Experts estimate that people around the world waste 1.3 billion tons of food each year.1 The costs to individuals, families, and the environment are astronomical. You can make a difference by making a personal commitment to minimizing food waste.
At Mark’s Daily Apple, we’re supporting Primal Kitchen in an effort to #MaketheMost of mealtime this National Food Waste Day. Scroll down to find tips and techniques for being more sustainable and reducing your environmental footprint by reducing food waste, optimizing your grocery budget, and contributing less to the landfill.
For more information, head toPrimalKitchen.comand sign up to receive an exclusive e-book to fight food waste with tasty recipes, packaging hacks, and tips that #MaketheMost of your favorite products and use every last delicious drop!
Small Steps Add Up to More Sustainability
Learn how to reduce food waste, cut down on your carbon footprint, and put less in the landfill. Small steps really do add up, especially when we all do our part.
Store and Preserve Food Properly So It Doesn’t Go to Waste
Food spoiling before you get a chance to eat it is a huge contributor to food waste. In additional to shopping smart (more on that below), you can nip this problem in the bud by storing food properly after you bring it home from the store.
For those times when you buy a little too much or you’re lucky enough to have a bountiful garden harvest, learn how to preserve that food and enjoy it for months to come.
We know, those bits and bobbles can be a little off-putting at first, but organ meats are some of the most nutritious foods on the planet! Eating the skin and gristly bits nets you a bunch of collagen to balance out the methionine in muscle meat. The bones of small, oily fish contain calcium and other minerals. And best of all, almost nothing goes to waste.
This is huge at a time when we’re fighting against a tide of anti-meat sentiment and claims that meat eating is bad for the environment. The best thing we meat consumers can do is advocate for and practice responsible omnivory or carnivory.
One way to reduce your carbon footprint is to buy locally grown food when you can instead of food shipping across the country or around the world.
Shopping at farmer’s markets not only supports local farmers and ranchers, but you also cut down on food packaging. Prioritizing locally grown produce also means you’ll naturally eat the foods that are in season in your region.
Planning a few days’ or a week’s worth of food can save money and cut down on food waste. A little leg work up front ensures you’re only buying what you need.
Take advantage of yourlocalrecycling program. Look on all food packages for what can be recycled or composted.
Reducing food waste is something you can do at home that really does make a difference. Talk to your friends and family, and start implementing some of these practices. What do YOU do to reduce food waste?
The weather turns, the clouds disperse, the sun returns, and one’s thoughts wander to camping, backpacking, and just generally tromping around in the great outdoors. It is the human imperative to conquer the wilderness and to exult in its grandeur, beauty, and danger. The true frontier is mostly gone now, but we can emulate that most fundamental and ancient human experience by going camping.
Tuna packets or other tinned fish, canned oysters/mussels
Whole avocados
Whole fruits
Low-carb protein bars
Low-carb tortillas (or regular corn tortillas if you prefer)
Cooked potatoes/sweet potatoes (which last for a few days at room temp)
Hard boiled eggs (which last for a day or two depending on temperature)
Dried fruits, dates, berries, figs
In fact, you can eat quite well this way. You can certainly survive.
But sometimes you want a bit more luxury. You want something hot and comforting. Rather than squat around the fire gnawing on dried meat and crunching nuts, you want to sit with your people with a warm bowl in front of you and have a proper meal, wilderness style
Yesterday, you learned how to dehydrate food. Check that out if you’re new to dehydrating. It’s easy and economical, but there are a few things you need to know to get started. Today, I’m going to give you a few recipes for dehydrated trail meals. This is trail food—not car camping food. This is stuff that’s lightweight, backpack-stable, and dehydrated. This is food you can carry with you for days.
Making Your Own Easy Dehydrated Camping Meals
Unlike most commercial trail foods, these are nutrient-dense and delicious meals without any undesirable fats or ingredients. No industrial seed oils, plenty of animal protein.
There are a couple ways to make dehydrated camping meals:
You can make finished meals at home, dehydrate them, and heat them on the trail.
You can make individual dehydrated ingredients and then mix and heat them together on the trail.
I’ll describe below how to rehydrate food on the trail.
Scrambled eggs
This is almost as good as the real thing. Almost.
Add 1 part egg powder to 1.5 parts water, dried milk powder, and dried butter powder. (Ingredients readily available online or through a camping supply retailer.)
Whisk it furiously. You want it totally blended, completely smooth, with lots of aeration.
Heat oil or butter in a pan over medium-low heat. Add the egg mixture and any other rehydrated veggies you might have and stir continuously. Salt and season as you go.
Finish with cheese if you have any.
Pressure Cooker Chili
This is a bare bones chili. It doesn’t have any beans, but you can add them if you like.
Place the leanest beef you can find (top round, London broil, 96% lean ground, etc) in the pressure cooker along with tomato paste, onions, garlic, peppers, chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika, and chipotle pepper (if you like spicy). Add enough bone broth to cover everything, then pressure cook until the meat is falling apart.
Reduce the chili until most of the liquid is gone and it’s a thick stew rather than soup.
Spread the chili in a thin layer and dehydrate it.
The trick here is using liquid and pressure to cook it, rather than fat. When you rehydrate it on the trail, add plenty of fat.
Dehydrated mashed potatoes or sweet potatoes
These make an excellent base for any meal, particularly if you’ve been expending a lot of energy out on the trail.
Peel and boil your potatoes just like you would when making mashed potatoes.
When they’re soft, drain them almost completely. Reserve a few cups of the cooking water.
Mash them with as much water as needed to produce a thick “soupy” textured mash, wetter than normal.
Add salt and spices if desired, or wait for the trail.
Do not add any fat, milk, butter, or cream. You can add that on the trail after reconstitution.
Spread into thin layer and dehydrate until dry and brittle. Break or grind up into powder and store.
To reheat, mix half cup of dehydrated potato with 2/3 cup boiling water. Cover for 5-10 minutes and add any milk, butter, cheese, or seasonings. Adjust texture by adding more water if you want.
This also works for cauliflower. Just be sure not to add any fat until you’re rehydrating it on the trail.
These are just a few ideas. You can do a lot of cool stuff out there if you stick to the basics and follow some fundamental rules.
Some Tips
Use as little fat as possible.
The thing about cooking and dehydrating your own meals for the trail is that you have to go about it a little differently. You can’t use a ton of fat when you cook because fat simply doesn’t dehydrate very well. The whole point of dehydrating is to remove moisture and end up with a final product that stays shelf-stable at room temperature for a long time. Too much fat will retain moisture and go rancid.
So when you’re looking at these recipes, they might seem a little funny. When I make my normal camp chili, I’m searing the meat and veggies in butter and olive oil and really making a rich, thick stew—but that doesn’t fly when you’re dehydrating chili. You can always add the fat afterwards, after the dehydrated meal has been heated up, and I’ll include a list of essential additions to bring along when you head out into the wilderness for enriching your meals.
Use lower fat meat.
When you use beef, go as lean as you can. When you cook chicken, use breast or canned chicken.
Use liquid.
Since you can’t really use tons of fat when cooking meals for dehydration, you’ll need to include a good amount of liquid to prevent sticking. Dehydration will take care of the moisture, of course.
Important Additions to Add to Your Pack
These are the cooking ingredients I consider essential for anyone eating well on the trail.
Gelatin powder/bone broth powder
Heat some water on the camp stove and whisk this stuff into it, then pour the gelatin-rich liquid into your soups, stews, chilis, and sauces to add texture, body, and gelatin.
Butter powder (yes, actual powdered grass-fed butter)
Add butter powder to any low-fat dish to enrich and render it more luxurious. You could also just bring real butter if there’s room, it’s not too hot out, and it won’t throw off your backpack weight.
Olive oil or avocado oil in small bottles
This is a great bottle (BPA-free, made in the USA) for storing edible oil to drizzle over your food. This is a good olive oil and this is a good avocado oil.
Milk powder is another good addition to have on hand.
Cheese powder or cheese
Cheese powder is a nice way to add body and nutrition to almost any dish. You could also pack straight-up hard cheese, which lasts quite well at room temperature. Shelf-stable grated cheese is also an option.
Salt, pepper, spices
At the very least, bring salt, black pepper, and something like garlic powder, paprika, porcini powder, or cayenne. Very easy, very simple, very effective seasoning.
Sun-dried tomatoes
Sun-dried tomatoes provide umami, acidity, sweetness, and that burst of rich tomato flavor that enriches almost any dish it touches. You can also snack on them directly.
Mayo
Yes, yes, it’s not essential, but if you have the room, keeping some mayo on hand will really enhance your meals.
How to Rehydrate Your Dehydrated Meals
This is quite simple.
Heat water until simmering in camp stove and add your meal. Usually it’s about 1 part dehydrated meal to 1.5 parts water.
Cover and heat until it reaches the desired consistency.
Adorn your meal with any spices, seasonings, oil, fat, and cheese.
Different dishes will have different rehydration requirements, but that’s the basic formula. If you’re just guessing, use less water than you think. You can always add more.
I’d love to hear what you guys are dehydrating and rehydrating out there on the trail. Let me know down below what your favorite dehydrated backpacking dishes are to make and eat!
It’s easy to see why food preservation would have been critical to our ancestors’ survival. Being able to store food to eat later meant they were protected against unsuccessful hunts and less-than-fruitful gathering. Moreover, they could migrate into regions where access to fresh food varied by season.
Drying was probably one of the earliest methods of food preservation paleolithic humans discovered, no doubt quite by accident. There’s evidence that our ancestors were drying food to preserve it as early as 10,000 to 12,000 BCE.12 Along the way, they also learned how to ferment, smoke, and use ash, salt, fat, and even peat bogs to keep food from spoiling. Each of these methods works in its own way by discouraging the growth of microorganisms that cause food to go bad. In the case of dehydrating, microbes require water to proliferate. No water, no rotting.
As food preservation methods go, drying, or dehydrating, has several advantages. Dehydrated food is shelf-stable and lightweight, making it a space-efficient and energy-efficient option—no refrigeration required. It’s perfect for homesteaders, parents, hikers, and backpackers who want to make portable, healthy snacks and meals to reconstitute later.
For DIYers, dehydrating is a great way to get started with home-preserving. It’s simpler than canning or fermenting (although those are easy to learn, too, so don’t be intimidated). Here are the basics to help you get started.
Methods of Dehydrating Food
By far, the most foolproof way to dry food is with a countertop dehydrator. Dehydrators work by using a combination of low heat and air circulation to remove moisture. An inexpensive dehydrator only costs about 40 dollars (USD), but you can spend ten times that or more on a top-tier model.
If you don’t want to invest in yet another kitchen appliance, however, you have options:
Sun is nature’s food dehydrator. This is what our ancestors used, after all. Sun drying works best in hot climates with low humidity. Food safety experts only recommend sun drying for fruit and herbs. Vegetables don’t have enough naturally occurring acid or sugar, both of which help resist molding and spoiling.
A related method is air drying, which doesn’t involve direct sunlight. Think bundles of herbs or hot peppers hanging from the rafters to dry. This method also requires low humidity and good airflow. Air drying is the preferred method for some types of dried meat like biltong.
Use your oven. This isn’t the best method because most ovens don’t have a low enough heat setting. The recommended temperature for dehydrating food is 140 degrees Fahrenheit (60 degrees Celsius), but a typical oven won’t go below 170 degrees. Ovens also don’t circulate air unless they have a convection setting. Still, you can make it work in a pinch, but you have to pay attention to avoid cooking your food instead of drying it.
Choosing a Food Dehydrator
Overall, food dehydrator appliances will deliver the most consistent results, and they’re suitable for all types of food. If you’re thinking about making your own snacks or backpacking meals, it’s worth picking one up.
Besides price, you’ll also want to consider size and materials. Many dehydrators use plastic trays, but you can pay more for stainless steel. Alternately, you can purchase inexpensive silicone mats or use parchment paper to prevent your food from touching the plastic trays if that’s something you care about.
You might also want to pay more for a model that offers different temperature settings. Although you can dehydrate pretty much anything at 140 degrees Fahrenheit, you may find you get better results with slightly cooler temperatures for herbs and vegetables and warmer temperatures for meat and seafood.
What Are the Best Foods to Dehydrate? Anything You Can’t Dehydrate?
You can dehydrate just about anything, but fruits, vegetables, herbs, and meat are the most common for home-drying. Legumes and grains are also dry-able, but that’s probably not a big selling point for Primal folks. Dried legumes are already readily available, anyway.
Foods that don’t dehydrate well are those that contain a lot of fat:
Fatty meats
Avocados
Dairy products*
Nut butters
Olives (When you see dried olives, they’re usually salt-cured and/or preserved in oil, not just dried in the traditional sense.)
*For backpacking meals or stocking your pantry, purchase commercially dried and pasteurized milk, cream, buttermilk, butter, and cheese powders. Dairy-free folks can look for dried coconut milk powder instead.
Eggs can be dehydrated at home, but salmonella is a concern. Because egg powder is also readily available online or at camping supply stores, this is another one I recommend purchasing.
And did you know you can also dehydrate dairy-free, egg-free, low-fat sauces? Great news for those of you who can’t imagine backpacking without your favorite ketchup to put on your scrambled eggs! Make “ketchup leather” to throw in your pack, and you’re good to go.
Dehydrating Food How-tos
Where to Start: Dehydrating Basics
The whole point of drying is to discourage bacteria and mold, so make sure to start with clean food, utensils, and work surfaces.
Optionally peel fruits and vegetables, then remove any damaged or bruised spots. Slice produce and meat into thin, uniform slices no more than ¼-inch thick (about 6 mm), or dice produce small. Either way, keep the pieces as consistent as possible to ensure even drying.
Place food in a single layer on the dehydrator trays. While you can put more than one type of food into a dehydrator at one time, keep them separated so that you can take them out at different times depending on how quickly they dry.
Make sure you remove as much moisture as possible without cooking or overdrying the food. Be patient. Dehydrating takes anywhere from a few hours for something delicate like kale chips to 24 hours or more for jerky or dehydrated bone broth.
Once your food is fully dried, let it cool for about an hour, then transfer it to an appropriate container.
Below are tips for drying different types of foods. I recommend looking up instructions the first time you dehydrate something new to double-check technique and timing. Note that these guidelines assume that you’re going to be consuming your dried food within a matter of months. If you’re stocking up for the apocalypse, you’ll need to follow additional steps to prepare your food for longer-term storage.
How to Dehydrate Vegetables
Before drying vegetables, blanching is recommended to preserve flavor and texture. This involves briefly exposing the vegetables to hot water or steam to deactivate enzymes that lead to spoilage. This step is not necessary if you are starting with frozen vegetables, as they were blanched before freezing.
After blanching, dry the vegetables using a clean towel. Optionally season them at this time—if you’re making kale or zucchini chips, for example—but use a light hand since flavors get concentrated during dehydrating.
Table 2 here offers recommended times for blanching and dehydrating various types of vegetables. You’ll know your dried vegetables are ready when they become very crisp and you can easily snap them.
Make homemade greens powder: Dehydration is a fantastic way to use up spinach, kale, or chard, plus greens that might otherwise go to waste such as carrot tops, beet greens, and broccoli leaves. Thoroughly dehydrate and cool the greens, then blitz them in a blender or food processor. Store the powder in a jar and add it to smoothies, soups, and baked goods.
How to Make Dried Fruit
For best results, pretreat fruit with a quick dip in an ascorbic acid (vitamin C) solution. Pick up vitamin C capsules at any store and mix 1 teaspoon of ascorbic acid powder per 2 cups of water. (One teaspoon equals six 500mg capsules.) Soak fruit for 3 to 5 minutes, then drain, dry, and dehydrate. A similar method using a sulfite dip is recommended for long-term storage.
Fruit can take anywhere from 6 hours to 48 hours to dry depending on the size and type of fruit. You’ll know it is dry when it becomes tough and leathery. Dried fruit won’t become brittle like dried vegetables.
Dried fruit needs to be conditioned before storage. This extra step helps distribute any leftover moisture evenly between the pieces of fruit to deter molding. Place the cooled dried fruit into large glass containers, leaving some space at the top. Set the containers in a warm, dry place, and give them a shake once or twice per day to keep the fruit from sticking together. If you notice any condensation in the container, the fruit needs to be dehydrated further. After a week, it will be ready to store.
Make fruit leather: Blend your fruit(s) of choice into a puree with a squeeze of lemon juice to preserve the color. You’ll need solid plastic or silicone tray liners to dehydrate the puree. Pour the puree into a thin layer and spread it as evenly as possible. Dehydrate until you can touch the fruit leather without leaving a dent. It will still be sticky.
How to Make Dried Meat and Beef Jerky
Drying meat is a little finickier, so I definitely recommend following a recipe, but here are some things you need to know to get started:
Start with lean cuts of meat and trim off as much visible fat as possible. Slice meat thinly.
The USDA recommends precooking meat to 160 degrees Fahrenheit (71 degrees Celsius) before drying to reduce E. coli risk.3 For max flavor, marinate the meat before drying.
For poultry or fish, it’s easiest to start with canned options, which are already precooked. Otherwise, cook thoroughly before drying.
You can dehydrate cooked ground beef or turkey, but typically you’d add breadcrumbs to keep the meat from becoming too hard. A Primal-friendly option is to use gluten-free breadcrumbs.
Dehydrate meats at 145 degrees Fahrenheit (63 degrees Celsius). Depending on the thickness and type of meat, this could take anywhere from 6 to 12 hours or longer.
In addition to the drying methods offered above, I’ve seen recipes for making jerky in an air fryer. I haven’t tried this myself, but I’m interested to know if it works. Leave a comment if you’ve tried it.
Drying Herbs
Herbs are quick and easy to dry in a dehydrator. They don’t require any special prep except a quick wash. Removing the leaves from the stems isn’t necessary, but you can if you want.
If your dehydrator has different settings, use a lower temperature for herbs, ideally between 95 and 125 degrees Fahrenheit (35 to 50 degrees Celsius). They’ll only take a few hours to dry.
Yes, You Can Dehydrate Bone Broth!
If you’re starting with homemade broth, cool it first and remove any excess fat from the top.
Place the broth in a saucepan and boil it down until it becomes the consistency of gravy. Transfer it to the dehydrator using silicone sheets, like when making fruit leather. Spread it into a thin, even layer, then dehydrate. Because you’re starting with something so wet, it can take two or three days, or even longer, to dry completely. Check it periodically to smooth out any thicker spots, and optionally flip it once it is solid enough to handle.
Once it’s fully dried and cooled, use a high-speed blender or food processor to grind it into the consistency of coarsely ground coffee, then store in a jar in the freezer.
How to Store Dehydrated Food
Once your food is dried and cooled, it’s time to store it. The name of the game is keeping air and moisture out. You can do that with food-safe silicone bags, mason jars, metal cans, vacuum sealers, and so on.
The National Center for Home Food Preservation states that dried foods should be used within four months to a year.4 I’m aware that many homesteaders and survivalists store theirs for years—sometimes a decade or more. That’s probably safe under ideal conditions (food is properly pretreated, dehydrated, and stored in airtight containers at cold or moderate temperatures). Researchers at BYU say, for example, that dried apples stored in airtight cans or foil pouches with an oxygen absorber can last 15 to 30 years.5
Do your own research here, but whatever you do, don’t mess around with meat. The USDA states that homemade jerky is only good for one or two months.6 Commercially made jerkies stay fresh for up to a year, and canned meats will keep much longer.
To extend your dried food’s shelf life even more, stick it in the freezer. As with any frozen foods, make sure everything is tightly sealed in freezer-proof wrapping or containers, as trapped air leads to freezer burn.
For long-term storage, you can also purchase desiccant packs—you know, those little paper packets that come in your store-bought beef jerky and say “do not eat.” They are usually filled with non-toxic silica gel that absorbs some of the remaining moisture. Preppers and survivalists apparently store food in mylar bags with desiccants for many years with no issues. That’s beyond what we’re discussing today, but desiccants can be useful for extending your dried food’s shelf life even if you’re not stocking a bunker.
Just Try It!
Now that you know the basics, give it a try for yourself. The National Center for Home Food Preservation is a great resource for beginners. Start with one or two simple items like dried apple slices or kale chips. Once you get the hang of it, you’ll want to start preserving all that extra produce from your garden or CSA box.
Let us know in the comments what your favorite thing to dehydrate is. Favorite appliance? Any foods we simply must try dehydrating?
Dehydrating Food FAQs
Is dehydrated food as nutritious as fresh food?
Evidence suggests that, similar to freezing, dehydrating largely maintains the nutritional value of the original fresh food, with a few minor differences here and there. It may even improve the bioavailability of certain nutrients.7 Drying does concentrate any sugars, though, so pay attention if you’re counting calories or carbohydrates.
What are the best foods to dehydrate? Worst foods to dehydrate?
You can dehydrate most foods: fruits, vegetables, meat, poultry, seafood, nuts, legumes, grains, and even things like bone broth, ketchup, and marinara sauce. Fatty foods aren’t suitable for drying at home because the fat will become rancid. These include fatty meats, avocado, nut butter, olives, and dairy products.
How does a dehydrator work?
Dehydrators work by using low heat and circulating air to remove moisture from food without cooking it. Moisture allows harmful microorganisms to grow and cause the food to spoil. Removing the moisture causes those microorganisms to go dormant so food stays fresher longer.
How long does dehydrated food last?
The answer depends on the type of food and storage method. Dehydrated fruits and vegetables will last from four months to a year, while homemade beef jerky should be eaten within a month or two. They all last much longer when you keep them in the freezer.
This recipe for baked pork chops seasoned with Chinese five spice powder and served with sautéed escarole is a fantastic way to add some flavor to your usual dinnertime meal while still keeping it quick and easy!
If you’re not familiar with these ingredients, Chinese five spice powder is a blend of—you guessed it—five different spices: star anise, fennel seeds, peppercorns (traditionally Szechuan peppercorns), cloves, andcinnamon. It really punches up these pork chops, giving them both a little heat and a sweet aromatic flavor.
You might know escarole as a salad green, but like most greens, it’s capable of so much more than that. In this recipe, a hint of vinegar, a pat of butter, and a scant drizzle of maple syrup turn escarole into a warm side dish that’s perfect with pork. It’s a bold medley of sweet, salty, and pleasantly bitter flavors. The bitter flavor of escarole can be a “love it” or “hate it” thing. This recipe is meant to woo the haters and please those who enjoy escarole’s natural bitterness.
A very large head of escarole wilts down to four small servings when cooked. Plan to serve another side with the meal, or, if you really love escarole, cook two heads instead of one.
Chinese Five Spice Baked Pork Chops with Sautéed Escarole Recipe
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit (190 degrees Celsius).
Sprinkle the five spice powder, salt, and pepper on both sides of the pork chops.
Heat an oven-safe skillet on your stovetop over medium-high heat. If your pork chops have a nice fat cap, place the pork chops in the pan sticking straight up with fat touching the pan. This will render some of the fat into the pan, which you can use to sear the chops. Otherwise, heat the avocado oil in the pan.
Once hot, place the pork chops in the pan and sear for 2 to 3 minutes until browned. Flip over and repeat on the other side.
Place the pan in the oven and let the pork chops bake until they reach an internal temperature of 145 degrees Fahrenheit (62 degrees Celsius). Transfer the pork chops to a rimmed plate, pour half of the pan juices on top of the pork, and set aside.
Heat the pan again over medium-high heat. Add the vinegar and scrape up any browned bits on the bottom of the pan. When the vinegar begins to bubble and starts to evaporate, add the butter. Once the butter is melted, add the coconut aminos and maple syrup. Stir until combined, then add the escarole.
Sauté the escarole for a few minutes, until the leaves are tender. Avoid overcooking the escarole because it can develop a slimy texture when cooked for too long. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Serve the pork chops alongside the escarole and your favorite root veggie, like roasted delicata squash.
Nutritional Information (1/4 of recipe):
Calories: 288
Fat: 22 g
Total Carbs: 2 g
Net Carbs: 1 g
Protein: 20 g
Baked pork chops seasoned with Chinese five spice powder and served with sautéed escarole add fantastic flavor to your usual dinnertime meal while still keeping it quick and easy!
Ingredients
1 Tbsp Primal Kitchen Avocado Oil 2 bone-in pork chops with fat cap, about 1” thick ¾ tsp Chinese five spice powder ½ tsp salt ¼ tsp black pepper 1 head escarole, chopped and washed well 1 Tbsp coconut aminos 1 Tbsp butter 2 tsp apple cider vinegar 1–2 tsp maple syrup
Instructions
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit (190 degrees Celsius).
Sprinkle the five spice powder, salt, and pepper on both sides of the pork chops.
Heat an oven-safe skillet on your stovetop over medium-high heat. If your pork chops have a nice fat cap, place the pork chops in the pan sticking straight up with fat touching the pan. This will render some of the fat into the pan, which you can use to sear the chops. Otherwise, heat the avocado oil in the pan.
Once hot, place the pork chops in the pan and sear for 2 to 3 minutes until browned. Flip over and repeat on the other side.
Place the pan in the oven and let the pork chops bake until they reach an internal temperature of 145 degrees Fahrenheit (62 degrees Celsius). Transfer the pork chops to a rimmed plate, pour half of the pan juices on top of the pork, and set aside.
Heat the pan again over medium-high heat. Add the vinegar and scrape up any browned bits on the bottom of the pan. When the vinegar begins to bubble and starts to evaporate, add the butter. Once the butter is melted, add the coconut aminos and maple syrup. Stir until combined, then add the escarole.
Sauté the escarole for a few minutes, until the leaves are tender. Avoid overcooking the escarole because it can develop a slimy texture when cooked for too long. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Serve the pork chops alongside the escarole and your favorite root veggie, like roasted delicata squash.
Prep Time:5 minutes
Cook Time:30 minutes
Category:Main dish
Nutrition
Serving Size:1/4 of recipe
Calories:288
Sugar:1g
Sodium:571mg
Fat:22g
Saturated Fat:8g
Trans Fat:0g
Carbohydrates:2g
Fiber:1g
Protein:20g
Cholesterol:73mg
Net Carbs:1g
Keywords: Baked pork chops, Escarole, Five spice pork chops
“That dog food study was, indeed, infuriating. The craziest part was that dogs eating a raw meat diet fared better than those on the vegan diet, but the researchers decided to conclude that the vegan diet was better anyway.”
Food spoiling before you get a chance to eat it is a huge contributor to food waste. In additional to shopping smart (more on that below), you can nip this problem in the bud by storing food properly after you bring it home from the store. 
We know, those bits and bobbles can be a little off-putting at first, but organ meats are some of the most nutritious foods on the planet! Eating the skin and gristly bits nets you a bunch of collagen to balance out the methionine in muscle meat. The bones of small, oily fish contain calcium and other minerals. And best of all, almost nothing goes to waste. 
One way to reduce your carbon footprint is to buy locally grown food when you can instead of food shipping across the country or around the world.
The weather turns, the clouds disperse, the sun returns, and one’s thoughts wander to camping, backpacking, and just generally tromping around in the great outdoors. It is the human imperative to conquer the wilderness and to exult in its grandeur, beauty, and danger. The true frontier is mostly gone now, but we can emulate that most fundamental and ancient human experience by going camping.
It’s easy to see why food preservation would have been critical to our ancestors’ survival. Being able to store food to eat later meant they were protected against unsuccessful hunts and less-than-fruitful gathering. Moreover, they could migrate into regions where access to fresh food varied by season.
This recipe for baked pork chops seasoned with Chinese five spice powder and served with sautéed escarole is a fantastic way to add some flavor to your usual dinnertime meal while still keeping it quick and easy!
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We don’t slow down because we age, we age because we slow down.”