I absolutely love making meal prep protein in a slow-cooker. It makes it very user-friendly, you do not have to be a good cook to make protein taste delicious, AND it is SO easy.
Even though the actual cook time is long, the amount of time you have to spend actually paying attention to it is very minimal. This allows you to put it in the slow-cooker at the beginning of your day, go work or run your errands, and when you come home half your meal is already done.
This also makes it easy to top up your protein throughout the week if you start running out, you can throw a bit more in the slow-cooker while you work.
I like keeping the pork tenderloin, rice, salsa and guacamole in separate containers, so that I can spoon out the amount of rice and protein I need, heat it up, and then top with the cold salsa and guacamole afterwards.
Nutrition Info:
For the entire bowl:
Calories: 600
Carbohydrates: 68 g
Fat: 13 g
Protein: 53 g
For 1 Serving (approximately 230 g) of the Pork Tenderloin:
For 1 Serving of Pineapple Salsa:
Ingredients:
For the Honey-Chipotle Pork Tenderloin:
Pork tenderloin (roughly 3 lbs.)
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1 tablespoon chipotles in adobo sauce
1-2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon dried cumin
1 tablespoon paprika
Juice and zest of 1 fresh orange
Juice and zest of 1 fresh lime
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/2 white onion
1-2 garlic cloves
1-2 bay leaves
Ingredients:
For the Pineapple Salsa:
1 pineapple, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 jalepano, seeds and stems removed, diced (optional)
1/2 red onion, diced
1-2 teaspoon honey
Juice of 1 lime
1 teaspoon cilantro, chopped (optional)
1 teaspoon sea salt
Directions:
Mix the ingredients for the marinade into a blender, pulse or blend for a few seconds until it is smooth.
Place the pork tenderloin in the slow cooker, add the marinade on top making sure the pork tenderloin is evenly covered. Add the onion, garlic, and bay leaves to the slow cooker. They should not be chopped so they are easier to remove.
Turn the slow cooker on high for 3-4 hours.
After the 3-4 hours, remove the pork from the slow cooker and shred.
Remove the onion, garlic and bay leaves from the slow cooker. Return the meat to the slow cooker for an hour on low so it can absorb the juices and not dry out.
While this is on low, cooker your rice and begin chopping the ingredients for your salsa.
Add all the ingredients for the salsa into a bowl and mix until well combined.
For this recipe, I also added my ‘avocado spread’ on the side which is just avocado, lime juice and sea salt mixed together.
Combine into separate storage containers and enjoy!
