz. From their site:

“Our goal is to arm you with the unbiased information you need to make the best financial decisions possible. The LearnVest website is full of expert advice, lifestyle tips, the latest news and more to keep you in the know.”

The accountant in me is into all that kind of stuff so I check it out from time to time. They started this “Food for a Month” series where they give you weekly shopping lists that for a reasonable amount of cash [$30-$40], you can make five meals + a snack for two with only one serious prep day [1-2 hours]. It’s supposed to be unprocessed, good food, too. The first week is pork centered, the second is chicken, and the third is lentils. I don’t think they’re on the fourth week yet [I’m late to the game, clearly]. I decided to check it out this week because a) Andrew’s gone, b) since it’s two servings worth, I can use the leftovers for lunch, and c) I have no problem eating something like pork five days in a row [like the months and months I ate oatmeal daily..].

So that’s what week one looks like: 2 1/2 pounds boneless center cut pork loin. 2 heads garlic. 2 red peppers. 1 jalapeño. 1 small turnip. 1 small parsnip. 1 carrot. 1 small bunch of radishes. 1 bunch dill. 1 bunch spinach. 1 large onion. 1 pound potatoes. 1 sweet potato. 2 plum tomatoes.  32oz chicken stock. 1 can black beans. 1 can chickpeas. 6 whole wheat pitas.

I spent just over $26. I was really surprised, honestly. I didn’t buy all the fancy-pants organic stuff, but still. There are more things on the shopping list like quinoa, lemons, and limes that I already had. It took me about two hours to do all the prep work for the week. The first night’s recipe was roasted pork loin and roasted root veggies. I spared you a photo. I’m pretty sure you know what that looks like. The pork turned fork tender. Not too shabby for my first pork loin.

Tonight was a pita stuffed with dill hummus [homemade!], chopped spinach, roasted peppers and radishes, and some roasted pork. It was pretty good. In tomorrow’s lunch version, I’ll definitely be adding some horseradish mustard. It needed something extra.

Sidenote: They have you use the extra pitas to make pita chips for the extra hummus. I love pita chips but hardly buy them because I think they’re a waste of money. But making them yourself? BRILLIANT! It’s taken all I have not to eat them all right now.