T U G A D E

I drink my coffee black, but it hasn’t always been that way... I used to drink a triple triple, and needed heaps of sugar and cream before I could possibly enjoy drinking my coffee. It took some practice to train myself to like black coffee, and during that process, I learned a lot of ways to make a coffee taste great without cream or sugar. Here are a few of my simple coffee hacks to enjoy a healthy coffee at home.


Switch Out the Cream
The first thing I switched out when I wanted to start drinking black coffee, was the dairy. I started drinking my coffee with Almond Milk or Cashew Milk instead, which are both great low-calorie, low-fat, dairy-free alternatives to cream. You can even make your own almond milk or cashew milk at home, which allows you to adjust the consistency to your liking, so you can enjoy a creamier addition to your coffee. 

Add Cinnamon.
Adding a Sprinkle of Cinnamon to your coffee gives it a little something extra and steps your morning brew up a notch. You can ad…

I love having a green smoothie in the morning... Well, if I am being honest, it's less green and more of a greenish-brown color - the strawberries and spinach blend together to make a funky color - but it does taste great, and it is a perfect way to kick off your day. There is something powerful about starting the day with a healthy breakfast, and a quick tasty smoothie is a great way to make that happen.
When I start my day by drinking a smoothie in the morning, I feel healthy, and I feel motivated to keep that feeling going throughout the day. I find I am more inclined to have a productive afternoon when I have a productive morning, and the best way to do that for me, is to start it off by feeding my body with all the right nutrients. I drink my smoothie, followed by a glass of water and my daily vitamins, and then I am ready for my coffee and everything the day has in store for me. 


To make my Morning Smoothie Recipe, I blend together all of these ingredients; you can use more…

Have you considered making your own jam? We recently went berry picking and brought home a gallon of fresh raspberries, and one of the things we wanted to do was make our own jam. I didn’t want to add an excessive amount of sugar, and to be honest I’m not too well versed with canning foods and didn’t want my jam to go bad if I did something wrong, so I decided to make a small batch of Raspberry Chia Jam.





The chia seeds create a jelly texture, and the jam will keep well in the fridge for a week or two, so this is a great recipe for a healthy alternative to jam - and perfect to make in small batches. Raspberry Chia Jam is made with 3 simple ingredients, no processed sugar, and takes just five minutes to make. 
Here is my recipe for Easy Raspberry Chia Jam: 


Ingredients: 2 Cups Raspberries
4 Tbsp Chia Seeds
3 Tbsp Maple Syrup

Method:
Add all ingredients to a small sauce pan and bring to a boil.

Boil for 5 minutes, stirring constantly until thickened.
Let cool, then transfer to a jar to r…

Looking for a workout that targets your butt? Try incorporating some of these simple exercises into your routine to workout your behind - your glutes are the biggest muscle in your body after all, and strong glutes do much more for your body than just look good!

The other day I tried on a pair of high-rise jeans and my first thought was "I need to do more squats."  I know squats aren't the only exercise that targets glute muscles, but it has got to be one of the best. That being said, there a many other great exercises that work those booty muscles too. If you go to the gym, you can find some machines that will work those muscles; but if you don't go to the gym, don't worry, you are not out of luck - there are plenty of great exercises you can do from the comfort of your own home (or basically anywhere) to see great results and a firm butt.
Here are six great booty-building exercises that target your glutes:


Squats There are so many variations of squats that you …

I was recently gifted a bag full of garden-fresh rhubarb, and was so excited to do some baking with it, when I realized I had no idea what I was going to make! I love Strawberry Rhubarb Pie, and fruit cobbler is always easy to make, I tried a rhubarb cake that was delicious too, but I wanted to take a look around the web and see what else was out there. So, I did some research and found a handful of recipes with rhubarb that caught my eye, some that I had never tried before and some that reminded me of treats my mom would make with the rhubarb she would grow in our backyard.



I was surprised to see a few uses for rhubarb I never would have thought of, so I put together a list of the recipes with rhubarb as a main ingredient that I found and can't wait to try; I'll be testing a few of these out this week while I get some rhubarb baking done.  All of these recipes are dairy-free, egg-free, and most of them are healthy for you, so you can enjoy your rhubarb treats guilt-free. 
He…

Keeping on top of housework can seem pretty daunting some days - especially when household chores start piling up as high as the pile of laundry that still needs to be folded - but it doesn't have to be that way. Sure, cleaning the house is never top on the list of fun, exciting things to do on a Friday night, but it doesn't need to be dreaded either, and it certainly should not take all day... As long as you follow a cleaning schedule, and don't procrastinate folding that laundry, you can take back your life and have a clean house too.
It took me quite some time to realize that I needed a cleaning schedule. I am a type A personality and to me, everything has to have order, so I am actually surprised that it took me so long to come to this realization.   Once I started using this schedule, I found that I was cleaning less often, but still enjoying a clean house around me. Prior to this, I felt as though something always needed to be done around the house and I couldn'…