Low Carb Easter Hot Cross Bun Cookies

So, just in time for Easter this Sunday, I am giving you my recipe for low carb Hot Cross Bun Cookies!

They're REALLY yummy - flavoured with ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and orange. I do put raisins in them, but ofcourse raisins are actually full of (natural) sugars, so leave these out if you want to keep the carbs low.

Here's a video of how to make the cookies:

And here's the recipe:

INGREDIENTS

 
120g butter

22g Splenda
1 tsp manuka honey (optional)
100g Carbalose flour
40g ground almonds
20g soya flour
1tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. ginger
zest of an orange

zest of a lemon
juice of half an orange
1 egg
100g mixed raisins (optional)
1 tsp. vanilla extract

RECIPE

Preheat the oven to 180°C / 350 °F/ Gas Mark 4.

First, mix together the Carbalose flour, ground almonds, soya flour and baking powder.

In a separate bowl, the butter and Splenda. Add the egg and a couple of tablespoons of the flour mixture. Then fold in the spices, raisins, vanilla, juice and zest, of the orange, and the rest of the flour Roll into balls and then press down to make cookies—making about 10 large cookies.

Bake for 15-20 minutes.

In my opinion, they taste best warm (or even toasted)—cut in half, with butter—as you would with a Hot Cross Bun. They also taste great with sugar-free jam and cream, like a scone!

CARB COUNT

For the whole batch, without raisins we have 22 carbs and 1152 calories, and with raisins we have 93 carbs and 1456 calories.  So for 10 cookies, without raisins, each one has 115.2 calories and 2.2 carbs.

A Joyrich Elegant Affair

 

Joyrich Elegant Affair Dress

As the sun decided to come out for another Spring day in Brighton, I decided to go for a picnic at the park near where I live - the picturesque St Ann's Well Gardens.

 

To reflect the warm, sunny feeling, and because I've been looking for any excuse to wear it, I decided to wear my new Joyrich "Elegant Affair" Dress (from ASOS).

 

However, though the sun was out, I must say I was absolutely freezing!!

Joyrich Elegant Affair dress, Boots from Topshop

Here are some low carb picnic ideas:

Carrot and cucumber sticks with houmus,
Swedish meatballs,
Cheese,
Frankfurters,
Salads,
Crustless quiches,
Savoury cheesecakes (and sweet too!),
Ham rolled around blocks of cheese,
Cold meats,
Pepperoni,
Olives and other antipasti,
Use lettuce instead of bread to make wraps!
Coleslaw, cottage cheese,
Jelly,
Strawberries and cream,
Nuts
Avocado coleslaw - recipe here thanks to Diets in Review.

Post any other suggestions you can think of in the comments box! I'd love to hear them.






An Electric Elixir - Jade Jagger Kérastase

For the past five years years I have had long blonde hair, however towards the end of last year something strange came over me, and I decided to follow the trend and go for the “balayage/dip dye" look. I had the top half of my hair dyed brown, and the bottom half left blonde.

A good look, you would think. But no. It wasn’t good. For 3 months I looked like I had horrific roots growing out - as if I had a brown fringe slapped on top of a head of blonde hair.

So last week I finally made the decision to go back to blonde, and, to have all my lovely long hair chopped off. And, thanks to Kirsty from Electric Hair Salon, Brighton, who is Electric's Art Director and a  L'Oréal Colour Expert, my hair has been saved!

Before - "dip dye"

After - (looking a bit fresh with no make-up)

With this new hair, and after all this bleaching, a new hair routine is also needed. Kirsty advised me that, for my bleached blonde hair, I need to use products that will repair my hair from the inside. And so I came across this Limited Edition "Elixir Ultime" by Jade Jagger for Kérastase at hqhair.com (currently offering 15% off Kérastase products!).

Compared to the L'oreal Elvive elixir

Elixir Ultime by Jade Jagger for Kérastase

The elixir contains four different oils: Moroccan Argan, Pracaxi, Maize and Camellia. It can be used before shampooing, before blow drying or even afterwards (so on wet, damp or dry hair).

Having previously tried the L'Oreal Elvive "Extraordinary Oil" serum for coloured hair, which left my hair greasy and weighed down, I had my reservations about the Kérastase Elixir. However, much to my surprise, it was a completely different story.

My hair (pictured above) has been left feeling sleek and shiny, not at all weighed down, and feels like there has been no damage at all from bleaching. The trick, I find, is to apply a tiny, peanut sized amount to the palm of your hands, rub your hands together, and then smooth through the ends of your dried hair. Or to apply a small amount to wet hair before blow drying (also works as a great de-tangler!) The Elixir Ultime is my ultimate colour saviour! Thank you Kirsty, thank you Kérastase, and thank you Jade Jagger.

Dahlia and Denim Shorts

At the Brighton beach Band Stand

Over Christmas, it is a usual consequence of our indulgent festivities that we put on a few pounds. And though throughout the year I follow rigorously my low carb diet plan - at Christmas I am no different to the rest of us.

During Winter, my super tight denim "skinny shorts" go into hibernation, however now as the sun is starting to come out and the Christmas weight has been lost (thanks to some hardcore low carbing and Bikram yoga), it is time to resurrect the shorts.

In celebration of the beautiful weather, I took to Brighton seafront to take some photos of my new blouse from Dahlia - teamed perfectly with my denim shorts. I adore the darling oriental baroque print, and the chiffon-like fabric makes the blouse feel so luxurious to wear.

Mabel blouse from Dahlia, denim shorts from Urban Outfitters, Cooke Bayswater bag from Mulberry, boots from Topshop  

The beautiful oriental baroque print

How my Dahlia blouse arrived in the post - so pretty!

Dahlia is also holding a competition at the moment, offering you a chance to win an entire season's worth of clothing from them. For your chance to be the lucky winner - click on the banner below, or on the link at the right hand side of the page:



Dina Malkova - from Uzbekistan to Lewes

This week I was lucky enough to start an internship for a designer that I truly adore – Dina Malkova. Originally from Uzbekistan, and now based in the historic, picturesque town of Lewes, Dina specialises in beautiful embroidered jackets. This one below happens to be on sale at the moment!

Short Sleeved Cotton Jacket

 She also makes what I think are going to be a HUGE trend his year – bow ties – custom made out of vintage fabrics, to be worn my both men and women.  Here’s one of my favourites:

Vintage Cotton Bow Tie

On top of this, you can also get beautiful hand woven scarves (made from silk made by worms fed on the Mulberry tree!), adorable jewellery and brooches, bags and boots, and she also offers dress making.

I look forward to modelling for her SS13 50s inspired dress collection on the 2^nd March, at the “Red Nose Runway” at the All Saints Church in Hove (all proceeds will go to Comic Relief). So if you’re in the area, please come along and support some of Brighton’s best up and coming designers!

A Sugarhill Valentine

It's nearing the end of January, and what a wonderful beginning to 2013 it's been. And with the end of January comes the beginning of February - and, Valentine's Day.

So for us low-carbers, dieters, diabetics, and general healthy eaters, to help us avoid all the chocolatey temptations that may be in store for us, I have written us a recipe for some deliciously tempting (but not naughty) heart shaped Chocolate Tarts.

Ingredients:
Base:
130g butter
220g ground almonds*
6 tbsp. Splenda*
2 eggs
pinch of salt

Chocolate filling:
3x 85g bars (255g total) Cavalier dark chocolate*
255ml double cream
tbsp. Splenda*
tbsp. butter
2 drops vanilla extract

*ingredients can be bought here

First, set the oven to 180°C.

For the base, in a bowl, mix the ground almonds, butter, splenda and salt to make a breadcrumb-like mixture. Then mix in one of the eggs to make a sticky dough. Squeeze the dough down into heart shaped cases (makes 8-10). Brush the cases with the remaining beaten egg. Bake for 20 minutes and then leave to cool.
For the filling, heat the cream, splenda and vanilla on the hob. Melt the chocolate with the butter in the microwave, then add to the cream until completely melted. Fill your tart cases, chill for and hour, then serve with some raspberries or strawberries and some extra cream!

The dress I am wearing in my video is the beautiful Windsor dress from Sugarhill Boutique. Sugarhill Boutique is a Brighton based clothing line, set up by brother and sister Pawel and Aleksandra Przedpelska. They make adorable dresses, combining vintage styles with pretty prints and collars. I decided to take to the streets of Brighton myself, to show you a few of my favourites:

Sugarhill Boutique Windsor Dress

Wonderland Dress, an all time favourite of mine from their 2011 collection

Scallop Dress

Bird of Prey dress

  

 Which one should I wear on Valentine's Day?!

Low Carb Cookie Dough

So this is probably one of my favourite recipes - mainly because it's ready in about 3 minutes, so it's a really quick fix when you have a sweet craving.

I was inspired to make this by the Cookie Dough dessert you get at Pizza Hut - the warm half baked cookie dough with a dollop of ice cream in the middle - an indulgent pudding for two, that I used to always devour by myself.

And, with this recipe, you can now do the same without putting on any weight!

All it takes is:
2 tablespoons of butter
4 tablespoons of splenda
a few drops of vanilla extract
chopped up sugar-free chocolate - I use Cavalier Dark Chocolate (it has a much nicer taste than the Balance brand)
2 tablespoons Carbalose flour 

5 tablespoons ground almonds

The Splenda, Cavalier chocolate, Carbalose flour and ground almonds can all be bought here

You can, if you want, use just ground almonds and omit the Carbalose flour. You may also need to add more/less flour so that it is not too sticky.

Then you just mix all the ingredients together in a bowl, bung it in the microwave till the chocolate melts and goes all gooey, and then eat it straight away with a dollop of cream or sugar-free ice cream!

You can also just eat the dough raw, or roll it into little balls to make Cookie Dough Ice Cream (just like Ben & Jerry's)

Tastes so naughty...

But it's not.

A Twisted Lemon 21st

 So in April 2012 I turned the sweet age of 21, and to celebrate I went out to eat with my friends at Twisted Lemon in Brighton, and then the following day for lunch with my family at Hotel du Vin.

Outside our beautiful house in Brighton
Coat and shoes from Topshop

My Birthday dress: from Topshop

 Aswell as being served, at Twisted Lemon, one of the best burgers I've ever eaten (with halloumi to replace the bun) - I also found what is now my favourite cocktail: "Mint and Cookie Mudslide". Perhaps the highest carb option on the menu, it is made of Vodka, Mozart Dark Chocolate Liqueur, Creme de Menthe, Bailey's and Milk, crushed with ice, Oreo's and Ice Cream, My mission now is to make a low-carb alternative. Luckily, Oreos also come in sugar free: see here.

The Mint and Cookie Mudslide

 At Hotel du Vin, we were treated with Kir Royales and the most delicious French cuisine. And to top it off, an extremely rich and decadent dark chocolate torte (and disgustingly high carb!).

 I was given, from my parents, this rose gold Marc by Marc Jacobs Henry Chronograph watch:

It is the most beautiful thing to have ever been on my wrist!

From my sister, I was given a weekend in Milan with my friend Camille. I had such a wonderful weekend, and thankyou to everybody who made it so special!

Low Carb Vanilla Cheesecake Recipe

So this was the first "Jilly Bakes" video that I uploaded to YouTube in the Summer: a low carb New York style baked vanilla cheesecake.

Ingredients: 
For the base:

85g chopped mixed nuts

85g ounces ground almonds*

4 tablespoons butter

4-5 tablespoons Splenda*

2 tablespoons dessicated coconut (optional)

a teaspoon almond extract.

Filling:

500g mascarpone

200g soft cheese (I use Sainsbury's Be Good to Yourself)

16 tablespoons Splenda*

4 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla extract

300ml double cream

300ml whipping cream

Optional - blueberries or other fruit

Recipe:

Preheat the oven to 150°C / 300°F / Gas Mark 2

You can really use any combination of the ingredients for the base, depending on what nuts you like and what phase of Atkins you are on. You can also use sugar free biscuits (crushed up) that can be found here, and milled flax seeds also work really nicely. I found the almond extract really made all the difference - it creates an almost marzipan-like taste.

Mix all the ingredients together and then squish into the base of a springform tin. Bake for 10 minutes then leave to cool.

For the filling, blend the mascarpone and cream cheese with the Splenda. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Fold in the vanilla, whipping cream  and double cream, then pour over the base.Cook in the oven for an hour, then turn the oven off and leave it to cook in the heat as the oven cools down for half an hour (so as to prevent the top from cracking. Towards the end of the cooking time, you can add blueberries to the top if you wish.

Remove from the oven and leave to cool at room temperature before refridgerating overnight in the tin.

The following day, take your cheesecake out of the tin, and enjoy!

CARB COUNT

For the cheesecake without the base:
A total of 3883 calories (using a lower fat soft cheese) and 52.5 carbs. So for 12 very large portions, 323 calories and 4 carbohydrates per portion.

The base will vary depending on what you use. As per the given ingredients, we have 1078 calories and 17 carbs, making an additional 90 calories and 1.4 carbs per serving.

 *ingredients can be found here: www.jillybakes.co.uk