I’m having surgery on my ACL/Meniscus in exactly 8 days and I’m gearing up mentally, physically and food-wise. After a delicious breakfast of chia seed & berry French Toast with raw coconut, sesame & pumpkin seeds, we headed to the grocery store to stock up on meal-prep goodies.

Today, I’m prepping a Red Lentil Thai Chili, a Butternut Squash & Carrot soup, black bean & pepper enchiladas & a Red Lentil Peanut Soup (I’m using lentils instead of quinoa from the soup swap recipe) for post-surgery nourishment. Mike helped prep the veggies, since my knee was a bit sore from yesterdays outing to the Denver art museum.

Tomorrow, I’ll kick off a Veggie to the Core 7 challenge to get my body in the best pre-surgery shape possible. My surgeon has passed over a number of nutritional tips, leg strengthening and core exercises which I’ve been taking to heart since I found out I needed surgery. But, I’m kicking it up a notch for the next 7 days. I’ll post my veggie packed recipes that will load up on iron-laden veggies, high protein & calcium dense dishes, along with low-impact leg exercises to strengthen & core exercises to prepare for April 4th.

If you’re looking to get in on some veggie goodness, kick start a cleanse, want to follow my journey or create your own, feel free to follow me on my new page: Happy Kitchen.

Happy Sunday!