This summer has been quite relaxing for me. I have been stationed in Mammoth and only been pulled from this beautiful ski town for a few minor obligations. This has meant a lot of time with my Yorkshire Terrier, Reese, and my now Fiance, Chris Benchetler. Yay! Since my schedule was permitting I opted to have my left meniscus repaired. I am now 3 weeks out and almost fully recovered. I am able to bike, hike (in moderation), and do yoga. The 3 of these activities combined are making me feel strong and ready to jump back on the band wagon of the heavy gym routine. I am also thoroughly enjoying making delicious meals and healthy treats. Throughout the next few posts I will be sharing with you some of my new favorite dishes. Todays recipe is for a Quinoa Breakfast Bowl.

Quinoa is an amino acid-rich (protein) seed that has a fluffy, creamy, slightly crunchy texture and a somewhat nutty flavor when cooked. This whole grain is a delicious counterpart on salads, as a side dish, or as I previously mentioned as a substitute for granola or oatmeal.

Quinoa Breakfast Bowl Recipe:

1/2 cup Quinoa cooked in a rice cooker with 1 cup of water

Once Quinoa is cooked, top with dried cranberries (fruit juice sweetened), raw sunflower seeds, slivered raw almonds, grated coconut, a sprinkle of cinnamon, fresh berries, and a teaspoon of Agave. Tada!! A new breakfast of champions.

This winter was a good one and seems to keep going. As snow keeps falling I decided to escape to the tropics for a few weeks. Here are some photos of my travels thru Mexico and Kauai with Chris Benchetler.

Alaska is probably on the top 10 list for places to visit for a snowboarder.  The big mountains and untouched terrain is something most of us read about but never get to experience. This year I was presented with the opportunity to come to Valdez, AK with Hana Beaman, Leanne Pelosi, a photographer, and a filmer. Our dates were roughly estimated to be the 16th of April thru the 25th, depending on weather. 3 down days into the trip we were rewarded with a surprise blue day. One of the best days of all of our lives! Teeth chattering peaks were being buzzed and the good energy of the crew made confidence abundant.  Here are some photos from our adventures so far.

Snowmobiling is a fun hobby and also a method of transportation for me in the back country. I am not too adventurous on this big machine but it sure does know how to get me from place to place in deep powder. Well, after a 20 hour drive and a couple days out on this transporter my snowmobile decided it was time to die. Check the photos for a series of events.

This season has brought me all across Northern America and now I am planted in beautiful British Columbia. Here is my season is photos thus far. Enjoy!

Powder Run

It just keeps snowing and we just keep snowboarding..

The 2nd stop of the Dew Tour was held at Snowbasin in Utah. Here are some photos from Peter Morning from the slopestyle contest.

On the 1st of January I drove from Mammoth Lakes to Boise, Idaho, stayed the night there and continued my drive to Nelson BC on the 2nd of January. I joined up with Leanne Pelosi, Christy Chaloux, and Hana Beaman. The girls crew-minus Raewyn Reid- of Standard Films for this season. When we got to Nelson we found out that it had been dumping so hard on the Alpine that the Avalanche danger was really high. In order to be stay we  decided to start our adventure off by getting a helicopter ride up to Baldface, a cat skiing operation. Our filmer, Aaron Whitley, has connections up at the operation so we just stayed two days but the powder was all time, the food was 5 star, and the staff was incredibly welcoming. Once we got back down to Nelson the Avalanche danger became a little less stressful so we headed out on our sleds. 4 days later we are really sore and in need of a day off. Here are some photos to capture the moments.