I’ve been pretty juicy lately. You have my recipe for spicy healing green juice, and homemade spicy V8 juice. Maybe now you’re wondering why you would go to all this trouble and expense to make something that might not even sound good to you? I think that’s a good question!

I won’t lie; juicing isn’t cheap and it isn’t quick. I calculate that my spicy healing green juice costs me close to $5 per 16 ounce glass if I’m able to buy all organic produce. You can buy a soda for a fraction of that price, and it won’t take you an hour to shop for it either. Shoot, you could buy a whole fast food meal for that price and in less time. To juice you have to shop for organic ingredients, prep the produce, make the juice, and clean up your mess. That’s a process you’ll go through at least every couple of days.

So, why juice? These are my thoughts on the benefits of juicing, especially green juicing, and why I choose to do it. I should also add that I’m enjoying 1 or 2 glasses of fresh vegetable juice a day; I’m not suggesting that juicing replace a healthy balanced diet including some cooked and lots of raw veggies.

• Greens combat inflammation, which is believed to be the source of many ailments we face, including cancer, arthritis, heart conditions, joint pain, and Alzheimers. Inflammation can be created by processed food, food cooked at a high temperature, alcohol, smoking, stress, pollution, chemicals, pesticides, trans fats, meat, sugar, dairy, wheat, artificial sweeteners, poor sleep, and pretty much just living in this world. Green juicing gives us a weapon to fight back against those powerful forces. We need it!

• Greens also help create an alkaline environment, which is the opposite of acid in our systems. Disease loves an acidic environment, so maintaining a balanced pH in our body is crucial. Excessive acidity weakens the body overall, and contributes to accelerated aging, kidney problems, immune problems, cardiovascular issues, and low energy. Acidity can be caused by many of the same lifestyle and diet factors that cause inflammation.

• Greens are healing. In my spicy green juice recipe, the greens provide vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin E, calcium, folate, iron, chlorophyll, potassium, and magnesium to name just a few. You get antioxidants, cancer fighters, and detoxifying benefits for your liver and kidneys. There are also benefits for your cardiovascular system, circulation, digestion and relief from water retention. Green juicing is low-glycemic too, so you won’t have a blood sugar spike.

• Nutrients are more efficiently absorbed from juice, as opposed to piles of produce. It makes sense that it’s easier on your system to soak up vitamins, minerals and enzymes from juicing, instead of going to all the trouble of digesting the veggies before the nutrients are accessible. Also, many beneficial enzymes in fruits and vegetables are destroyed by cooking. Keep in mind that if you include too much fruit in your juice, all that sugar is going into your bloodstream at turbo speed too.

• There is a place for both smoothies and juices in our day. With a smoothie, you get the fiber you need, but you get filled up because of it. With a juice, you get the benefit of ALL that produce that you could never eat in one meal or in one entire day. Can you eat 6 to 8 servings of produce a day? I’m vegan, so veggies and fruits are my bread and butter (so to speak), but I know I don’t always succeed at that quantity. By juicing, you get the healing benefit of the micro-nutrients without having to spend your entire day chewing, chewing, chewing.

• I’m consuming a wider variety of produce than I ever would have without juicing. I don’t even like cucumber or celery, but I can enjoy their juice if it’s masked with other flavors. The wider variety of veggies we have in our day, the better chance we have of getting all of the nutrients we need.

• Juicing is not cheap and it does take time, but it’s not an expenditure that we’ll never recoup. It is absolutely a commitment, like anything else you do that’s important and valuable. It’s also an investment; not  just an outflow of money and time, but an investment into your health. I’m gambling that spending $5 on a glass of green juice right now will ultimately pay huge dividends in my quality of health. That could mean fewer doctor bills, fewer prescription drugs, fewer hospitalizations, and less missed work time. I’m pretty sure this gamble is a sure thing.

• Most of all, the bottom line for me is that after 3 weeks of having 1 or 2 glasses of fresh juice daily, I just feel better right now than I have in probably 3 years. Menopause has been doing it’s darndest to suck the life outta me, cause that’s what it does. It’s made me exhausted, grumpy, moody, blue and just generally out of whack. I’ve found some great ways to manage the annoying side effects of it (I should share those with you another time), but I can honestly say that nothing has made a real difference in my energy and my mood until I started juicing. Because of that I can enjoy my life more today. Who can say they don’t want that?

Those are the reasons I’m juicing. In a nutshell, I just like it. No, actually, I love it. The process is really fun, and I love that I’m doing something that I know is great for my body and my future. That’s as good as it gets!

~BigSis

The post The Benefits of Juicing: Why Should You Juice? appeared first on BigSisLilSis.

I’ve always wanted to find a good homemade spicy V8 juice recipe, since the store-bought juice is just too darn salty. I absolutely love it, but the sodium level gives me salt bags of epic proportions. Not a good look, and definitely not good for you.

I’m a total juice fiend lately – ever since I started having green juice every day – so I decided to try my hand at a homemade spicy V8 juice recipe. I have to tell you that I’m thrilled with the results!

Store-bought V8 juice is made of reconstituted juices of carrot, tomato, watercress, lettuce, parsley, beet, celery and spinach. I didn’t have any watercress, my spicy healing green juice used all my lettuce up, and I don’t like the flavor of parsley, so I used spinach for all the greens this first go-round.

I think using a variety of greens would give the juice even more depth of flavor, so that will be the first change I make in the next batch o’ BigSis V8. Technically, what I have here is V7.  Next time, I’m going to use romaine and a few kale leaves for part of the spinach, so I guess I’ll have V9 juice then.

I love the balance of tomato to carrot to beet, and the celery and bell pepper are adding in the right touches of flavor too. The spinach and lemon bring it all together.

This first version leans a little spicy, but it’s not quite as zippy as my green juice. Feel free to leave out the garlic, horseradish and cayenne to make a more pure V8.

One last note about this recipe is that it’s raw. I’ve seen some homemade V8 recipes online that were cooked, which baffles me a little. Cooking the veggies defeats the purpose of juicing for me, so we’re going raw here. I betcha you could lightly run some tomatoes through the blender and mix them into the fresh juice if you really want a thicker texture to your juice.

Homemade Spicy V8 Juice Recipe

6 carrots
1 very small beet
8 Roma tomatoes (you want a firm tomato for juicing)
1 red bell pepper
3 huge handfuls of spinach
3 stalks celery
1 clove garlic
4 small or 2 large lemons
1-2 tablespoons prepared horseradish (not creamed)
1/4 to 1/2 tsp salt
1/4 to 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

Wash all the produce thoroughly. Remove seeds and stem from pepper, and cut into large chunks. Cut ends from carrots and beet, and cut into chunks. Peel the lemons and cut into quarters. Half the tomatoes, and cut celery into big pieces. Juice everything together, and season to taste.

This recipe makes round 32 ounces. Drink within 2 days for maximum nutrition.

I don’t drink vodka, but I also think this juice would make a heck of a Bloody Mary!

~BigSis

The post Homemade Spicy V8 Juice Recipe appeared first on BigSisLilSis.

I’m obsessed with this spicy healing green juice recipe. I’m one of those people who is either all in or all out. I know nothing of moderation, so it’s no surprise that when I juice, I really juice!

I bought my Breville Juicer a couple of years ago, and started juicing every day. I even dove into green juice. I was new to it though, and made some mistakes. To start with, I couldn’t really figure out how to integrate juicing into my day, so it didn’t become part of my routine.

I like to have a blueberry smoothie every morning. I’m a morning person and I have to have breakfast, so the smoothie gives me something in my tummy first thing, and provides the energy I need to do the things I want to do. I can also take my morning supplements with a smoothie, but they’d be too harsh with just juice, especially green juice.

Then when I get to work, I automatically gravitate toward the Keurig and have 2 or 3 cups of coffee during the morning. So where did juice fit in? Nowhere really. I felt like I was trying to cram it into the day when I didn’t even want it.

Besides scheduling, the other challenge I had with my first attempt at juicing was the fruit/veggie balance. I made a rookie mistake and used too much fruit. You know what that means…too much sugar! It’s natural sugar but it’s still sugar, and that leads to blood sugar peaks and crashes, and cravings for more sugar. Not good. Not what I was going for with juicing.

The bottom line was juicing wasn’t working for me. I felt kind of guilty that I had this nice new juicer, but I wasn’t seeing the health benefits I was hoping for. I just generally didn’t feel great about the whole experience.

So I quit. I told you; I’m all in or all out. My pretty Breville Juicer sat and collected dust for almost 2 years. It stayed on my counter though, and I knew that eventually I’d come back around to it.

Fast forward 2 years. I’d been reading about this new juicing company in town called Vim + Vigor. When they ran a special coupon recently, I grabbed the chance to buy some of their juices and do a 3-day juice cleanse. My favorite of all the blends I got to try was the detoxifying No. 01, which is kale, spinach, romaine, celery, cucumber, apple and lemon. I was shocked at how much I loved that juice.

When the 3 days passed and I was out of Vim + Vigor juice, my body was screaming at me. Get me some green juice now! I was kind of shocked at how good I felt on this juice, whereas my previous juicing experience left me feeling crummy.

The difference? Green juice was a necessary part of my day now. First, a smoothie and supplements. Second, not more than one cup of coffee. Third, green juice mid-morning when my energy starts to wane. Then a healthy big lunch and a light dinner; often raw like a salad or my favorite raw spinach and avocado soup.

The other major difference? I’m using lots of veggies, and just enough fruit to make the juice taste delicious. The general rule – I know now – is 3 veggie parts to every 1 part fruit. That limits the impact on your blood sugar.

Off to the interwebs I went in search of green juice recipes with the ingredients I fell for in No. 01. Finally I came up with the perfect combination for me, and that’s what I’m sharing with you today. My green juice recipe is super spicy, healing, delicious and addictive. I’m using ginger, cayenne, lots of lemon, and a touch of salt…all working together to create something I want to drink and actually enjoy the taste of, rather than just choking down a glass of grassy flavors.

I recommend buying organic produce whenever you can, especially with these juice ingredients since all of them (except for lemons) are very susceptible to contamination from pesticides.

Spicy Healing Green Juice
(makes about 32 ounces or 2 large servings)

8 large leaves kale
2 giant handfuls spinach
8 large leaves romaine
8 stalks celery
1 large seedless cucumber
2 small Granny Smith apples
2 large lemons
1 small piece ginger
Salt and cayenne to taste, about 1/4 tsp to 1/2 tsp each

Wash all the produce. Remove tough ribs from the kale. Chop the celery and cucumber into big chunks. Core the apples and cut into chunks. Peel the lemons and cut into quarters.

Start juicing! I think I get better yield from everything by juicing slowly, and also by mixing up ingredients with a similar texture. I start with the leafy greens, mixing kale with romaine and spinach. This is what the juice looks like after all the leafies are juiced. Pretty concentrated stuff, right? That’s a micro-nutrient powerhouse just chomping at the bit to attack any bad stuff in my system!

Once the leafy greens are done, I move onto lemon, cucumber, celery and finally apple.

This recipe makes around 32 ounces, depending on how big your items are. I drink half of the recipe one day and have the rest the next day. Ideally, you’d consume your juice fresh as soon as it’s made, but that’s just not practical for all of us. If you store your leftover juice in a glass jar, refrigerate it immediately, and use some citrus in the recipe, you’ll cut down on the oxidation a little bit.

It’s definitely a lot of work to juice, so every other day works best for me. It takes me around 30 minutes to prep the produce and juice it, and then another 15 minutes to take the juicer apart and clean all the components and dishes…

and you have this leftover stuff to deal with too:

There’s actually not that much of it, which makes me really happy! Some people are creative enough to use the pulp in recipes, but I usually donate it to a friend who composts.

I’m really excited about this green juice, and think I’m going to stick with it this time since I’m doing it the right way. If you try my spicy juice or have a favorite recipe of your own, please share! To your health!

~BigSis

The post Spicy Healing Green Juice Recipe appeared first on BigSisLilSis.

I first saw a photo of these cute little Easter Chicks Deviled Eggs on Pinterest several weeks ago so I repinned it to my LilSis Holiday Goodies board so I wouldn’t forget to make these for Easter. This would be a fun little project to get the kids to help with because these little Easter Chicks are sure to be the hit of the party! Let’s get started.

First, cut a little slice off the wide end of your boiled eggs to create a flat surface so the chicks will sit flat and not roll all over the plate. Next, on the narrow end, cut a wider section off, that will become the chick’s little hat; (about 1/3 of the egg). Carefully remove the yolks from the eggs and place in a bowl.

You can start with your favorite recipe for the deviled eggs; but for this little project, a very basic deviled egg is perfectly fine. It’s more about the cuteness of the little chicks than anything else.

For mine, I simply mashed my egg yolks, added a splash of pickle juice, a little mayo, ground mustard, and lemon pepper to taste. No reason to measure, just don’t use too much mayo or pickle juice because you don’t want the egg yolks to be runny.

When you’ve got your deviled egg mixture ready, just put in a plastic baggie and cut a little hole in the corner and squeeze the mixture into the egg.  I used capers for the eyes and little triangles of baby carrots for the beaks.

I got in too big of a hurry to take photos along the way, but if you need the visual instructions,  A Thrifty Mom website has some easy step by step photos.

These are fun, simple and inexpensive to make and almost too cute to eat, don’t you think?

Almost.

~LilSis

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Here is a recap of our favorite Easter craft ideas. Just click on the title for all the instructions and lots more photos.

Silk Dyed Easter Eggs

Natural Dye Colored Easter Eggs

Cross Painted Glass Marble Magnets

Easter Candy Gifts

~BigSis

The post Easter Craft Ideas: Artsy Dyed Eggs and Cross Painted Glass Marbles appeared first on BigSisLilSis.

I always look forward to getting that extra hour of light in the evening once we move our clocks forward for daylight savings time in the Spring. The hard part for most of us though is adapting to getting up in the morning since we feel like we’ve lost an hour of sleep. There have actually been studies done that indicate more car accidents, heart attacks and injuries on the job occur immediately after this Spring transition due to sleep deprivation.

As we spring ahead into daylight savings time, it’s important to try to maintain a consistent bedtime and waking schedule.  Since I already have some “pre-menopausal” sleep issues, I really have to make a conscious effort to try and get at least 6 hours of sleep even though 7  hours is supposed to be the amount we really need each night.

Here are just a few tips that might help you get some quality ZZZs during this transition to daylight savings time.

• If at all possible, go to bed an hour earlier than your normal time starting on Saturday night. If you normally go to bed at 10:00, try going to bed at 9:00 for the first week or so after we move the clocks forward.

• Try not to drink any alcohol or caffeinated beverages close to bedtime.

• Create a relaxing bedtime routine, whether it’s a hot bubble bath or just reading for a few minutes. Try not to work or watch TV in bed and unplug from social networking by leaving your cell phone in another room.

• I find essential lavender oil to be soothing and relaxing. Just rub some on your pulse points before nighttime. I also love putting on lavender foot cream before bed.

• Wear an eye mask if you have any light at all coming into your room.

• If you sleep next to a snorer, like I do, use ear plugs or put a pillow over your head. (That trick works for me if I don’t have earplugs handy.) Having a fan on for some white noise definitely helps too.

I think it would be glorious to get a solid 8 or 9 hours of uninterrupted sleep each night but for most of us that’s not really practical due to our busy lives. For now, if I get 6 or 7 hours, I can wake up feeling pretty rested. I hope some of these tips help you get a good night’s sleep.

So, don’t forget to move your clocks forward for daylight savings time before you go to bed tonight. Happy snoozing!

~LilSis

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You do know about second breakfast, right? (Sorry for the dorky “Lord of the Rings” reference. I love those movies.)

You can throw whatever you like into the blender, but here’s my basic recipe for what I think is the best blueberry smoothie.

Best Blueberry Smoothie

1-1/2 cups frozen organic blueberries
1-1/2 cups unsweetened vanilla almond milk
1 tsp ground flax seeds
1 heaping scoop unsweetened vanilla brown rice protein powder
1/2 tsp maca powder
1 tblsp coconut oil
Splash of homemade vanilla extract (see note below)
Optional: a tiny bit of chlorella powder

Place everything into a blender and mix until thoroughly blended, adding a little water if the mixture gets too thick. Enjoy!

Notes:

• I use blueberries because they’re such a nutritional powerhouse, but you can use any fruit. I used to mix in some strawberries, but I’ve been reading that even organic strawberries are likely to contain pesticide residue. I prefer frozen fruit because then I don’t need ice cubes to get a nice freezy texture.

• My usual liquid is Almond Breeze, but I’ve added a splash of orange juice for flavor when I had it around. I don’t like using much juice though because of the high natural sugar content. If I wanted a sugar buzz, I’d rather have a piece of chocolate.

• Instead of the flax seeds or in addition to them, I’ve also used hemp seeds and chia seeds. They’re all good in smoothies.

• Maca is one of my favorite little foods, and I think it’s highly underrated. Google it and see. It’s a powdered Peruvian root that I first read about it in Brendan Brazier’s book Thrive. It helps balance out hormonal issues for menopausal women, and is said to have a variety of other benefits including increasing energy and endurance, and reducing stress and adrenal fatigue. I don’t know about all of the claims, but I can tell you that my hormonal issues are lessened when I use it and I just feel better. I like the Royal Maca brand. It is gelatinized, which means it is less starchy, more potent, more concentrated and easier to digest than raw maca.

• Coconut oil is another little jewel that I love. It’s supposed to reduce night sweats and other hot flashy problems, as well as helping to prevent Alzheimer’s and provide quick energy since it doesn’t have to be metabolized through the liver first like most other fats. I’d really like to get one more tablespoon of it in my diet each day.

• Homemade vanilla extract is pretty complicated, so pay close attention. Once I finish a bottle of my favorite vanilla extract, Penzey’s Mexican Vanilla, I keep the vanilla bean inside the bottle and fill it up with the cheapest vodka I can find. Then I just store it in the back of the pantry for a few weeks. I have 3 bottles in rotation, so while I’m using the oldest bottle, I have 2 others marinating in the pantry. Why do this? Because I’m a vanilla extract snob; I like the good stuff which is pricey. There’s no need for it in a smoothie though and this cheap version works perfectly fine.

• Chlorella is another food I learned about from Thrive. It’s a freshwater algae that is a detoxifying super hero! It helps speed up the rate at which toxins are removed from our bodies, and is even used in cases of mercury overload. You have to respect chlorella for the power it possesses, and add it into your smoothie very, very gradually, otherwise you’re likely to experience bloating and real discomfort. I don’t add in chlorella all of the time, and when I do it’s usually 1/4 tsp or less.

I hope you’ll give the Best Blueberry Smoothie a try, and start your morning with a team of super nutrients that will go to battle for you throughout the day!

~BigSis

The post How to Make the Best Blueberry Smoothie appeared first on BigSisLilSis.

I’ve been making them for years, and I especially like to make them for Easter gifts and Christmas stocking stuffers. There’s another holiday coming up that lends itself perfectly to these little gifties though. Its Valentine’s Day, and that of course means we draw hearts!

The method is the same as I showed you for crosses. With the hearts though, I just freehand it instead of using a guide behind the marble. I’m not sure why I forego a guide with hearts. Maybe it’s a deep-seated psychological ideal that matters of the heart should be allowed to be free to become what they will, rather than following a template.

Nah, that’s not it.

I think I just like the imperfect nature of these drawn freehand and it kind of reminds me of making Valentines as a kid, back when we weren’t so obsessed with everything being perfect. Heart shapes are like pizza to me; even a flawed heart shape is still a happy heart! Bad pizza is still pizza!

If I could give you one piece of advice, however, don’t have 3 cups of coffee like I did before you start painting these! Shaky hands and this project don’t go very well together. Your hearts might be more imperfect than you expect!

I’ve tried a lot of different glass paints, and this time I tried a new one. I bought several bottles of Martha Stewart’s relatively new line of craft paints that are approved for a variety of surfaces, including glass. It’s called Multi-Surface Acrylic Craft Paint, and I chose the pearl finish because I think it’s prettier than flat or plain glossy finishes on the marbles. I chose a variety of pinks and lavenders since it’s Valentine’s Day: Purple Martin, Eclipse, Fruit Punch, Pink Taffeta, and Antique Silk.

Martha also has a new-ish line of glass paint, but it’s slightly more expensive and I wanted to see how this multi-surface paint held up. You can air-cure both paints for 21 days, but you can bake the dedicated glass paint if you wish to speed up the process. For these magnets, neither is necessary since we don’t need the magnets to be food-safe or dishwasher-safe. I’m just reasonably careful with the marbles until the paint has had a chance to bond with the glass.

Overall, I really like Martha’s craft paint. The selection of colors is awesome – as you would expect from Martha. There are also metallic, gloss and glitter finishes in the line too. I would have chosen the glitter variety, but I think it probably would have clogged the tiny painting tips I use.

The coverage was great, and I didn’t get many bubbles which is fantastic. If I could change anything, I might wish for the paint to be the tiniest, tiniest bit thinner so that it took slightly less effort to squeeze the paint out of the itty bitty painting tip. On the upside, when I made dots they held their texture and didn’t completely flatten out.

So, let’s get to it! For more detailed instructions and photos, please refer to my previous post on how to make painted marble magnets with crosses.

The first thing we need to do is gently clean the glass marbles. I like to use straight white vinegar with a water rinse afterwards. Let them dry for a bit, and then dry each one to make sure you don’t get spots. Place them on a foil or paper towel lined baking sheet. Be careful not to touch the surface of the marble with your hands, just to make sure no body oils get on your squeaky clean marble. This will help ensure that the paint adheres.

Attach a metal glass painting tip to the nozzle of a plastic paint bottle. You can get the bottles and tips in a kit at many craft stores. Then just draw a heart, and fill it in with paint.

If you see any air bubbles form, try to immediately pop them with the painting tip. Allow the paint to dry, at least 2 hours, depending on how thick your paint is.

Once your first coat is dry, go back and apply a second coat. The second coat will be essential if your paint is somewhat sheer or streaky, but I think a second coat always helps to smooth and even out the first coat.

I added one little twist with the hearts that I didn’t do with the crosses. I added a sprinkle of glitter to the marble while the second coat of paint was wet, and I like how it came out…sparkly!

After the second coat of paint is completely dry, I flip the marbles over and apply a thin coat of shimmery white to the back. I think it helps to hide the magnet a little bit, but this is totally optional. My favorite paint for this purpose is PermEnamel in White Pearl. With the crosses, I used a variety of colors for the back of the marbles, just for fun and different effects.

Once that background coat dries, it’s time to get dotty. Using a contrasting color of paint, just make dots all over the hearts with the same painting tip. On some hearts I just make an outline, but on others I go dot wild! Here are the finished heart glass marble magnets.

After your dots have dried, you can attach a magnet to the back and then decide how to package these little gems.

This is my favorite way. I think they look like little candy bon bons! I used a tiny paper candy cup tucked inside a clear plastic Wilton box that is often used for wedding favors.

You could also package the marble magnets in small drawstring organza bags with a bit of colored shred, or in a stamped paper mache box like I made for the cross painted magnets. Inside the lid, you could include a scripture that focuses on love, a verse from a favorite poem, or anything else that has meaning for you and the recipient of your gift.

However you choose to package these heart painted glass marble magnets, I’m sure that everyone you give one to will appreciate that you created a personal handmade gift just for them! That to me is the meaning of the holiday. Happy Valentine’s Day!

~BigSis

The post Heart Painted Glass Marble Magnets for Valentine’s Day appeared first on BigSisLilSis.

I’ve been pinning some pretty decadent/wicked recipes on Pinterest lately. That’s what we all do, right? It’s no fun to pin a plate of carrot sticks. Boring.

This pin of Game-Day Garlic Knots Monkey Bread is one of the wicked ones. I’m really on a mission to eat clean, so I can’t do bread or even any wheat so Game-day Garlic Knots Monkey Bread is out. Totally out of the question. Boo.

Even while eating WELL, I think it’s still possible to eat FUN. If I go to a Super Bowl party tomorrow, I want to be able to enjoy something warm and gooey and spicy and delicious while I’m watching commercials and Beyonce’s half-time show.

Just because I’m being good right now and trying to make amends for my lack of discipline around the holidays doesn’t mean I have to be deprived. This recipe for Creamy Spinach Dip does the trick for me. Whole Foods was sampling it the other day so I grabbed the recipe and was surprised at how good it was! And as a bonus, it’s vegan, gluten-free, and high fiber!

Whole Foods‘ recipe suggested serving it with celery, carrots and red bell pepper. You can do that if you want, but that’s not my thing. I like it warm and stuffed into little bite-sized tomatoes or served alongside gluten-free crackers. I love Crunchmaster Multi-Seed Crackers and everything from Mary’s Gone Crackers.

Creamy Kinda Healthy Vegan Spinach Dip

(based on Whole Foods’ recipe but jazzed up)

• 2 fresh jalapeño peppers, chopped (seeds removed, if desired)
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2 large garlic cloves, minced or pressed
• 1 1/2 cups unsweetened plain almond milk
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
• 3 cups cooked cannellini beans (or 2 15-ounce cans), rinsed
• 1 avocado
• 1 (16 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, prepared and squeezed to remove excess liquid
• 1/2 cup vegan cheese (optional)
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Frank’s Red Hot Sauce to taste

Cook peppers, onion and garlic in a large skillet over medium heat until browned and softened, 8 to 10 minutes. Add almond milk and simmer, scraping up any browned bits, for 2 minutes more. Carefully transfer contents of skillet to a food processor along with lemon juice, yeast, beans and avocado and purée until smooth. Stir in spinach, and vegan cheese if using. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and Frank’s. Serve warm or at room temperature. To heat dip, keep in a crockpot on low heat, or spread in a baking dish and bake in a 350°F oven until hot throughout, 25 to 30 minutes. Makes enough for a crowd.

By the way, are you following us on Pinterest? We’re BigSisTexas and LilSisCA. Come check us out!

~BigSis

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Sausage, White Bean and Spinach Soup

Last week when cleaning out some of the clutter in my pantry, I ran across this recipe that I hadn’t filed away.  I’ve only made it once so I had forgotten how delicious and EASY it is!

Luckily,  my guys don’t mind eating Campbell’s Tomato Soup or Chicken Noodle Soup occasionally, but I don’t eat canned soup at all; mainly because it has WAY too much sodium for me.  I absolutely love making homemade soups but since most of us don’t always have that much time, it’s nice to have a few quick and easy, family-pleasing recipes on hand to make on those busy days.

This recipe is very similar to the Hearty Chicken Italian Sausage Soup recipe that I’ve made a couple of times but for some reason, my family really loved this soup.  Anytime I can make something this easy and have the family rave about it, I am one happy camper!

I doubled the amount of sausage from what the original recipe called for and also added three times the amount of spinach, so each spoonful was just perfect!

Sausage, White Bean and Spinach Soup
(adapted from Cooking Light)

5 turkey Italian sausage links
2 t. extra virgin olive oil
1 c. chopped onion
2 or 3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2  c. water
1 15 oz. cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
1 28 oz. can diced tomatoes
32 oz. low sodium chicken broth
6 cups baby spinach
3 T. chopped fresh basil

Remove sausage from casings. Heat oil in large saucepan and cook sausage in the oil until browned, stirring to crumble. Add onion and garlic to pan, cook for 2 minutes. Stir in water, beans, tomatoes, and broth. Cover and bring to a boil. Uncover and cook for another five minutes or so until soup thickens slightly.

Remove from heat and stir in spinach and basil. You can top with grated Parmesan cheese if desired.

Note: If you’ve got big grown boys who don’t necessarily consider soup a main course, I made a pound of pasta shells on the side and let them add pasta to their bowls to make the soup a little heartier.

BigSis’ Vegan Twist: This is an easy one! I’d use veggie broth instead of chicken, and just leave out the sausage. Since I’m a kale freak, I might use it in place of the spinach. I love it in soups. On top of being a nutritional powerhouse, it adds a lot of texture, whereas spinach gets more wilty.

I bought the new Trader Joe’s vegan mozzarella shreds recently, and to me they have more of a parmesan vibe so I bet they would be tasty sprinkled in this dish. I think this soup sounds awesome, and I’m trying it soon!

~LilSis

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