Heather Johnson describes her fitness and rehab journey after tearing her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in a racquetball accident. This is a guest author contribution

This is the worst thing that could have happened to me, I thought, after the doc took one look at my knee and confirmed that I would need surgery to reconstruct my torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). A nasty fall on the racquet ball court put me out of action for a few weeks, and an MRI said knee surgery was required. Three months later, the fitness routine I had put together boosted my fitness level and improved my stamina while allowing me total use of my knee again. There seems to be some fitness found in therapy.

I certainly didn’t think my injury was serious enough to merit a surgery, not when there was no swelling and just the minimum amount of pain. I nursed my injured knee with ice and rest for the first few weeks but the MRI proved surgery would be required.

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Popularity: 2%

Last week I shared some of my travel secrets on how I manage to eat healthy when traveling. This week I’m going to focus on eating away from home again - but this time more in the dining out arena. So this applies whether you are traveling as last week, or just going out for dinner in your own home town.

Restaurant Selection

The first and most important thing to me when dining out is restaurant selection. Whether or not you will be successful at eating healthy while out on the town is dependent on what restaurant you pick and the choices they offer.

Look Over The Menu Online

In this age of internet it is so easy and extremely helpful to go online and do some research before making any reservations. I look for reviews of local restaurants in local health conscious publications and on online restaurant databases. Even Facebook has a review application you can join and see what others recommend at home and abroad.

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Eating healthy while traveling can be a daunting task for anyone beginning a transition to a healthier diet. Some may decide to put good choices aside when they take a trip, fly, or go camping for a week. Because I have two trips in July where I’ll be traveling in a car for 2 days to attend a personal development course in BC, and then to New Zealand for work, I thought I would take the opportunity to share how I manage eating healthy while traveling and staying on track.

Travel Food

First thing I do is stock up on things I can take with me, non-perishables. Things like: trail mix, dried fruit (make sure to get non-sulphured, non-radiated brands), raw nuts, power bars (I eat only Sunrider ones), herbal teas (again Sunrider), etc. Be careful if going over the border - you have to make sure they are all in the original, sealed packages. If any are opened they could be confiscated. You can’t take fresh fruit and veggies over a border either - but you can take it with you to eat on the plane - just dump any in the trash before you hit customs.

Airplanes have very poor food choices, so it’s important to have healthy snacks like raw almonds better suited to support your health. Depending on the length of the flight, you might consider a nutritional shake as well.
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Popularity: 8%

We eat a lot of steamed and cooked dark leafy greens and are always looking for and coming up with new ways to dress them up with different flavors. I love figs and a little crunch adds texture - so this recipe works great. You can never have too much garlic, ever!

If you aren’t familiar with dark green vegetables make this your first try and you’ll be amazed how much energy and nutrition these leafy plants pack! For more info on them, read Rob’s article about the Top 10 Foods.

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Rob loves lentil burgers! We’ve made several different varieties now, I had no idea there were so many options. This one caught my eye because we love Indian food and anything with curry in it. Lentils have so many benefits including: low-fat, high fiber, fill you up so you eat less, taste great! If you like Indian food and flavors try these lentil burgers and increase the spices to your own tastes.

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Popularity: 8%