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

A Foggy Poundance Memory

I think back now to my first, of many, nights at Brighton's Digital Club night "Poundance"

"Digital" Brighton - voted "Best Small UK Club 2011" by DJ Mag. Home to some fantastic resident DJ's, including the extremely talented George "Poundance" Nunn.

Ofcourse, the night began at home. Deciding what to wear and predrinking with my three beautiful house mates, Tom, Camille and Rachel.

Black lace back playsuit: Miss Selfridge. Blue sequin hotpants: Topshop

 Perhaps the best part of the night: capturing the progression of our drinking from the sillyness of our photos.

 After this photo, it was time to make our way to the Club night itself: endless drinks costing only a pound (hence the name, "Poundance") and the one pound entry. A concept in itself that will inevitably leave you wondering the next morning: "What happened last night? Where was I?".
Thank goodness we had the photos.

Skirt Innovations

 One of my fondest memories of 2012: playing dress up with Topshop maxi skirts and glitter. Such beautiful colours: emerald green and cobalt blue.

But why wear a skirt as a skirt, when you can wear a skirt as a dress?

 Just add a belt...and it works!

 The power pose:

How it all began

I will begin with the line: "Hi, my name's Jilly, and I'm on Atkins."

I create low carb recipes, and post videos of myself making them on YouTube. Here's one of my low carb Cookie Dough:

I also sell ingredients at www.jillybakes.co.uk

 

 But how did this all begin?

Well, it started in my Gap Year whilst working as a waitress in the heart of New Zealand's fashion capital - Newmarket, Auckland. 

I got fat.

When I arrived in NZ, I was 8 stone. When I returned home, I was 11 and a half. The unlimited supply of muffins and caramel slices at the end of my shifts, the Whittakers chocolate, the endless Cadbury creations in flavours that I had never seen in the UK. If it was sweet, I had to have it.

 I was miserable. Addicted to clothes and shopping, and yet none of the clothes fit. Not only did trousers split when I sat down - but so did leggings. LEGGINGS. Stretchy leggings.

When I got back to England, I had no choice but to diet. My mum had been on the Atkins diet for 7 years, and had started her own business, Avidlite, selling diet products. So, naturally, I followed suit. And, by cutting out carbs, I lost all the weight I had put on by the time my Fresher's Week at Uni began.

And nobody  there knew about my little, fat secret.