carbo-loading

It all started as a joke. I had been giving Judd a hard time about his eating habits -- he considers pizza a breakfast food and popcorn a dessert -- when he pointed out that I consume grams upon grams of unnatural white powdered sugar substitute per day. He had a good point - there's nothing healthy about sweetening your drinks with the contents of a yellow, baby blue, or pink paper packet. But even though I know it's probably not good for me, I can't seem to cut it out of my diet completely. So, I thought up a challenge: I would give up my beloved Splenda if Judd would run a 10k.

Fast-forward a few months. Judd had not spent more than 20 minutes on the treadmill, and I was still recklessly stirring who knows what into my daily cups of coffee. Somewhere along the way though, I decided I myself could use a fitness challenge. A goal to set with literal milestones to work toward. So in January, I signed myself up for the Scotland 10k and started running in Central Park on the weekends. And this morning I did it! (If you squint, you can see me in that photo wearing a blue shirt and navy shorts, just behind that orange pole.) I ran a full loop, 6.2 miles, around the park with 10,000 other runners, most of whom finished long before I did. I never expected to win today's race, but I must admit that I was pretty humbled by the number of runners either twice my age, twice my size, or with half as many legs that jogged right past me. (I did actually pass one blind guy around mile 4.)

Even though I'm hardly a high-octane running machine, I still needed fuel to get out there and go, even when I was only jogging one or two miles. Which brings me to the best part of jogging: carbo-loading! Sure I often eat (not to mention drink) tons of carbs on an average weekend night. But I've really enjoyed having an excuse to indulge in potato, rice, and flour based entrees lately and have also been expanding my own pasta repertoire at home. Here's a recipe worth sharing for a vegetarian rotini with lentils that I made last weekend courtesy of Lidia Bastianich - super easy and delicious!

1 cup small green lentils

1/3 cup diced carrot (~1 medium carrot)

1/3 cup diced celery (~1.5 stalks)

2 bay leaves

5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling

4 large garlic cloves, peeled and sliced

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

28-oz crushed tomatoes, preferably San Marzano

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1-lb rotini or other pasta

8-10 large basil leaves, shredded

1 cup freshly grated pecorino cheese

1. Rinse the lentils and put them in a saucepan with the diced carrot and celery, bay leaves, and 3 cups of cold water. Bring to a boil, cover the pan, and adjust the heat to maintain a gentle, steady simmer. Cook until the lentils are just tender, about 25 minutes (or longer, depending on the size).

2. When the lentils are almost cooked, pour the olive oil into a large skillet and set it over medium-high heat. Scatter in the garlic slices and cook for a minute or two, until sizzling and starting to color; sprinkle the crushed red pepper and toast as the garlic sizzles. Pour in the crushed tomatoes and stir well. Bring the tomato sauce to a boil and simmer for five minutes until starting to thicken.

3. When the lentils are tender remove the bay leaves and pour the lentils and any remaining liquid into the pot with the tomatoes. Season with salt, add shredded basil, stir everything together, and heat the sauce to a bubbling simmer. Cook for an additional 25 minutes until the lentils are quite tender and the sauce has thickened to a consistency you like for pasta.

4. In the meantime, cook the rotini in a large pot of salted boiling water until al dente. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the al dente noodles right into the simmering tomato sauce. Cook an additional minute or two and turn off the heat. Stir in grated cheese and drizzle with a little olive oil before serving.