Battling Heritage and Humidity

After yesterday's dinner, I decided I needed to go to the grocery store and stock up.  The only things left in the house were the types of foods which don't go bad easily - aka foods that generally aren't very good for you.  As I was making m grocery list and some mental notes to myself to check the fridge and cupboards, I glanced at the TV and noticed that a show about hoarders had come on.  I didn't bother to change the channel because I was getting up in a minute anyway.  I finished my grocery list and headed into the kitchen to check what was on hand or what might be running low.  The next thing I knew I was purging my refrigerator - bottles, cans, and foods were coming out left and right, and I was getting rid of items that had been in there too long.  On my second trip out to the trash can, I couldn't help but wonder if I was subconsciously being influenced by the hoarding show without even realizing it.  Haha!  :o)

After purging the fridge, I looked up a couple recipes for tonight's dinner to be sure I picked up the proper ingredients while I was at the store.  After yesterday's fiasco with the apples and fish, I thought I better pick out something the hubby might enjoy a little more.  He was a huge fan of the last pita pocket dinner I'd made, so I went for a couple options there - either tilapia pita pockets or steak fajita pockets (whole grain pitas of course).  Just as I was heading to the ridiculously long lines at the grocery store, my husband called to tell me he was on his way home from work, and he happened to ask what we were having for dinner.  I had some spare time while standing in line, so I sent him both recipes I was considering.  He called me back and didn't sound thrilled with either option.  Since I was already in line (and had been for over 5 minutes already), I got a bit of an attitude and asked what he would like then since I had already bought all the ingredients for both of these and wasn't getting out of the grocery line to go get anything else.  (Sometimes I am impressed with what he puts up with from me!)  Without actually coming out and saying it, I could tell he was hinting at some kind of pasta.  Now you have to understand that both my husband and I come from Italian families (his a little more traditional than mine), so prior to our lifestyle re-vamp, we ate pasta 3-4 times a week!  This was a big change for him.

After two days at the county fair, I was really hoping for something lighter than pasta, but made the effort to look through my recipes when I got home.  I came across one recipe that sounded pretty good, wasn't too heavy, and I had most of the ingredients: Mozzarella and Herb Pasta.  This pasta dish was only 232 calories for a 1-cup serving, so I gave in and decided to give the poor man some pasta.  I didn't have the red wine vinegar the recipe called for, but I substituted 1 part red wine (I used a merlot) with 1 part white vinegar, and it worked well.  I also didn't have mozzarella, so I used some grated parmesan instead - note that you don't need a whole cup of the grated parmesan if you go this route.  I also was not familiar with the type of pasta she refers to in her recipe, but I used the whole grain pasta I had on hand, and it worked wonderfully.  Overall, it was a success!  The hubby was happy (it even got approved for the "make again" list), and I still felt good about the dinner choice we'd made. 



Keep in mind that using fresh herbs in a dish like this will make a huge difference (and it will be much cheaper).  I'm not a gardener by any means.  Anyone who knows me jokes that they're surprised I can keep anything green alive.  But I have some potted fresh herbs on my deck that make all the difference in the world.  They're really pretty simple - you can usually buy them at your local greenhouse or even in your grocery store, and you can bring them inside during the colder months.  Even for someone like me who can't remember (or is often too lazy) to water plants, these fresh herbs are worth it - I promise!

After the successful dinner, I was feeling good and thought it was about time to go for a run since I'd taken the day off yesterday.  I hit the road with high hopes and lots of confidence (as usual), but the humidity outside took its toll pretty quickly.  It was only 80 degrees outside, but with the remnants of hurricane Isaac looming over northeast Ohio, if it's not raining, it's incredibly humid.  Well, it wasn't raining, and apparently it's more difficult to run when the humidity is at 80% outside.  Imagine that, right?  I had started sweating just during my warm-up walk, and before I even reached a mile and a half, I was covered in sweat from head to toe and my clothes even felt heavier.  My legs felt fine, I wasn't really breathing that hard, but my energy seemed to be getting sucked right out of me.  I was so hot.  I started feeling a bit light-headed and decided I needed to cool down for a second.  I walked for a short bit, then finished mile 2.  At that point, I thought I was done for the day - it was just too humid.  I've read that you can condition you body to run well in other conditions, such as high humidity or extreme heat, but it was clear that I had not done this!  :o)  I walked for almost half a mile, determined to at least make it the full 3.1 miles even if it was just walking the last mile.  I was feeling pretty good again though, so I thought I'd just run a short way and then start walking again.  I started running again and felt pretty good about it, so I kept on going and eventually made it the full 5k distance.  Not a stellar performance by any means - almost 34 minutes - but it's better than not going at all I guess.  I'll have to look into whether or not humidity really can affect running performance or if I was just making up excuses for a bad night.  :o)