Today was the first day of my weekend off, and it's almost over!!! I hate that. Stressing out on your day off because you can't stop thinking of how the time is flying by. Does anyone else feel like there is always sooooo much more to do than hours alloted per day? I'm sure I'm not alone in this. Started off my day with an amazing breakfast, some coffee and a workout. The planner in me knew what dinner was going to look like so I knew a workout was necessary TODAY. :) Workout was the following: 1 mile run, 20 deadlifts, 30 push-presses, 40 kettlebell swings, 50 squats, proceeded by another mile run. NBN (Not Bad, Nick.) I don't even know a Nick -- it's just something we say.
So then after I accomplished the biggie (working out) I had the rest of the day to do well, nothing. I sat in front of the computer and looked over recipes. I came up with next week's menu and the corresponding grocery list...got super excited about it and then I started looking at old pictures. Random I know. Menus, grocery lists, random butt pictures...yup, sounds like something I'd consider as too much to do for hours alloted per day. Wait, random "butt" pictures is my nice way of not saying random ass pictures...not like they were pictures of actual butts or anything. I'm sure you get that. ANYWAY...moving along here...the pictures started to make me sad because I don't have anyone to talk to. I can hear the violin music now...I know. I won't make this mushy. I just mean that in my life I really only have one person that I talk to on a regular basis, that's Jason. He's my finace; I don't think I've mentioned him yet. Well, we live together and as I said...we're engaged. Have been for a while. Jason and I have been on this Paleo journey together from the beginning. We both have a strong passion for fitness, and in our hearts we truly believe living life this way is ideal. The issue is that NO ONE ELSE I KNOW GIVES A BLANKETY BLANK about it. I get riled up because it's important and I have thoughts like this one: I just recently upgraded to what's considered a "big girl" phone. That means that my phone now has internet service and I can check email and you know look at all my wonderful Paleo blogger sites and such from like ANYWHERE...it's so freakin' cool and I'm totally on board with having a "big girl" phone now and can't imagine my life without it! Whew, that was a mouthfull. Anyway, prior to getting one (when I still had a dumb phone that did nothing but call and text) people would talk sh*t. You know, tell me how I was behind the times and all. People give others a hard time about such STUPID stuff. But people don't give you a hard time about things that MATTER...like I dunno, how horrible it is to eat pounds of sweedish fish....sorry, Kyle. Here's another stinger -- I don't have cable. I haven't had cable in 6 years. People think that's odd. But no one is given a hard time when they feed their children McDonald's...or let them eat rolls at a restaurant first and then wonder why they don't eat the rest of their food. I may be going off on a tangent now, but take this point home: People don't care enough about the RIGHT things. It may sound dramatic, but we really are discussing life and death here. Forget about the cool phone you want, forget about who said what about who, forget about those sad butt pictures lol, and focus on what's real in life...YOUR life...YOUR HEALTH. Seriously.
Now, let's turn our attention to tonight's dinner (the one that made me give some extra umph on those KB swings).
Ingredients
2 - 3 lb. pork tenderloin (the pkg I usually get is already separated into 2 pieces)
1/3 cup pecans, chopped
10 dried figs (choose pure figs, no sugar added)
1/2 c. balsamic vinegar
1.5 c. water
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. paprika
salt and pepper to taste
butcher's twine or toothpicks to keep the pork closed
Process
Start by preheating your oven 350. Combine your water and balsamic vinegar in a saucepan and heat for a while over medium. Once it's boiling drop your figs in and cover. Let those figs poach for about 15 minutes. Meanwhile scatter your nuts on a baking sheet and toss them with your cinnamon, nutmeg, and paprika. Place the pecans in the oven to toast - around 5 minutes will do. Remove your pecans and increase your oven temperature to 450. Set aside. Once your figs are done remove them from the liquid and allow them to cool. Save your water & balsamic mixture! Get your pork tenderloins out and lay them down so that you have your butcher's twine underneath. With a knife score your tenderloin down the middle slowly until you can open it up. You don't want to cut down too hard or you might end up with two pieces! You want to be able to open it up fully, kind of like a book. Now that your figs have cooled you can go ahead and chop them up. Toss them with the pecans so that they pick up all the extra spices left on your cookie sheet. Now take half of your fig and pecan mixture to the opening of one tenderloin. Evenly distribute. You will use the other half for your second tenderloin of course.
Now that you have your fig mixture in place you can tie down your loins, lol. Tie 'em down! Just start with one end and while you're tying use your fingers to press the mixture in as much as possible.
Once you have both tenderloins tied down you can salt and pepper the outsides to your liking. Put both tenderloins in a glass baking dish and pour your reserved water and balsamic mixture over them.
Bake your tenderloins for 25 - 30 minutes or until the internal temperature reads 150 degrees. Don't forget to let your pork sit for at least 10 minutes before slicing up. Look at that beautiful side profile! Lookin' good Pork Loin, you and your figgy goodness!
I served mine with one of my favorite sides: Cauliflower Fried Rice. This stuff is amazing...especially for breakfast. In fact, maybe I'll have some of the leftovers tomorrow. :)
