We still can’t let the Super Bowl come and go without mentioning what’s most important; the food, the commercials and the half-time show.

I wasn’t even planning on being near a television during Super Bowl but I’m a little curious to see Madonna’s performance and, if my guys are around, you can be sure that I’ll be cooking up some “football watchin” grub. Here are some of our favorites from past years!

I put together this Super Bowl Super Tostada for my hungry guys last year using their favorite Velveeta and Rotel dip.

This Super Bowl Snack Attack that BigSis posted in 2009 includes some of our all-time favorite appetizers and snack food and dozens of other recipes from some of our favorite sites.  The photo above is our pasta salad which is always a hit! BigSis veganizes her version now, and it’s still just as delicious!

Here’s a yummy vegan Shrimp toast from BigSis’ 1 Quick Recipe: 4 Super Bowl Party Snacks from last year.

And here’s BigSis’ Vegan Queso with Seitan Crumbles, her version of a famous Bob Armstrong dip.

You can see all our favorite soups in this SOUPER Bowl for Super Bowl post from 2010.

Three years ago, I entered my chili recipe in the Ultimate Super Bowl Party Smackdown that was hosted by The Recipe Girl.

We hope this gives you a few ideas for your Super Bowl crowd. Have a great weekend and a safe and fun Super Bowl Sunday!  If you’re like us, you don’t care who wins the game as long as the football food is awesome!

~LilSis

The main goal was to detox; to get rid of all the nasty free radicals roaming around, along with the mucus (sorry, gross) that is formed by the body to try to isolate the toxins. I feel great, as Dr. Junger promised. My achy knees are happier, I’m sleeping much better, I have better energy and mental clarity, and I feel calmer. I can’t explain it all, but it’s all documented in Clean: The Revolutionary Program to Restore the Body’s Natural Ability to Heal Itself, and everything that Dr. Junger said would happen, did happen.

The only problem is, I want to stay on this program forever! I love it. One of the things I love most about it is the Raw Green Soup I had for dinner almost every night, and am now totally addicted to. I’m still making it a couple of times a week even though the cleanse has been officially over for a week. SisMama said she would upchuck if she had to eat this, but I promise it’s delicious. It does take a slightly adventurous palate to try it for the first time, but after the first taste I think you’ll agree. It’s yummy and addictive.

I based my soup on a recipe from Thrive: The Vegan Nutrition Guide to Optimal Performance in Sports and Life by Brendan Brazier, but I tweaked the flavors quite a bit since I like a little zippety-do-dah in my food. It’s essentially spinach blended with water, avocado, lemon, protein powder and some seasonings. I know, I know, I know! It’s sounds like it would be horrible. I can’t explain it, just trust me. Here’s my version.

Raw Green Soup

1/2 large avocado (or 1 whole small one)
2 cups baby spinach, very tightly packed
3 cups water
2 tblsp hemp protein powder
1 tblsp hemp oil
2 tblsp raw unsalted pumpkin seeds
1 raw garlic clove
1/8 to 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (or to taste; I use a lot)
2 tblsp fresh chives
Frank’s Red Hot Sauce to taste
Dash sea salt
Dash black pepper

Pile all ingredients into a blender and whirl around until it looks creamy and you don’t see any dark green spinach bits spinning by.

This recipe makes 2 servings. Store leftovers in a glass jar in the fridge and use the next day if possible. It doesn’t darken, but the avocado will start to take on that old guacamole taste.

Note: I use my KitchenAid blender to make this and it works like a champ.You don’t need an expensive Vitamix to pull this off. A good blender or food processor should be fine.

~BigSis

I’ll give you the scoop on what I’m up to bit later, but here’s a hint…a very beautiful, dangerous and mesmerizing hint.

~BigSis

It’s hard to put into words, but some days it seems like it’s been forever since we’ve seen him or talked to him and on other days, it feels like it was just yesterday.

Our dad was a photographer for most of his life and growing up we even had a darkroom in our garage. It was always fascinating to watch him develop his own photos.

In memory of our dad and his love of photography, today I thought I’d share with you some of my son’s photography. We are slowly but surely working on a Haden Bauer Photography website and some day, hopefully soon, you’ll be able to see more of his awesome photos, which mainly reflect his love of surfing, sunrises, and sunsets.

 Haden’s Pappy would be very proud.

~LilSis

Anyway, the main bugaboo in my life for the last few weeks has been devouring things I don’t usually eat, in addition to getting less rest, and succumbing to a lot of holiday stress. You know what that all adds up to…time to detox!

I personally love a good cleanse, and have done several over the years. The detox of choice this year is the Clean Program. It’s a 21-day nutritional cleanse based on the best-selling book Clean: The Revolutionary Program to Restore the Body’s Natural Ability to Heal Itself by Dr. Alejandro Junger.

You might have heard Gwyneth Paltrow talk about this book, like I did. I’ve had the book for a while but just pulled it out on New Years Eve as I was deciding on which cleanse route to take. I know; I’m quite the party animal, right?

I’m not gonna lie; the Clean Program is not for the faint of heart. I’m wrapping up my first week, and it’s going surprisingly well, but you have to get your mojo on before you start. I absolutely believe that this program is at least 50% mental, if not more!

Here is my amateur paraphrasing of the rules:

• Eat none of this bad stuff: dairy, eggs, soy, sugar, caffeine, alcohol, gluten, evening nightshade family (potatoes, tomatoes, eggplant, and peppers), strawberries, oranges, grapefruit, bananas, grapes, peanuts, pistachios, macadamia nuts, pork, beef, veal, processed oils, etc, etc, etc. The list is long and a little daunting!

• Have liquid meals for breakfast and dinner: soup (preferably raw to maintain the healthy enzymes), fresh juices (from allowed fruits and veggies), or smoothies.

• Enjoy one solid meal each day at lunch. That’s right; I said ONE.

• There must be a twelve-hour fast between dinner and breakfast.

• Additional goodies: eat a raw garlic clove each day, take two tablespoons of olive oil before bed, brush your skin each day (exfoliation helps the toxins exit), drink a TON of water, and exercise moderately every day if you can (walking’s great). You also have to make sure you do a #2 every day (make SURE you do, even if you need some “help” with it. You know what I mean.). If the released toxins linger in your system, you could re-absorb them, and you definitely don’t want to do that!

• If you haven’t purchased the official Clean kit ($425), you’ll need to purchase some supplements to help your body with the detox. I already had a lot of this stuff so I didn’t buy it. I’m using ground flaxseed, rice and pea protein powders, Maca, Chlorella, a powerful probiotic, Milk Thistle, PGX and Oil of Oregano.

What’s the POINT of all that and what CAN you actually eat?  Good questions!

The point is to take as much stress as you can off your body, including the work of processing a bunch of stuff that gets in the way of effective digestion and elimination. You want your body to spend that energy getting rid of the toxic garbage that causes a host of problems like fatigue, joint pain, constipation, and food cravings.

The supplements help your body to release the toxins and get them out of your system as efficiently and completely as possible. Did you know that a water or juice fast can help release toxins, but the nasty little buggers are best whisked out of your system when they can bind to (take a ride on) protein? I didn’t.

Another bit of news to me is that the olive oil helps your liver release bile, which is really helpful since your poor stressed liver is going to be working overtime to process all these toxins that are hopefully taking the fast track out of your bod.

So what can you actually EAT, you ask, for cryin’ out loud?

• Gluten-free grains (sometimes called pseudo grains), like amaranth, teff, millet, quinoa and brown rice
• Fruits with exceptions noted above
• Vegetables with the exception of corn and nightshade family
• Dairy substitutes like almond milk
• Vegetable proteins: split peas, lentils, beans, spirulina, blue-green algae
• Water, water, water!

As I said, the Clean Program isn’t a walk in the park. It’s serious about doing some seriously important work for your health. You’re eating pretty darn CLEAN for three weeks, and you have to be extremely motivated for better health, otherwise you’re going to be resentful and feel deprived. I was hoping to get a jump-start on losing some holiday poundage that crept up on my backside. More than that though, I wanted to get away from the sugar and salt cravings I’d given in to during the holidays, as well as getting back to only one cup of coffee a day rather than two or three. A little extra energy would be nice too.

To be fair, eating this way isn’t as hard for me as it might be for some folks since I’ve been vegetarian for over seventeen years and vegan for two years. I already do a morning smoothie and make fresh juices, and I try to eat intentionally. But even so, I still have LOTS of room for improvement. I eat too much processed stuff, too much soy, too much faux meat, too many crackers, too much caffeine, and during the holidays/bake sale time I consume too much sugar. And I can always improve on the amount of fresh veggies and fruits in my diet. Plus I’m exposed to toxins like everyone else from pesticides, exhaust fumes, smog, chemicals, stress; you name it.

So how’s the cleanse going, you ask?  The first three days I had a pretty bad headache, but surprisingly I haven’t been hungry at all, even at night when I tend to snack on crackers and nuts and whatever else I can get my tired hands on after work and a workout. I’ve definitely experienced some detox symptoms like tiredness, a mouth sore, and an inflamed/coated tongue and roof of mouth.

Some signs are good though!  I’m starting to feel clearer and strangely calm. My scale needs a new battery so I can’t quantify it, but I absolutely feel like I’ve lost some weight; probably a lot of bloaty water and maybe a pound of fat. I hope, I hope! I don’t have any cravings, even though I haven’t had a cracker or a single piece of bread in a week. Cool, huh? I feel very in control of what I eat right now, and not at the mercy of every bon bon or chip I walk by. That’s a huge improvement!

I still have fifteen more days to go, and I’m excited to see how it shakes out!  So far, I’m feeling pretty good about it and feel like I can go the distance. I’ll report back on the events of the next two weeks!

Note from BigSis added on 1-10-12: At the end of week one, I lost 4 pounds!  Yippee!  Hopefully more to come…

~BigSis

Here’s hoping that everyone has a happy, healthy, prosperous 2012!

I like the ring of 2012, so I’m thinking, praying that it’s gonna be a good year.

What did you do last night? Did you make it to midnight?

I almost did. We watched New York City welcome the New Year and then fell asleep about 15 minutes before midnight.

Have you heard the old wives tale that says if a home is in disarray on New Year’s Day, then you’ll struggle with clutter and a dirty house for the rest of the year?

I stayed up long enough to clean up our mess from last night just in case there’s any truth to this tale.

What will you do today to welcome in the new year?

I’m making the Traditional Southern New Years Dinner  of ham, black eyed peas (for good luck) and greens (for prosperity) for family and friends. Here’s my plate from last year.

I actually ate several more bowls of peas throughout the day. You know that you can never eat too many black eyed peas on New Year’s Day!

I also concocted a new black eyed pea dip this year that I didn’t have time to post but I’ll share that recipe with you soon. It was so good that you can make it any time; not just for New Year’s Eve!

Did you make any New Year’s Resolutions?

I always do. They motivate me and help keep me focused. I like putting them in black and white because I feel more committed and I can look back at them throughout the year to see how I’m doing. I’ll be posting my goal list for 2012 later this week.

Have a fantastic, Happy New Year!

~LilSis

Some people despise New Year’s Resolutions, but I love them. Resolutions and/or goals help me to stay focused and motivate me to start the year off on a positive note. They don’t have to be something major like quitting smoking or losing 20 pounds. They can be small goals that you would like to achieve or just a few things that you would like to improve on during the new year.

(photo credit: Zastavki)

But, before I look forward to 2012, I want to take a little time to revisit my Resolutions for 2011.  In 2010, I had 12 things on my list and that was a bit difficult to maintain throughout the year, so for 2011, I purposely made a shorter, more realistic list.

I only had five things on my list for 2011, so let’s see how I did.

1. Goal. GO TO BED EARLIER.

Reality: This one is really, really hard for me because night time is finally my time to relax and do whatever I want to do, without interruptions. The first part of the year I had a crazy schedule which made it easy for me to stay up too late if I didn’t have an early morning. About four months ago, I got a regular, set schedule which has me starting work at 4:00 a.m. so I HAVE FINALLY learned how to force myself to go to bed at 9:00 p.m.

2. Goal. Plan healthy meals for the week and do all grocery shopping in one trip.

Reality: I try so hard to do this on Mondays, but depending on my work schedule how manic the Monday happens to be, I don’t always make this happen. I despise last minute trips to the grocery store two or three times a week, so this is back on the list for 2012.

3. Goal. Get back to yoga class twice a week.

Reality: Since I work on the mornings when my favorite classes are held at the gym, this didn’t work out. Yoga is definitely at the top of my list for 2012. If I can’t get to the gym, I’ll find a way to do it at home. My sanity and “mental well-being” depend on it!

4. Goal. Restrict weekday “cocktails” and afternoon snacking.

Reality: I would have to say that I’ve managed to cut out most afternoon snacking on the weekdays, but need to get stricter on the weekends. I’ve done better on weekday cocktails, unless, of course, someone calls me and wants to get together for a drink during the week. But, I have learned how to say “no”, sometimes.

5. Goal. Weigh in once a week on Friday morning.

Reality: I’m pretty good about doing this but it needs to be more of a mandatory thing so I don’t let 3 or 4 pounds sneak up on me. I’m not one who is going to weigh every morning, but it’s much easier for me to maintain my weight when I weigh once a week. This is still on my list for 2012.

(photo credit: indieshuffle)

Considering that 2011 was a tough year in a lot of ways, I feel pretty good about not completely “throwing in the towel” when it comes to trying to stay in shape.

Between age, stress, hormones and a work schedule that prevents me from early morning exercise, a few pounds have managed to sneak back on my body. So…what am I going to do about it?

Stay tuned.  I’ll be back soon with my plan for 2012.

~LilSis

Last year, BigSis and LilSis did a little Disco and the year before, we were Dancing Elves. We get a kick out of these videos just because they make us laugh and hopefully make some of you laugh too!

This year; it’s a Snowball Fight, girls against the guys!

From our family to yours; have a very Merry Christmas!

~LilSis

They look like they’re covered in sugar or snow, don’t they?  There is still time for you to make them for Christmas, so let me show you how easy they are to do.

First, make a quick trip to the craft store for the paper mache boxes.  Mine happened to have the ribbon design as part of the paper mache, but if you can’t find this style, a plain box would work fine too.  I found 3 sizes of this same style.  The largest one was a bit bigger than I wanted so I got the smaller 2.

You will also need craft paint in white and colors, white craft glue, glitter and ribbon.  You probably already have those items laying around from other projects.

The first step is to remove any price tags or other labels that might be on your box.  Mine also had a hideous cardboard bow on the top that I pulled off.  Once you have a smooth surface to work with, cover the entire box and lid – inside and outside – in a base coat of white paint.  You don’t want that cardboard brown color showing through your sparkly glitter.

I added a second coat of white to the inside of the box and lid, and the bottom of the box since those areas wouldn’t get glittered, and I wanted them to look nice and not streaky.  Let the paint dry completely.

Next, I painted the ribbon design with one coat of a contrasting color paint. I chose silver, red and green since I was doing Christmas boxes, but you could do any color.  These don’t have to be just for Christmas, but you might have an easier time of finding the boxes at Christmastime. Let the contrasting paint dry.

Here comes the fun part!  Working with just one side of the box at a time, add an even layer of craft glue with a foam brush, and then heavily sprinkle/pour on the glitter and gently tap off the excess. Work your way around the box, being careful not to damage any wet freshly-glittered areas as you go.  Do the same with the lid. Allow the glue to dry overnight or until it is completely dry.  Don’t worry if a little glitter falls off as you touch the boxes; that’s normal.

When your boxes are absolutely dry, you can add a pre-made bow or ornament to the top, or make your own bows as I did.  I also used a dollar store snowflake ornament on a couple of mine for fun.

I went to a bow-making class at Container Store a few years ago, but I needed a refresher.  I found their Gorgeous Gift Presentation pdf on their web site, and it includes bow-making instructions with photos.

You just start with wired ribbon and follow the directions for the type of bow you like.  I’m not a pro, but it’s a pretty fun little holiday exercise.  When you’re satisfied with your bow, hot glue it to the top of the box and you’re done!  Voila and ta da!

Fill your boxes up with baked goodies as I did, or with any other gift.  Your recipient will love it and think you’re uber crafty!

~BigSis

• These glittery cookie boxes are finished and waiting to be filled with goodies.  I’ll give you a quick little how-to on making them as soon as I can get the chocolate and sugar off my hands.

• Remember these painted cross magnets I made around Easter? They make great Christmas gifts and stocking stuffers, so I’m getting them dressed up in Christmasy boxes for the sale.

• SisMama has already baked oodles of pound cakes in vanilla, chocolate, lemon and brown sugar/caramel flavors. Go, SisMama!

• K & L have baked breads in apple cinnamon, spice, cranberry and blueberry flavors.  They’re also working on doggie treats and bunches of cookies this weekend.

• I have pumpkin walnut and banana chocolate chip gluten-free breads done, plus 3 varieties of biscotti (gingerbread, chocolate/chocolate chip and dried cherry orange), and 3 kinds of brownies so far.

• We have some nibbles on matching our sales, and continue to market the event as well as more baking this week.

• CityVet is graciously sponsoring our event for the second year in a row.  They have donated items for the sale, and are considering doing more for this worthy charity.  A huge thanks to CityVet for their support!

That’s it for now, I have cookies to check on!  Stay tuned for more!

~BigSis