Recipe // Spicy Italian Sausage Soup

Who doesn't love crockpot meals? I know we do! With winter in Portland comes rain almost every day, so we've been indulging in one of our favorite soups quite frequently lately. But let's be real - soup is delicious anytime of year, right?

This recipe is so simple and really only requires about 20 mins of real effort and prep, then 4 hours on high or 8 hours on low. 

Before I dive into the details, let me say that I am definitely not claiming this to be our own recipe - just one that was shared with us and needs to be shared with you all because of how amazing it is! Unfortunately,  I'm not sure where it originated, but I do know it says the recipe was created by a Kalyn. So thank you, Kalyn! ;)

The ingredients you'll need are:

• 2 tsp. olive oil

• 1 pkg. (19.5 oz.) raw turkey Italian Sausage (we like hot but it's good with mild, too)

• 1 cup chopped onion

• 1 T minced garlic

• 2 tsp. Italian Herb Blend

• 2 cans chickpeas (garbanzo beans), rinsed well and drained

• 2 cans (14.5 oz.) diced tomatoes

• 3/4 cup water

• 1/2 cup basil pesto

• Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

• Freshly-grated Parmesan cheese for serving

Instructions:

1. Heat the oil in a large pan and brown the sausage over medium-high heat

2. When the sausage is cooked, add the onions to one side of the pan until they start to soften

3. Add the minced garlic and Italian herb seasoning and cook one minute more

4. Once steps 1-3 are complete, transfer the mix into the crockpot

5. Drain the garbanzo beans into a colander and rinse well until foam disappears

6. Add the beans to the slow cooker with the diced tomatoes and water

7. Cook for 4 hours on high or 8 hours on low

8. About 20 minutes until it's done, add the pesto to the crockpot (or if you're like us and a little impatient because it smells so good, add the pesto, mix it in, and serve right away)

9. Season to taste and add Parmesan if desired

One of the best parts is how amazing the house smells while it's cooking. We like to pair the soup with fresh french bread and some delicious red wine. Let me know what you think and happy cooking!

5 Himalayan Salt Lamp Health Benefits

My husband bought me a Himalayan salt lamp for Christmas and it's safe to say I'm obsessed with it. Himalayan salt lamps aren't just gorgeous, they also boast many health benefits for you and your home.

You may not have heard about Himalayan salt lamps until recently due to the widespread recall of a particular brand. We purchased ours from So Well and aren't affected by the recall, thank goodness.

What is a Himalayan Salt Lamp?

Himalayan salt lamps are carved by artisans from a solid salt crystal that hasn't been exposed to air in 250 million (yes, million!) years. The amber coloring is natural, primarily made from irons, ore, copper, and magnesium. The salt lamp is carved to fit a small bulb inside, giving off a soothing, warm glow when lit. Ours came with a dimmer cord so we can choose how bright we want it to be throughout the day. 

You'll get the most benefit from a salt lamp if it's left on as much as possible. We don't leave ours on when we're not home, but we do leave it on all day when we're around.

Himalayan Salt Lamp Benefits for You & Your Home

1. Improve air quality

Salt lamps are hygroscopic, absorbing moisture from the air that can carry things like allergens, bacteria, and mold. It attracts the moisture to its surface and removes these harmful contaminants from your home.

2. Promote clear breathing

When your air quality is improved, your breathing is as well. Salt lamps remove pet dander, dust, mold, bacteria, mildew, etc. from the air in your home, resulting in clearer breathing and lessening of symptoms related to allergies and asthma.

3. Enhance mood

Because of the small amount of negative ions salt lamps can generate and because of their soothing, warm glow, they have been known to boost mood and energy levels. Negative ions increase the the flow of oxygen to the brain which results in decreased drowsiness, higher alertness, and more mental energy.

4. Neutralize electromagnetic radiation

Our electronics emit electromagnetic radiation (TV, computer, cell phone, appliances, etc.). Constant, long-term exposure to electromagnetic radiation has been tied to increased stress levels (I can relate to this!), decreased immune response, and chronic fatigue. Salt lamps work to neutralize electromagnetic radiation through the negative ions they emit.

5. Improve sleep

Because positive ions reduce blood and oxygen supply to the brain, they can promote irregular sleep patterns and rob you of quality sleep. Salt lamps' negative ions can counteract this and help improve your sleep. 

We only have one Himalayan salt lamp so far, but we'll definitely invest in at least one more for our apartment and will probably try to have one in almost every room when we ultimately buy a house. If you use night lights, especially in your kiddos' rooms, try replacing them with salt lamps as an easy way to incorporate them throughout your house. Here's to happy, holistic, healthy living!

Life, Planned

If you follow me on Instagram, you know how obsessed I am with my InkWell Press planner. I always love buying new planners for new years, but I'm definitely guilty of buying them and then not using them to their fullest potential. This time it has been a totally different experience! I use my InkWell Press planner every single day.

What I love about it is that it comes with 6 set up videos that include out-of-the-box ideas and helpful printouts that guide you through maximizing each and every page. For example, that bird's-eye view of the year page (shown above)? I used to skip it, but in one of the videos Tonya from InkWell Press suggests color coding it so you know at-a-glance what's happening each month. For me, that means documenting birthdays, vacations, work holidays, appointments, and more.

I love the goal-planning pages that come standard with all of their LiveWell planners. It makes it easy to plan goals from a yearly, quarterly, and monthly view, and helps you keep track of your progress. The monthly goal pages act as prompts that help you reassess where you're at and reroute goals or steps to achieve your goals as needed.

See all the small pentagon shapes on the bottom right-hand corner of the planner above? It's one of the smaller details that helps hold me accountable. I track 3 daily/weekly goals there - for me it's going to barre3 three times per week, drinking 8 8oz cups of water every day, and straightening up every night before bed (cleaning the dishes and putting my clothes away). As the month has gone on, it's actually given me more confidence in my ability to stick to them. Granted, some of the pentagons are only colored in half way depending on how I felt I did that day, but most of them are colored in. It provides me with a quick, visual way to know if I need to get back on track.

I love the monthly mission board pages, too. Sitting down to look at the month ahead and what I want to accomplish helps give my days and weeks more purpose. I love goal setting, but never found the right way to keep track of everything I wanted to accomplish. This layout is perfect for my needs and provides inspiration and discipline for the month ahead.

Probably my favorite point of advice from the set up videos is "take the thinking out of it." I've automated everything I can, from weekly to monthly tasks, chores, and to-dos. I've made a commitment to complete them each week/month on the same day so it doesn't get to a point where cleaning the kitchen or straightening up the apartment becomes an all-day task. It's helped me balance work, life, and my blog, break up larger undertakings into smaller, manageable tasks, and get more done throughout the week so Tim and I can spend quality time together when we're both free. I used to let my life rule me, and would definitely suffer from paralysis by analysis, but now I feel like I'm in control of my time and spend it exactly how I want and need to spend it. 

I've always struggled with living in the present moment - I'm usually thinking about the past or worrying about the future, so my mission statement for this year is: "You create a good future by creating a good present." - Eckhart Tolle. This quote lends itself well to multiple areas in my life: learning how to live more fully in the present and also dedicating time and energy to the things that fulfill me now in order to make mine and my family's future even brighter.

What's your 2017 mission statement? It can be a word, phrase, quote... share below! I'd love to hear it.

Want to get your own InkWell Press planner? I clearly can't say enough wonderful things about this planner and highly recommend investing in one! If you'd like a $10 discount on your $50 InkWell Press purchase, use my referral link! You won't regret it.