Summer Squash Quinoa Salad

Hi! Did you miss me? Sorry about the week-long absence. I have been busy having fun in the beautiful sunshine that Oregon’s been having lately. I even took a long 4-day weekend off from work to celebrate my birthday weekend! Here’s a re-cap:

Layla and I all dressed up to go out for dinner:

My dinner & dessert from Manzana Grill in Lake Oswego:

A beautiful and thoughtful gift basket from my friend, McKenzie:

My sister and I driving to hang out with some family friends at their house in Black Butte:

The forest fire that was happening while we ate dinner in Black Butte:

My lamb burger (minus the bun) with green salad. I snuck some of my sister’s fries without remembering that they were beer battered. Luckily I didn’t get sick from the possible gluten!

Now onto more important things, like what I whipped up for dinner this evening. I had three crookneck squashes grown by the doctor’s wife to use up. I decided that a quinoa salad that incorporated squash would make a delightful new dish. I poked around my fridge and threw in some random ingredients and called it a meal. While cooking my dinner tonight, I concluded that I am an intuitive cook. After reading my friend, Kris’ post about listening to your “gut” or intuition, I thought about the importance of trusting your own intuition. I hardly ever follow a recipe or even execute a meal the way that I intend to. Instead, I go with the flow and listen to my intuition while I am preparing my meals. I’m glad that I do, because tonight’s meal turned out delicious!

Summer Squash Quinoa Salad

Serves 4

2-3 crookneck squash, sliced into 1/4″ slices

2 teaspoons dried herb mixture (I used Mountain Rose Thai Herb blend but you could use Italian or Greek too)

1 cup broccoli, roasted or steamed

1 cup uncooked quinoa

4 cups chicken ore vegetable broth

5 oz. chevre cheese, crumbled

2 Tablespoons Wickle’s Wicked Pepper Rings and Chilies (or any sweet sliced pepper rings)

1 lemon, juiced

2 Tablespoons olive oil + more for grilling the squash

1-2 Tablespoons Bragg’s Aminos or sea salt to taste

Toss the squash in a little olive oil and the dried spices. Heat a skillet to medium heat. In single-layer batches, grill the squash for roughly 1-2 minutes per side. Place the cooked squash on a cutting board until all of the squash is prepared. Slice into 1″ pieces. Transfer squash to a large bowl.

Soak the quinoa in warm water for approximately 10 minutes. Bring the broth to a boil in a large pot. Drain the quinoa and add to the boiling broth. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cover for 12-15 minutes, until the quinoa is fully cooked. Drain any remaining liquids and allow the quinoa to cool. Once cool, add the quinoa and broccoli to the squash in the bowl.

Chop the sweet peppers and chillies. Add them to the bowl along with the crumbled chevre. Pour the lemon juice, olive oil and Bragg’s aminos over the mixture and lightly toss. Add sea salt and pepper to taste. This salad will keep covered in the refrigerator for up to five days. Serve cold and enjoy!

I’m going to go watch Most Eligible Dallas on Bravo. Anyone else loving that new reality show? Have a great night!

Blood-Type Diet

Hey guys! How is your weekend going? Mine has been wonderful! I was lucky enough to spend the weekend with some of my closest friends and family. My friend, Laura (remember her beautiful bridal shower) got married. I was lucky enough to be one of her bridesmaids. But, I was so excited for all of the festivities, that I forgot my camera! Oh well, I’m sure that there will be plenty of photos from the wedding that will be passed around. My mom snapped this one of me while I was walking through the buffet:

I’m very thankful that I got to spend so much time with my good friends this past summer. The wedding was like an A-list celebrity wedding. Laura & her family planned and designed the entire event down the the smallest of details. If the wedding is featured on any of the bridal blogs, I’ll be sure to post a link!

Today I wanted to feature one of my favorite styles of eating: Eat Right for Your Blood Type. I loosely followed this diet around the same time that I found out that I was gluten-intolerant. I felt really good while I was focusing my meals around the foods that are most beneficial for my O-blood type. Recently, I was reminded about this style of eating and am choosing to integrate it back into my diet. This means, I’ll be focusing on lots of vegetables, lean animal proteins, olive oil & fruit. I’ll be avoiding all of the natural “offenders” that I usually do: trans-fats, refined sugar, gluten, cow dairy, processed foods, genetically modified foods, etc. I’ll also be avoiding most grains, beans, dairy and citrus fruits.

The theory behind the diet is that certain foods are beneficial or harmful to our bodies based upon our individual blood-types (O, A, B & AB.) The lectins in certain foods can negatively interact with the cells in your body depending on your blood type.

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Here are brief descriptions of the four blood types from WebMD:

If you’re blood type O (“for old,” as in humanity’s oldest blood line) your digestive tract retains the memory of ancient times, says D’Adamo, so you’re metabolism will benefit from lean meats, poultry, and fish. You’re advised to restrict grains, breads, and legumes, and to enjoy vigorous exercise.

Type A (“for agrarian”) flourishes on vegetarian diets, “the inheritance of their more settled and less warlike farmer ancestors,” says D’Adamo. The type A diet contains soy proteins, grains, and organic vegetables and encourages gentle exercise.

The nomadic blood type B has a tolerant digestive system and can enjoy low-fat dairy, meat, and produce but, among other things, should avoid wheat, corn, and lentils, D’Adamo says. If you’re type B, it’s recommended you exercise moderately.

The “modern” blood type AB has a sensitive digestive tract and should avoid chicken, beef, and pork but enjoy seafood, tofu, dairy, and most produce. The fitness regimen for ABs is calming exercises.

You can learn more about Dr. D’Adamo’s Eat Right for Your Blood Type and his most recent dietary recommendations tailored around even more specifics than blood type alone on his website: http://www.dadamo.com/

Other “Eat Right For Your Blood Type” resources:

http://www.webmd.com/diet/eat-right-for-your-type

http://www.koraorganics.com/blog/category/live-in-my-skin/nutrition/other/eating-for-your-blood-type/

http://www.drlam.com/blood_type_diet/

Readers: What’s your blood type? Have you ever tried the “Eat Right for Your Blood Type” diet?

Alaska Pics

Hi! I hope that your week is going well so far. We made it through Monday already! I was very refreshed when I headed back to work today. All that Alaskan air and quality time with Blake must have allowed me to recharge my batteries. I wanted to share a few of my favorite photos with you from my week up in Northern Alaska.

It was almost always cloudy. I liked being able to watch Blake work while I was there.

Captain Kilee

The scenery mostly looked like this - lots of rolling rills covered with mossy tundra.

I was all bundled up most of the time. I wish I had remembered my ear/headband because my ears were so cold!

Nearby beach town called Shishmaref. It was literally build on the sand!

These little boys were so excited to see us landing. They came running up to the helicopter.

We saw some moose and caribou from the helicopter. I didn't get many good photos though.

I love my pilot!

I don't know if I mentioned this, but I did A LOT of baking while I was up there. I think the crew was sad when I left.

I had such a great week and had lots of time to relax, read and reflect. It was wonderful!!!

Books I read while I was up there:

The New Feminine Brain by Mona Lisa Schultz, MD

This book gave a very thorough and scientific explanation of how female brains function differently than our male counterparts. It even gives reasons why women are more susceptible to depression and anxiety. I really liked how the author reminded me to listen to and honor my intuition on a daily basis. I highly recommend this book to anyone wanting to study the female brain, emotions and depression/anxiety disorders.

US: Transforming Ourselves and the Relationships that Matter Most by Lisa Oz

I wanted to read this book after listening to a podcast with Lisa Oz (wife of the Dr. Oz.) She shares advice, exercises and personal anecdotes from her life to inspire us readers to create better relationships on our own lives. I wholeheartedly agree with her when she writes about how creating positive relationships with others comes from having a healthy relationship with ourselves, which comes from having a meaningful relationship with a higher power. I’m inspired to try some of her techniques and be more conscious of how I interact with others, myself and the divine.

Things I baked while I was up there:

Trail Mix Cookies

Chocolate Applesauce Cake

Vanilla Cupcakes

Strawberry Crisp

Homemade Vanilla Ice cream

Banana Bread

Gluten-Free Blueberry Scones

and maybe more … but I forgot already!

What I learned/was reminded of while I was up there:

I love cooking and baking for others with all my heart

Wherever Blake and I are feels like home; because we’re together

I can survive in the Alaskan wilderness (if you count tents with stoves, electricity & running water)

It’s good for me to relax a little more than I do on a day-to-day basis

I do best following my O-Blood type diet (more about this in a later post)

Every single person is brought in and out of your life at a certain time for a special reason. Pay attention and learn from each individual that you meet.

Almost nothing goes 100% as planned. You have to roll with it and enjoy what life throws at you!

Well, that’s a re-cap of my fun vacation up to visit Blake. We talked about all three of us (Layla, Blake & I) moving up to Alaska for a Summer season. Do you think we could survive a whole Summer living together in a tent?!?

Life Lesson: It will all work out

I’m sitting in the Nome, Alaska airport right now, waiting for my flight back home. The past 36 hours were a bit stressful because we weren’t sure if I was going to be able to catch my original flight back home. The camp where I was staying was completely fogged in and the cargo plane that I was supposed to take out of camp, decided that it wasn’t safe to fly due to the weather conditions. Normally, I would have been elated to have more time to spend with Blake, but Layla was waiting for me to pick her up from the doggie hotel and I was scheduled to work Saturday and Sunday. I got all worked up about how I had these responsibilities and felt helpless being stuck in the middle of nowhere without cell phone service.

I wasn't going anywhere in this fog!

Luckily, Blake is my calm companion and reassured me that Layla would be fine spending another night at the doggie hotel, someone would be able to cover my shift and I would be able to get my flight changed. Guess what, all of these things took ending up working out. I used the emergency land line to make my calls, let my family know that I wouldn’t be flying back on time & was able to get Alaska Airlines to waive their “change-ticket” fee. I had got myself all worked up because I was afraid and anxious that things weren’t working out how I had planned.

This seems to be a reoccurring theme in my life. I am a planner. I like to know what is going to happen, when it will happen and avoid any problems that may take place. Guess what? The universe has more power than us “planners.” I felt so helpless being stuck at camp because there was nothing that I could do about the foggy, windy, rainy weather. All that I could do was try to keep a positive outlook and hope that I would be able to make it home safely.

Looking back at how I handled the situation, I wish that I had remained more calm and trusted that I would make it out of camp when the timing was right. I wish that I wouldn’t have acted upset towards Blake and instead been sweet and endearing during our extra time together. What I can do now is reflect on how I handled the situation and better prepare myself for the next time that things don’t go as planned.

What did I do with my extra 24 hours at camp? Since I missed dinner while making all of my phone calls, I went to the kitchen and cooked up some home made broccoli and potato soup. Few things calm my nerves as much as chopping vegetables and preparing a soup from scratch. My soup turned out delicious and I curled up on the cot with Blake and watched “The King’s Speech.” Did anyone else find it kind of boring? We turned it off half-way through. I slept in this morning, went for a run, took a shower and packed up my bags. I also spent a lot of time envisioning myself making it out of camp safely and flying back home.

Blake inspecting the plane before I was supposed to take off

The cargo plane was supposed to make it into camp today, but once again was unable to due to weather. Blake and I had to make the decision of whether or not I should fly back to Nome in a small 2-person Cessna plane with one of the camp owners. We both thought that it was risky, but also didn’t know when the cargo plane would actually make it into camp. After hours of watching the weather and debating if it was worth it, we secured my seat with Alaska Air and took the scariest flight of my life.

Now, I am not a bad flier. I have (up until now) never been scared to go in an airplane or helicopter. By the looks of the foggy weather and the tiny airplane, I was more scared for that half hour flight than almost anything in my life. I trusted that the pilot wouldn’t fly if he didn’t have full faith that we would land safely, but this little voice in my head kept telling me that it was too risky. On the flip side, I wanted to get back home so I could pick up Layla and make it to work on Sunday. I climbed into that little plane and envisioned us safely landing in Nome.

Do see what the fuel gage said!?!

While flying, I decided that I should probably learn how to land planes and get some lessons from Blake on how to land helicopters so in the face of an emergency, I’d know what to do. We made it to Nome, safe and sound. I was relieved and felt that this experience was a lesson that the universe was offering for me to learn and grow from.

Lessons that I learned over the past 36 hours:

1. Just because you plan something, doesn’t mean that it will actually happen
2. How you react to a situation creates your experience, not the actual situation itself
3. Things that feel like a big deal to you in the present moment, will end up working themselves out and most likely forgotten in the future

I try to learn from my mistakes and experiences so that I don’t repeat them in the future. I’m only human and therefore, will never be perfect. This trip was exhilarating, rejuvenating and taught me a few life lessons. Maybe I’ll go back to Alaska next summer? Only time can tell.

Readers: What is a life-lesson that you’ve recently learned?

Wilderness Workouts

Hi everyone! Sorry about the lack of posts this week. I was very busy while on vacation up here in Alaska. Between my morning workouts, helping the camp cook, baking treats for the crew, helping Blake with stuff and working on my own projects, I kept a full schedule. Today is my last day here. It’s really foggy and I’m hoping that I’ll be able to make it out of camp and back to Nome to catch my flight tonight. My fingers are crossed that the weather clears.

Yeah, I'm not going anywhere in this weather!

Today I thought that it would be fun to talk a little bit about how I stayed active while up here in Northern Alaska. It was very chilly most of the time. Think: layers of clothes and outdoor gear with gloves and Ugg boots each day. I wish that I remembered my Under Armour ear/headband to keep my ears warm, but I didn’t realize that it would be so cold!

Most mornings, I grabbed my cup of coffee and set out on a walk around the camp. I didn’t venture out of camp because the terrain is so uneven and knowing me, I would have twisted an ankle. Plus, there is some wildlife out here and I didn’t want to cross paths with any unfriendly creatures.

Every other day, I went for a 30 minute run up and down the runway. Again, this was the best place to run because the ground was the most even. I would then do some lunges, squats, pushups and crunches or use Blake’s exercise bands.

One day, I was inspired to do some yoga in the tent. It ended up being quite the hot & sweaty session because our tent had the heater on.

My "make shift" yoga mat - fuel spill mats

Yoga download from Self.com

Another day, Blake and I hiked down to the creek. When we got about 10 minutes outside of camp, he informed me that he had forgot his protection gun and hoped we didn’t run into any bears. Thanks for scaring me! I was a bit on edge during that hike.

As you can see, I did some fun outdoor (and indoor) workouts. I loved listening to podcasts that I had downloaded onto my ipod. Most of them were focused on energy healing, female intuition and positive thinking. It was so inspirational to be listening to the podcasts, working out and viewing the breathtaking landscape. This will be a trip that I will never forget!

I’ll be back tomorrow with lots of photos from this past week. The internet speed up here is about as fast as was in the 1990′s and goes down when the weather’s bad. Have a great day and hopefully, the next time I talk with you, I’ll be back in the lower 48!

Happy Camper

Aloha, er I mean, “aang” as the native Alaskans say. I made it through my four flights yesterday. PDX→Anchorage→Kotzebue→Nome→Camp. When we flew into the camp, it was like nothing that I have ever seen before. There is no sign of civilization for miles upon miles. The camp consists of 20 large steel and canvas tents, dirt runway and two outhouses. I had a hard time accepting the fact that I will be using one of these for a whole week, but seeing Blake for the first time in three months makes is all worth it!

Flying into Nome

Cargo Plane that I took into camp

"Stuff" that the plane was hauling into camp

Extra big smile because I was excited to see Blake

We flew for about 30 minutes and looked at all types of terrain

More of the flight into camp

My nerves were pretty high during my travels. Once I settled into camp and laid down inside the tent while it rained outside, I started to relax and really enjoy being in the wilderness. My plans for the week include hiking with Blake when he’s not working, helping the camp cook with preparing meals and baking some treats for the crew, catching up on the work projects that I have been putting off and exploring a place that very few people ever get to experience.

I’m sure that my eats and exercise will be a little out of the norm for this week, but I’m going to roll with it because that’s all that I can do. As long as I can squeeze in some salads and a run or two, I know that I’ll keep feeling good.

I hope that you have a great week and I’ll check-in as much as possible.

Signing off from the “middle-of-no-where-Alaska,”

Kilee

Leaving on a Cargo Plane

Hey! How’s your week going so far? The past week has had it’s ups and downs for me. The up being that I am taking off for a vacation right now and the down being that I was scheduled to leave last Friday and the trip ended up getting postponed. Everything happens for a reason; I’m trusting that this week will be a better week for my travels.

Where am I going for the next week? Let’s see if this will help you guess:

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And the dead giveaway:

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I’m headed to Alaska. Blake’s been working up there since May and I have been planning a trip up to visit him all summer. After several delays and flight changes, I am sitting at PDX getting ready to board my flight. Tomorrow morning I’ll arrive in Nome and then take a charter plane into the camp where he’s stationed. I had to sign a confidentiality agreement to be able to stay there, so I will not be posting any photos of the camp itself. I will try to post any photos that we take outside of the camp.

When I was imagining what the camp looked like, I was picturing something like this:

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But apparently it looks more barren up near Nome:

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Let me just say that packing to visit Blake on Maui was a little more fun than packing to visit Alaska. Dirty hiking boots, old jeans and sweatshirts vs. sundresses, sandals and bikinis? I got little more excited to pack after picking up some new outdoor clothes on sale at REI. Layla decided to sleep on them while I was packing.

I also took this as an opportunity to try some new protein bars, Vega protein and powdered greens since I have no idea how much of the food flown into camp will be gluten-free.

I should have internet access while I’m up there, but if you don’t hear from me for the next week, you know where I am.

Have a great day and I’m sure that I’ll have many adventures to share with you after this trip!

Readers: Have you ever been to Alaska? Where have you been and what is it like?