This morning I woke up at 4:45 AM in order to get ready and be on time to this class I am taking. It’s called Foundations, and it’s a mandatory two month class the wellness center/gym I work at offers to all of its members. The class teaches everyone about their posture, movements,  muscles, how to work them properly, how to recognize stress and tightness and how to relive it via self myofascial release (rolling out with a foam roller, lacrosse ball, baseball, etc).

I’m a morning person, but 4:45 is a bit much for me personally. I took a late epsom salt bath last night too, so I wasn’t in bed until after 11:30 PM. Needless to say, I was pretty tired today. Class is over by 6:00 and then I usually go home for about 90 minutes before I return to work on a project or two at the wellness center for a few hours.

Today when I came home for my hour and a half – I was exhausted, yes – but I so excited to make this pulled pork. I was giddy as a damn school girl! I knew it was going to be delicious, but I wasn’t entirely prepared for it to turn out so damn good. Pretty sure I had thirds. #noshame

SLOW-COOKER PULLED PORK

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Total Time: 7 hours 5 minutes

Makes: 6 servings

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup organic, local honey
• 1/4 cup organic apple cider vinegar
• 3 Tbsp. olive oil
• 3 Tbsp. smoked paprika
• 1 Tbsp. pink Himalayan sea salt
• 2 tsp. black pepper
• 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp. dried, powdered thyme
• 1 medium red onion, peeled and halved
• 3 1/2 pounds pork shoulder, halved (preferably locally and humanely raised)

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, combine salt, both peppers, garlic powder, and thyme.
2. Add the honey, apple cider vinegar and olive oil to the spice mix. Stir with a fork to form a nice glaze.
3. Place the onion in the bottom of your slow cooker. Top with each piece of pork and pour the glaze over the pork. Some of it will drip down to the bottom and that’s totally fine.
4. Lid and turn the slow cooker on low. No need to add any liquid. Let cook for 7 to 8 hours, or until the meat can easily be shredded with a fork.
5. Serve nice and warm with a side of coleslaw or make pulled pork sandwiches. Leftovers can easily be stored in the fridge for up to four days or in the freezer for a couple months.

This dish was so comforting. And since it was made with real, whole foods, I don’t feel the slightest bit guilty for going back for thirds. And talk about simple – this glaze was so easy to whip up. Took about five minutes. And it totally doesn’t compare the anything I could have purchased at the store and spent $9 on (for tons of added sugars, artificial flavors, preservatives and possibly even food coloring).

The taste of this pulled pork blows anything I could have bought pre-made or made with a store bought sauce out of the water. There’s something special about making everything from scratch. I even bought the pork shoulder from a local farmer (Woodland, CA) at the farmer’s market. It was about $3 per pound, but I don’t mind spending extra to support a local farmer who’s doing it right and to feed myself and my boyfriend meat that is actually good for us. Um, hello…

If nothing else, I hope this has inspired you to think about where the food you get is coming from. I also hope that you enjoy making your own glaze for this yummy pork recipe! Get excited about food! Have fun with it. Cooking is my play time. Experiment. Get creative. Don’t be afraid to cook! 🙌💓