A month into recovery from ACL surgery and I’m walking like a boss! A boss that limps, but a boss nonetheless. I’ve been released from the brace and I wan ride a stationary bike!
Last week I had my one month post-ACL surgery check up with my doctor. He was impressed with my progress and told me I heal faster than most people he’s seen. I’m attributing it to the gelatin-collagen powder I take every day. 😉
I’m really pumped to be out of the leg brace. I do have to wear it at the gym because lifting weights requires a bit of extra stability. Outside of that, I’m free to walk around as I wish! On Monday, I hit 10,000 steps for the first time since surgery.
Today’s #WIAW post is from our trip to Valle de Guadalupe this weekend, where I wandered about free of the brace.
Breakfast
I never travel without apple cider vinegar and BCAAs. I can’t wake up without my morning cocktail!
We avoided breakfast at our B&B because the day before we were attacked by bees in their lovely outdoor dining space.
Lunch
We waited an HOUR AND A HALF for lunch… but it was worth it. La Cocina de Doña Esthela was named the “Tastiest Breakfast in the World” in 2015. It lived up to the hype. It won the honor based on it’s Machaca dish – a delicious pile of dehydrated, shredded and fried meat.
To get there, you turn off of the paved road and down a sketchy, rocky dirt road. You think Google Maps has lead you astray until you come upon a line of cars parked on the side of the road. Once you park and walk to the entrance, there are throngs of people waiting. There’s a little snack bar, a petting zoo (?!), and several vendors to keep you entertained.
After being seated, you’re given a plate of fried tortilla chips, the most amazing salsa ever, and a bowl of fresh, salty queso made from the milk of the family cow. Literally the cows from the petting zoo… that’s some fresh cheese.
We wanted refills, but thank god they never offered. The meals were MASSIVE. Our band of 5 savored freshly squeezed orange juice (the pigs in the petting zoo were chowing down on the rinds) and coffee to start, all while watching two women painstakingly making tortillas on the hot stove in front of us. Did I mention it was probably 90 degrees that day? And there’s no such thing as A/C in Mexico?
The tortillas were scooped off the grill and delivered to us in a basket, covered in a towel that was hand sewn with Doña Esthela’s name.
Then the food arrived. Machaca scramble for Vegas, the combo machaca and chorizo with eggs for me. Everything comes with fantastically smooth frijoles puercos, which is basically refried beans amplified by pork lard. I don’t even lime refried beans but I had to force myself to stop eating them before my stomach burst.
As we completed our meals, Doña Esthela herself came over to our table asking if we needed boxes and inquiring about our meal. She’s clearly something of a local celebrity, so it was especially cool to see her working the floors with her staff (who were all handling the Sunday crowd like bosses).
Snack
We ate Takis in the car. I didn’t take a pic, but it was a mix of the regular and the Fuego. The Fuego is, in fact, fuego.
Dinner
We were exhausted from the drive time and the 2 hour wait to re-enter the States. Not to mention still full from lunch and Takis. Dinner was water and a face plant into bed.
[Tweet “The first month #ACLrecovery, Mexico adventures, and the #WIAW link up!”]
I hope you enjoyed my day of self-sufficient post-surgery eats. Be sure to link up to Jenn’s WIAW baby below.
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I’m in Vegas this week. Send sleep.
Have you ever been to Mexico? Something about being able to drive across the border is so cool.
Have you ever had Takis? Try it!!!
Wow! That trip sounds amazing! I love when you can see them making your food fresh! I’ve never been to Mexico but my grandma was born there(she’s not Mexican though ) her dad was stationed there I believe. Anyway, glad your recovering so well
That’s so cool your grandma was born there! You’d love the food – it’s all so different based on the region.
So happy you can walk around without a boot now! I bet that’s so freeing!
For sure; that brace was a beast! Thanks. 🙂
OMG that food sound amazingggg! And totally worth the drive. Now I’m craving Mexican!
We can’t wait to go back. I was blown away by all of it!
Google/Youtube “Takis and Hot Cheetos” #throwback
Oh friend. You know I was singing that ALL the way home. LOL!
Cheers to a whole month! Thank you so much for sharing a real-life look at post-surgery recovery. I’ve worked with a lot of people who are scared about having surgery or get discouraged during the recovery process, and it’s so helpful for them to see that others go through it too.
Thanks! I’m still dreading doing the second one, but at least I know what to expect.
fresh cheese? Yes please!
I’d never had anything quite like it. It was amazing!
I want to go to that restaurant. I do not want to spend hours in the car with Ave though so it’ll have to be a sans baby trip someday.
LOL! Yeah, she’d also have hated to 90 min wait to eat. Next time!
I stalked you in insta for that lunch trip. Epic! And yay no leg brace!
You would have been in food heaven!!! Next vacation? 😉
I’ve never heard of those BCAAs before. Do you really like them? I’ve tried some different ones. Just curious.
Oh yes – we have them every single morning. I only like the orange and the lemon-lime flavors though. Let me know what you think if you try them!
Of course you’re recovering faster because you’re amazingly healthy and doctors head’s explode when healthy people have surgery 🙂
That food looks so amazing that it’s worth the sketchy drive. The petting zoo is also appreciated when you have two crazy boys in tow!!
HA! That may be true too. I also am a *little* crazy when it comes to pushing myself. You wouldn’t know anything about that though. 😉
So glad you are recovering okay, friend! I know you’ll be up and at ’em like before in no time! 🙂
Thank you! It’s such a relief to be able to move freely again.
It’s been 1 month! Wow time is flying and you are healing. What is this gelatin-collagen powder you speak of? I’m going to check it out. Yay No Leg Brace!! That’s exciting. OMG attacked by bees in Valle de Guadalupe? Now that sounds like fun, lol. Lunch looks scrumptious.
It’s this one: http://amzn.to/2fbYsRY. I’ve been using it for years – highly recommend!
You should have seen us running around away from those bees! I was trying to be cool, but when I had 10 circling my food, I gave up on breakfast. LOL!
Thats exactly my kind of breakfast! That cheese just looks divine!
Never been to Mexico but I love the food so it’s on my list. To be fair my travel list pretty much consists of places I want to eat at!
High fives for how well you have healed!
It was divine! I can’t wait to go back. Even Vegas said she wanted to try like every dish on the menu.
I hear you on the foodie bucket list. All my travels revolve around food and wine.
When dinner is a face plant into bed, you know it’s been a tiring day! The line to get back into Cali can be insane. And um I could just eat those appetizers for dinner — gimme the salsa & chips + cheese from the cow right on the property! That place sounds awesome.
We’d actually talked about going to ramen, but none of us were feeling it. That’s true exhaustion!
So glad to hear that you are already out of the leg brace on making such a great recovery. Knew there was no stopping you!
Thank you! I’m looking forward to running again!