How I'm Cutting Out Sugar in 2016

I think I'm obsessed with chocolate.
I love chocolate. So much. Little kisses, kit kats, ice cream: Ben & Jerry's boom chocoalatta pints is literally heaven in a cup.

Chocolate just gives me a little bit of pleasure in the moment I'm eating it. So I keep eating and eating and grabbing another piece after piece.

I'm not proud to admit that I have had boom chocolatta for a meal at least three times this morning. AT LEAST. Maybe more. I can't even count because it's so bad.

And this doesn't even count the cosmic brownies, my love for mocha moolattes,  the record time I can eat a bag of chocolate kisses and the amount of pepsi I drank this semester. I didn't drink soda before I moved in with one of my roommates who drink coke 24/7 and it's my fault that I let myself come to this.

SO I'm making a big cut.
I'm cutting out sugar out of my diet. And it's not as bad as you think it'll be and it's pretty easy.

1. look at the big things you eat a lot
for me it's the yummy boom chocolatta, the chocolate kisses and that stash of hot cocoa mix in my cabinet. (oops did I forget to include that earlier) and so on. once you have that, cut them out of your life.
no more ice cream in my freezer, except maybe for a breakup (those are reasonable exceptions)

2. give yourself the last time
before you go throwing out all those snacks, give yourself one last time before you quit sugar. My last mocha moolatte was december 29th.

3. try try try to give up sugar.
don't lie to yourself. you absolutely have to try to to give up sugar and actively do it every single day. sometimes you get a little jealous your family has cake out and you don't.  and that's okay just know that you are strong enough to look away and keep going.

4. lastly, give yourself a treat now and then.
i say we need a little chocolate to keep ourselves sane especially. so go ahead and give yourself a treat once in a while. just not too much. If your friend asks to go get ice cream, go ahead with it. Sometimes buy yourself a hershey bar, just don't go overboard and buy a full bag in bulk.

I'm not gonna lie to you I'm not quitting cold tukey, I'm letting a little sugar here and there. For example I am gonna allow coffee creamer, I hate black coffee absolutely do not like it so I'm allowing coffee creamer, but no added sugar. You see? Allow a little bit somewhere. I'm cutting cake, donuts, chocolate but I'm allowing coffee creamer pancake syrup. I don't even eat pancakes a lot but when it pops up I'm using it so it's not that bad. Do the same for you, be realistic about your goals, let some allowances just not a lot.

You can do this! I can do this! Sometimes it's gonna be a little hard and it's gonna be, but we all can get through this and get healthier. Set goals, know what are always handsoff (like soda) and remember to look at all the progress you've made.

We're all gonna be just fine

With love and joy,
Julia

the best cheesecake topped with homemade strawberry sauce

Adapted from this recipe by simplyrecipes.com - no pictures sorry guys! I lost them, but trust me this is really good.

Strawberry topped cheesecake
I listed this recipe in a follow-along sort of recipe, so it's sorta listed in a weird way. Just think of it as preparing a few small steps to make a whole cheesecake and you can follow along me making this yummy cheesecake.

First, we're gonna make the filling
CHEESECAKE
2 8oz packages of cream cheese (room temperature)
1/2 cup sugar
pinch of salt
splash of vanilla (1 tsp)
2 eggs
1/3 cup and 2 tbsp sour cream
1/3 heavy whipping cream

1. A few hours before, set your cream cheese out to let it soften. I had one package set out a few hours before and one that's been out the ride home from the grocery store (I had to go buy another package real quick because one of my packages had gone bad.
2. In a clean bowl, add your cream cheese and whip it with a hand mixer for 3-4 minutes.
3. Add 1/2 cup a sugar to the mix and turn on your hand mixer for another 3 minutes.
4. Next, add a pinch of salt and splash of vanilla and whip it until incorporated.
5. Add an egg one at a time and whip until incorporated. Followed by sour cream, whip until incorporated and lastly whipping cream.
6. Set the filling into the fridge while you prepare the rest of the cheesecake, it'll set up a little in the fridge making it a little more solid.


Next I prepared my pan in which I will bake my cheesecake. I used a 8x8 square pan because I couldn't find my cake pan (I don't have a spring form pan). If you do have a spring form pan, please follow the first step in preparing the crust on this recipe. She wraps aluminum foil around the pan so no water can leak into the crust. We're gonna bake our cheesecake in a water bath.

You can skip this pan if you don't want to use a square pan. If you do have a square pan, please follow these steps in preparing the pan.

CRUST
1 1/2 crushed graham crackers (1 package crushed)
1 tbsp sugar
5 tbsp melted butter
pinch of salt

1. Place graham crackers in a big ziploc bag and crush it with a rolling pin or anything on hand. Use can also place it in a food processor and pulse it a few times.
2. Add 1 tbsp of sugar and a pinch of salt and combine.
3. Melt 5 tbsp butter in the microwave. Add butter into the graham crackers and stir. It should look like  slightly wet sand and should be able to stick together and form together when you pat it tight. If your crust doesn't stick, add a little more melted butter.
4. Press your graham crackers into your pan. Make sure it's even and nicely packed together.
5. Turn your oven on to 325 degrees Fahrenheit, and add your pan with crust to let it bake for 10 mins. Yes, even when it's preheating, I like to use the heat from the oven as it's warming up to slightly bake the crust.

Preparing water bath
Find any pan big enough to fit the cheesecake pan and a water bath. I used a roasting pan. Take a kettle and boil some water enough for the water bath to fill about half-way up the cheesecake.

After the crust is done baking, take the cheesecake filling from the fridge and spread it nicely and evenly in the pan. Add the cheesecake to the roasting pan and add water bath. Be careful because the water will be hot!

Bake in the oven at 325 degrees Fahrenheit for 90 minutes. Watch for the cheesecake top, it might turn a little golden brown. Add an aluminum foil over the cheesecake. Be careful of any steam that will escape when you open the oven door to do this though!

When it's done baking. Turn off the heat and crack the oven open slightly and place a chopstick or skewer so the oven door remains slightly open. This will cool the cheesecake slowly and allow it not to crack.

Afterwards, chill in the fridge for at least 4 hours or overnight.

SOUR CREAM FROSTING
a little over 1/4 cup of sour cream
2 tbsp powered sugar
few drops of vanilla

While our cheesecake is baking we can make this sour cream frosting. I remember making this frosting the first time and I was very skeptical about the taste. Sour cream in frosting was something I've never heard of before, but this is my favorite frosting. It's sweet and tangy.
Just mix the sour cream and a few drops of vanilla. Add powdered sugar to taste little by little. 2 tbsp of powdered sugar makes the frosting a little sweeter, so if you want more tangy-ness, add less sugar. This makes a thin frosting for the cake, so double up if you want more frosting.

HOMEMADE STRAWBERRY SAUCE
8-10 cubed strawberries
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup water

Sour cream frosting and strawberry sauce? That does sound like a little too much topping for a cheesecake, but let me tell you, these two work so well together with the cheesecake. The taste is heavenly.

1. Cube about 8-10 strawberries for this sauce and combine with 1/3 cup sugar and 1/2 cup water. Reduce on stove for around 5-10 minutes paying careful attention to not let it boil over. Be careful with this because it is boiling sugar and water and I want every one to be safe. At first you sorta cook the sauce on a high heat, and you turn the heat down to let it simmer. You really have to stand by and watch this sauce because it can boil quickly and spill over the sauce pan. The key it to just let it thicken, reduce and do it's thing. Why I think works best it cooking it on med-high heat at first stirring often, and then turn it on low-med to let it simmer and reduce, stirring less often. When the sauce looks thicker than originally, turn off the heat. Remember it may look a little liquidy, but it will thicken as it cools.

2016 is gonna be a good one // Update

Hey guys,

my last post was back in August stating that I'll be back posting a cheesecake recipe soon, but life went ahead of me and I got lost in school, work and life but I'm back and I'm making a commitment this time.

As 2016 is literally just in a couple of days, I'm making changes and 2016 is gonna be a good year for me. I'm gonna focus on myself, make myself a better person in all areas and just focus on being happy again.

So to go along with that, I've made some goals for myself.

• don't worry about what others think of you, if they don't like you why does that matter anyway. You know what you want to make yourself happy and the approval of others isn't gonna get you there. Because let's be real they don't have anything to focus on but themselves and you're all you got in the end. 
• get rid of fuckboys, you don't need them as a boyfriend - you are awesome and you are worth it so don't lower your standards for anyone not willing to chase. 
• get back into the blog - post something every 3 weeks and try to post something good
• get good grades get an A in nutrition and microbiology STUDY MORE in the library or at home
• get abs and get strong arms - this means cleaning up your diet
• which leads to cut out sugar, you've had an unhealthy amount this past year plus it's not good for your health anyway. it's okay for the occasional here and there with friends but that's it. and cook more.
• work out three times a week
• do yoga to get more flexible
• get to be a morning person. you got an 8am again anyway, stick to it. 
• just drink water and tea. just water and tea.
• try to volunteer at least once a month
• surround yourself with positive energy, positive quotes and positive people
• and finally get to sleep on time you got an 8 am, you need it. 

This is a hell of a lot of goals, but you can do it. Everyone else has got the same amount of hours in a day as you do, you just need to get your shit together and manage your time well. 

2016 you will be a selfish year, but a big, fat selfish to focus on myself and improve myself. I will be happier than I have ever been before.

Always with lots of love and joy,

Julia

college!

hey guys just a quick update saying sorry I've been busy the past month because I'm back in school! I've moved into my apartment, helped out with sorority recruitment and am back at work! I'm still here and should be posting a cheesecake recipe soon!

But yea, I'm still here and I'll be back soon

With love and joy,
Julia

Basil Garlic Cauliflower Pizza Crust | Flourless PIzza Crust

I've been having cravings lately. Ice Cream. Hot dogs. Pizza.

Pizza. I love pizza. But, pizza's full of calories. 

I've heard of cauliflower crust pizza before but I've never tried it. Frankly, I don't like cauliflower.

But this does not taste like cauliflower. It tastes like garlic and caramelized cheese and deliciousness. 

And it's worth a try because hey you can add "I've made cauliflower crust pizza" to your life's list of experiences. Plus it's pretty fun to make and have I told you about how many less calories it is than delivery pizza?

I added spinach and those polska kielbasa sausages. It sorta looks like Italy's flag. I didn't plan for that, but it's pretty, isn't it?

Basil Garlic Cauliflower Pizza Crust | Flourless Pizza Crust

Ingredients 

1/2 large cauliflower head

1 egg

2 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp dried basil

3/4 cup mozzarella cheese

1. Cut the cauliflower in half. Set half aside and cut the other half into smaller sections (this will help the food processor along). Remember to cut the core out of the cauliflower. In sections blend the cauliflower into "cauliflower rice". - it sorta looks like rice haha maybe I'll make cauliflower fried rice one day. 

2. Once your cauliflower is all blended, put it into a saute pan. Turn your heat on high to steam it and let the cauliflower "dry out" for 6-8 min. It's so the crust isn't soggy later. If the cauliflower is starting to stick to the pan, turn it on med to med-high. 

3. After the cauliflower has been cooked, add the mozzarella cheese, garlic powder, basil (or more) to the cauliflower and mix. It starts to look like pizza dough. If you don't like too much garlic, you can add less. 

4. Spread it out on a pan sprayed well with nonstick and even distribute it into a crust about 1/4" thick and bake in a preheated 400 degree Fahrenheit for 25 mins.  

5. Add any topping you want and place back in the oven until the cheese is melted and gooey. 

Should I join a sorority?

I'm didn't know what/who Lilly Pulitzer was until a week before college started. No one had mentioned it in high school so it wasn't a big deal. No one wore Lilly dresses or anything like that at all. It was only when I went through recruitment - rush for short -  that I found out. 

That's because I was with twenty+ other girls who already who knew what they were doing. They had already done their research on the sororities beforehand, they had Instagram stalked them and each had their top three sororities they planned on getting into. I, on the other hand, did not plan on rushing until the last minute possible. I came into college as the first in my family, aka no one had rushed in my family before, nor do they know about or understand greek life. I remember rush week: matching t-shirts tucked neatly into seesucker shorts and those Jack Rogers sandals (which to me personally are absolutely hideous - they look exactly like this pair of sandals my mom wore in the '90s). 

So I'm in a sorority if you guys didn't know already and as cliche as this may sound, it was one of the best decisions I made going into college. Even though I did not know a thing about sororities except its stereotypes, I went through rush week with no problem at all. Whether you do know about it or not, that won't be a problem. There can be many negative stereotypes surrounding sororities, but I'm here to clear them up and help you figure out whether or not rushing is the right choice for you. 

BEFORE I get into anything too far, let me give you a little background check on my school and what greek life means there. At my college greek life is fairly a big part of the school, though it isn't one of those situations where it means everything to be in a sorority/fraternity. Yes, there are top-tier and bottom-tier sororities and fraternities (ranking), people in greek life here care about those things, but if you aren't in greek life it isn't a big deal (even though I say this, there are gonna be a handful of people who believe greek is everything). But my school is NOT at all like some of the schools deeper in the south. It's so serious that some girls get put on suicide watch if they didn't receive a bid from the sorority they wanted. So if you do decide to rush, look into how big greek life is at your school if that's something that matters to you. 

1. Home away from home
If you are an out-of-state student or just a student moving to a school they don't know, I highly recommend you to rush to find friends. It's like the whole mentality where you join a club to make friends. You will make friends going through recruitment week and friends in your sorority. You'll have sisters to sit next to in lectures, to study for exams with and to each lunch with. You should've seen the number of girls in my general chem study group. 

Some of the girls you meet will literally be one of the best things that have ever happened to you and I went in thinking I wasn't gonna meet that many people similar to me - I was wrong and met some of the best people ever. These people will be there for you whenever wherever and basically forever. I know this all sounds like some fairy tale shot straight out of a sorority-themed t.v. show, but it actually happens. My big and twiddle will do anything for me as I would for them too. 

A lot of people think you buy your friends with a sorority - I went in with the same mindset - but that's not it because there's so much more that comes with a sorority. There's amazing memories (like having a America's Next Top Model marathon on our megacouch during a surprise snow week) from just hanging out with each other, philanthropy events and from meetings, but there are also many opportunities that sororities have to offer as well. You literally have a group of sisters who all want the sorority to do well and improve. You'll always have sisters rooting for you. 
*Quick note - just because you do join a sorority does not mean you instantly have hundreds of friends - you have to make them BUT it's easier because you see each other frequently. Your sisters will support you and root for you to do your best even if the only thing they know about you is your name

2. Opportunities
Being in a sorority opens up many doors for you. Sororities have a lot of opportunities to take advantage of like running for a position or doing community service, even some paths would wouldn't even think of a sorority having. For example, there is a t-shirt chair in my sorority and I am going to run for it because I want to design the tanks and shirts the sorority will wear for events. That was definitely not something I thought would open up for me, but I like graphic design and plan on making some mockups for tanks and shirts. 

There is even planning for philanthropy events and events for fundraising as well. There is even banner chair to design the banners for events on campus. There's people in charge of fitness groups of the sorority and that are in charge of Bible Study. There's many areas and paths to pursue that help build personal, leadership, creative skills. Being in a sorority also helps with networking for jobs and internships as well.  

3. STEREOTYPES
Here's what is and what isn't true about sororities. Don't not join a sorority just because of a certain stereotype. Join one because you think/know you'll enjoy it. 

• cattiness - no sisters aren't out to get each other and aren't stabbing each other's backs but sometimes things happen and drama happens. This isn't because they're sorority sisters actively trying to get at each other - they're just normal people and situations happen. I'm not saying a sorority is drama free because shit happens.
• no we aren't in the sorority house running around wearing lingerie, but we are in baggy tshirts and nike shorts (also known as norts). There are movie nights, sisterhood events like tie-dying, cookie making or craft making and they are really fun. 
• not all sorority girls are rich girls whose daddies pay for them. Some of them are, but this does not mean they are spoiled brats or anything. But overall, there are many girls who pay for sorority dues themselves. 
• parties - sorority girls do go to parties just like girls who aren't in sororities go to parties. Not every sorority girl is a party girl that wants to sleep with every frat guy. Girls who want to sleep with a lot of people are just in the freshmen year independence stage where they can do anything they want because they're away from home. This isn't a sorority thing, this is a normal person thing that some people go through. Also, if you think you're going to join a sorority just to get party numbers, you are wasting your time and money. You don't need a sorority to get those numbers honestly. 
• sorority girls are dumb - about all sororities require a gpa to be maintained in order to stay in the sorority and I don't know about other schools, but at my college, greek organizations have a higher overall gpa than students aren't in greek organizations.
• hazing - a lot of universities have strict rules regarding hazing and if they are found doing so they can get kicked off campus. National Panhellenic Council (the national governing body of their sororities) does not tolerate hazing either. 

4. Requirement concerns
If you're worried about some requirements when rushing, then here are some pointers.

• age - The older you are, the harder it will be for you to get in a sorority. If you're a sophomore, go ahead and rush no problem. As a junior you can rush too, but be weary that you might not get that many call backs. But it is not impossible, my twiddle is a junior and actually older than my grandbig. Some sororities don't look at age as a concern. 
• financials - if you are concerned about paying for a sorority, go ahead and rush and go talk to the secretary or financials chair (whoever is in charge of that) and you guys can definitely work up a plan to pay it, it's literally no problem. They understand that some kids have to pay for college and for a sorority on their own. BUT, do understand that there are things you have to pay for. There are fines for missing certain things and sometimes you are required to buy tshirts for philanthropy events and you have to pay for crafts and gifts for your little (sister) when you become a big (sister).
• grades - if you have really really really bad grades, you might not get as many callbacks as some other girls because a lot of sororities do require you to maintain above a certain gpa in the sorority or you'll be put on probation. 

other things to consider

• time commitment - it will take a considerable amount of time to be in a sorority (weekly meetings, philanthropy events), but not so much. you can still have jobs and have plenty of time to study and join other clubs. I do community service, have a job, work out and have plenty of time of study and hang out with friends. 
• you are held to a standard when in a sorority and that means dressing up for meetings, not posting red solo cups/alcohol/drug-related photos on social media - things like that, but all sororities are different. 
• if you do join and end up not liking it, you can go and drop out of it. You may have to return sorority souvenirs though like crafts, tshirts, etc. but it depends on the sorority. If you do drop it, they won't shun you or ignore you, realistically people just wonder why you drop and are sorry you didn't find what you were looking for or that things didn't work out

Go ahead and rush if you think you'll like it and if by the end of the week you don't like it you can choose to drop, or not accept the bid. Just because you get a bid doesn't mean you HAVE TO accept it. You can do a few months in as a trial period as well. 

MOST IMPORTANTLY OF ALL, if you do join a sorority, you have to make the most out of it. The friends and memories are not handed to you, it's just easier to with a sorority since you see each other all the time. You can't expect things to happen to you. Go and talk to your sisters, make friends, take those opportunities. It is what you make of it and the effort you put into it, otherwise you will not have the best time you could be having. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask them!

Good luck & joy, 
Julia

Welcome!

Welcome to joy&julia❤️‍

I've wanted to start blogging for a while now, and I finally decided to make an actual website, picked a name for it and everything! So here is where all my dreams, ideas and projects will be! I'm also hoping to record my weight loss journey here as well.

Whether it's health & fitness related or just life tips, and who knows maybe even beauty, this is joy&julia ❤️‍