Fresh Pineapple… How to Prepare and Ideas for Eating

It had been some time since we enjoyed a fresh pineapples in our kitchen, but we have had 2 of them very recently… about 2 weeks apart. 

Fresh pineapple is so delicious, but I think I always am afraid it is going to be too messy, or that there will be too much of it and it will go to waste.

I am happy to say I was wrong on both counts!

First, The Captain prepped both of them in the following manner:

1.  Cut the top (leafy) end off.

2. Cut the bottom end off.

3. Stand the pineapple on end and slice off the brown skin, and make sure to remove the spiky bits around the ‘eyes’.

4. Lay it on an edge and cut it in half lengthwise.  Skip this step if you want to have round rings/slices.

5. Slice each piece crosswise as thin as you like.

Some pineapples have tough core sections, while others don’t. so cut away the core if yours is one of the tougher ones.

It will stay nicely in a covered container in your refrigerator for 2 or 3 days,as you find lots of ways to enjoy it.

Second… here are some ideas to eat up that fresh pineapple:

Mixed into an Asian-style slaw.

Added to homemade Hawaiian pizza… check out my low-carb grain free flax crust.

Mixed with other fresh fruit… here banana slices and blueberries.

And of of course you just eat the slices just as they are!

Fresh pineapple is a Weight Watcher’s best friend.  It is a zero P+ food on the program and comes in at only 76 calories, with 2 g of fibre, for a whole cup!  You’re welcome.

What’s your favorite way to eat fresh pineapple?

My Favorite Kitchen Gadgets

I love gadgets.  I can spend hours looking at them in a kitchen shop. I don’t own a lot of them anymore though… since downsizing our inventory of ‘possessions’ when we moved onto the sailboat a few years ago.   Even though we are now land-based again, I have only been buying things as I find a need for them.

But there are a few tools in my kitchen that I find myself reaching to use over and over again… and I thought I would share them with you today.  These are all non-motorized gadgets and tools... not appliances.

The first is my new Oil Sprayer.

It is distributed by Weight Watchers... see that little swoosh logo?  And yes, I am a meeting receptionist/employee of Weight Watchers Canada, and no, they didn’t pay me to talk about this on my blog!

What I love about this particular sprayer is that you can pump it 10 times, and then the oil actually comes out of it in a nice light spray.  I also have a much more expensive one made by Paderno, without the pump, and the oil comes out of it in blobs.

And another bonus with this new sprayer, which only Weight Watchers members will appreciate, is that one full spray amounts to 1 tsp of oil, which counts as 1 P+ on the Weight Watchers program. No guessing how much oil you have used.

I spray my veggies before making chips and you can also spray your popcorn…. easy and no mess!  It comes apart very easily for cleaning too.


The second gadget I want to share is my Lemon Juicer/Reamer.

I picked this up in Calgary last year when my older sister pointed it out to me in a shop we were visiting.  She had just purchased one for herself and raved about it, so I had to have one, too.

It is a handy little tool and I love it…. every morning I squeeze the juice from half a lime into a glass, then toss in the lime, and fill the glass with cold water.  It is my morning cocktail, and this little gadget helps prevents a big mess on the counter, believe me. 

The juice falls through some holes in the cup but the seeds stay behind.  Very clever.  I used it whenever I need to have fresh lemon or lime or orange juice in a recipe.  This picture was taken a while back when I was making Babaganoush.

The third is an Egg Ring… actually I have a pair of them.

I was kinda skeptical when The Captain brought them home.  And it did take some experimenting before I finally realized I need to coat the insides with a non-stick spray to prevent the eggs from sticking to them.  (Hey I should be using my new oil sprayer now for this.) 

But I do like to use them for making breakfast sandwiches for The Captain.  He likes his on waffles or pancakes and these little rings keep the eggs compact and neat.

I just coat the insides and set them in the skillet, and then break the eggs into them.  I normally put a cover over it so the eggs cook quicker.  And sometimes, I pierce the yolks and spread them throughout the white too.

The fourth gadget I want to share today is my Grapefruit Knife.

That’s The Captain, using the serated edges of this little tool to slice around the inside of the grapefruit, to separate the flesh from the rind.  You can certainly use a sharp knife for this, I know, but this little tool is curved just right for the job at hand.  Love it.

Tupperware, hmmmm…. Can you even buy that anymore?

I think I have a few more… but will save them for another time.

Do you have any favorite gadgets I should know about?

Red Curry Crock Pot Pork

I love to use my crock pot.  And I do, very often.  Several times a month probably.

One of the things I really like about it is that I can make up a large batch of something and then divide it into individual portions and put them in the freezer… especially nice for dinners on days I am working or not feeling particularly inspired to cook! 

This particular recipe was given to me by one of my Weight Watchers buddies and she said it came from the Everyday Paleo Family Cookbook.

I was a bit hesitant when I read the ingredient list. I have never ever thought to buy or use fish sauce and have always shied away from recipes that call for it.  I like fish, but I don’t like fish soups or stews and I guess I think of those things when I hear about fish sauce.  I have no experience whatsoever with Thai food.

But I polled some friends on Facebook and they told me that fish sauce is not fishy tasting but very salty, and that it offers a unique flavor… andsome advised me not to smell it!  Okay, then…. I am game.  I do love a good curry.

So when I went shopping for fish sauce, I really didn’t even know what I was looking for.  I did think it would be with the other Asian-inspired ingredients but I had to read practically every label on every bottle on the shelves before I found it. I thought it would be in a little glass bottle that looked more like hot sauce.

And I have to say, I was quite surprised at the size of the bottle I found… much larger than I thought it would be… and the price… much less than I thought it would be.  That was a good surprise!  This 700 ml (almost 3 cups) bottle was only $1.77 in price.

I made a couple of changes to the dish based on ingredients I happened to have on hand. I used light coconut milk, instead of the full fat version the original recipe calls for.  I couldn’t see where it would make much difference here… and I also used a green pepper instead of red or orange or yellow.  The green pepper turned out to be kind of bitter… and I won’t chance that the next time I make it. And I would also add several  more carrots to the pot as well.

But wait… did I say next time?  I did.   All day longThe Captain kept telling me how good it smelled to him while it was cooking… while all I could think about was that fish sauce, worrying about how it was really going to taste. 

When he served it up, I tasted a piece of the pork right away, and realized that I did like this dish… very much in fact, and went back for a spoonful of the creamy coconut sauce.  It is a very mild curry, and not too salty at all and certainly not fishy!

So I will share the recipe as I made it… and the Nutritional Information is mine too.  I divided it into 6 good sized servings.   I took my pictures before remembering to go out and cut some fresh cilantro for garnish.

Red Curry Slow Cooker Pork
Makes 6 servings

• 1 Tbs coconut oil
• 2 pounds pork loin cut into bite-sized pieces
• 3 tsp Chinese 5 spice powder
• 1 can light coconut milk, well shaken
• 2 rounded Tbs red curry paste
• 1/3 cup chicken broth
• 2 Tbs fish sauce
• 2 carrots, cut into chunks
• 1 medium to large bell pepper, cut into chunks
• 1/2 medium onion, sliced vertically
• Fresh cilantro for garnish

1. Place coconut oil in large skillet over MEDIUM-HIGH heat.
2. While oil is heating, toss the pork in the Chinese 5 spice and stir to coat the pieces evenly.
3. Add  the pork to the coconut oil and saute for a few minutes till slightly browned.
4. Remove the pork from pan and place in slow cooker.
5. Add coconut milk to the skillet the pork was cooking in and whisk to scrape up any bits of pork left behind.
6. Add broth, curry paste and fish sauce to the milk, bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer for a few minutes.
7. Pour milk mixture over pork in the slow cooker.
8. Add the vegetables to the slow cooker, cover, and cook on LOW for 6 hours.
   Serve garnished with fresh cilantro.

Per serving.
Weight Watchers P+ = 7.
Calories 279; Protein 34g; Carbohydrate 7g; Fat 12g; Fibre 2g.

I served The Captain’s over white rice. I think barely or farro would be good too.

I had mine over spaghetti squash.  Next time I may have it with cauliflower rice, or even sweet potato or kabocha squash.

Are you a slow cooker fan?

Do you ‘batch’ cook so you have meals made ahead of time.

What about Thai food… yes or no?