This week I’m letting the slow cooker do the work. I’m going to be busy cleaning out some metal in our new to us house for recycling. We have a house that is kind of new to us. It’s the house Tony grew up in. It was given to us after my father-in-law died and my mother-in-law wanted to live somewhere with less maintenance. The house had to be gutted. Mostly Tony has been working on that. There’s a lot of left over stuff that taking up space, so we are working on getting it out of the house and sheds and recycled. That means I will not have a ton of time to cook. I picked the recipe from Taste of Home for Slow-Cooker Pork and Apple Curry because it was simple and used a slow cooker. Also because it looked like it would have a lot of flavor too. Lots of spices really pack a punch in healthy recipes. When calculating the stats for this recipe there was a lack of vitamins A and C, but everything else looks pretty good. Not much to change. Here are the original stats:

Here’s what I changed:

• I replaced the white rice with brown basmati to add fiber and flavor.
• I added red bell pepper to increase the vitamin C.
• I added carrot to increase the vitamin A.
• I replaced the bullion with low sodium chicken broth to reduce the sodium slightly.

You’ll notice I did not remove the added sodium.  We had been going too low on sodium and needed add a little back in.  This recipe was not too bad on the sodium, so I left it in.  

Here are the final stats:

Here is the final recipe:

Slow-Cooker Pork and Apple Curry

Serves 8

• 2 pounds boneless pork loin roast, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1 medium apple, peeled and chopped
• 3 red bell peppers, chopped
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 1 tablespoon curry powder
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 4 cups low sodium chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 2 tablespoons cold water
• 1 cup brown basmati rice
• 1/4 cup raisins
• 1/4 cup sweetened shredded coconut, toasted

1. In a slow cooker, combine the first 12 ingredients. Cover and cook on low for 5-6 hours or until meat is tender.
2. Increase heat to high. In a small bowl, combine cornstarch and water until smooth; stir into slow cooker. Cover and cook for 30 minutes or until thickened, stirring once.
3. Add the rice and two cups of water to a saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low.  Cover and cook for 20 minutes.
4. Serve with rice if desired. Sprinkle with raisins and coconut.