Miss Kim's Food-for-Thought: Low-carb redo - Oven Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Roasted Parmesan Cauliflower and Balsamic Mushrooms

This is a low carb re-do of the something I made for the 4^th of July picnic. Mainly, I replaced the brown sugar with SPLENDA® Brown Sugar Blend and the regular ketchup with Heinz® Reduced Sugar Ketchup. I changed some of the spice quantities because of preference, and you can add or delete any as you choose. The brown sugar helps with the caramelization, so try not to omit that one! About 14 carbs for the entire meal. The cauliflower is from a pasta dish and I fell in love with it. The mushrooms are a new endeavor.

Oven Roasted Pork Tenderloin

Ingredients:

1 Pork tenderloin, about 1½ lbs – 0 carbs

1 tsp smoked paprika – 1.3 carbs

½ tsp ground pepper – .5 carbs

2 tsp SPLENDA® Brown Sugar Blend – 8 carbs

1 tsp cumin – 1 carbs

1 tsp dry mustard – .4 carbs

1 tsp onion powder – 1.9 carbs

1 tsp garlic powder – 1.6 carbs

Olive oil – 0 carbs

Total carbs – 14.7

Serves 4

Carbs per serving – 3.675

Directions:

Start this part the day before or morning of (needs at least 6 hours): Rinse, then pat dry tenderloin. In a small bowl, combine the next 7 ingredients (dry spices) and mix well. I used a small, baby whisk to blend it.

Brush tenderloin with olive oil then cover it with the spice blend. I used a large rectangle plastic container to roll the tenderloin in the spice mix to get covered evenly.
Cut a piece of plastic wrap twice as long as the tenderloin. Place tenderloin in the center and cover with any remaining spice mix. Wrap tightly, folding in the ends. Place in the fridge overnight.

Take the tenderloin out of the fridge about 30-45 minutes before you are ready to cook.

Preheat oven to 400°.

Place a heat-resistant skillet (cast iron – I used a cast iron grill pan – that’s where the grill marks come from) over medium-high heat.

When it gets hot, add a small amount of olive oil. Place tenderloin in the pan – it should sizzle. As soon as it is browned on one side, turn ¼ turn, until all sides have been browned.

Remove from heat and turn it over once again and place in the oven for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, turn completely over and cook another 10 minutes.

Check for 160° internal temperature – return to oven until 160° is reached. Remove tenderloin to a cutting board and cover with large lid or piece of foil to keep warm. Let it rest for at least 10 minutes.

Slice in ¼” slices and serve with 1 T of the following sauce (but this is great as is, the sauce just makes it a little better.

By letting the meat come to room temperature before pan-frying and letting it rest before slicing, it is very moist and juicy! Click here and here for an explanation of the room temperature reasoning. And here is why you give it a rest.

Sauce:

½ cup of water – 0 carbs

¾ cup apple cider vinegar – 0 carbs

1½ T SPLENDA® Brown Sugar Blend – 9 carbs

2 T Heinz® Reduced Sugar Ketchup – 2 carbs

½ tsp red pepper flakes – .25 carbs

1 tsp sea salt – 0 carbs

Total carbs – 11.25

Serves 12

Carbs per serving – 1

Combine everything in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer, stirring often, until sauce thickens. This makes more sauce than you need, but you can use it on other meats or veggies. Refrigerate to store.

Roasted Parmesan Cauliflower

Ingredients:

½ half head Cauliflower, separated into bite-sized florets – 15 carbs

3 T finely grated Parmesan cheese – .6 carbs

Olive oil – 0 carbs

Total carbs – 15.6

Serves 4

Carbs per serving – 3.9

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400°.
Drizzle cauliflower with olive oil, toss to coat. Toss with Parmesan cheese and place on a foil or parchment covered cookie sheet. Bake for 20 minutes or until they start to brown. I was able to get these in the oven with the tenderloin.

Balsamic Mushrooms

Ingredients:

3 T butter, separated – 0 carbs

½ lb baby bella mushrooms, sliced thick (about 1/4" thick) – 5.4 carbs

2 tsp minced garlic – 2 carbs

2 tsp SPLENDA® Brown Sugar Blend – 8 carbs

2 T Balsamic vinegar – 5.4 carbs

Salt and pepper to taste

Total carbs – 20.8

Serves 4

Carbs per serving – 5.2

Directions:

Place 1 T butter in a non-stick skillet on medium-high heat. Once it’s melted, add the mushrooms and mix them with the butter. Make sure all mushrooms are flat on the bottom.

After a few minutes and when mushrooms are browned, turn them over to brown the other side. Turn heat to medium.

Add the other 2 T of butter and the garlic and sauté for a minute or until you can smell the garlic. Add SPLENDA® Brown Sugar Blend and vinegar and cook, stirring often until sauce reduces. Taste sauce and add salt and pepper to taste.

Seasoned and wrapped in plastic wrap and ready to go in the fridge overnight.


Grilled on top of the stove, then baked in the oven in the same pan.

It must reach 160°.

Let it rest for 10 minutes before slicing!

Baby Bella mushrooms, bought at Walmart, made in USA (Florida)! They actually had hydroponic butter lettuce - which I will try when I ~~make~~ perfect my low-carb lettuce wraps. A lot of their canned goods come from China, but they have been carrying more and more local and organic produce lately and you can't beat the price!