"Everything Free" Cooking Doesn't Mean Easier or Faster

Well, it is now 10pm and I am WORN OUT! As you can see from my list I still have a ways to go tomorrow. I think the 3 trips to the store for missing ingredients sort of put a damper in the speediness of the preparing process.
I started with the gluten free and dairy free pie crust. There is a mixture of 4 different kinds of "flours". After all of that was mixed and rolled out, it went into the fridge overnight to chill and be rolled out and baked in the morning. My next task was the green bean casserole. It definitely takes a lot longer to make when your ingredients aren't out of a can. I had fresh green beans that I had to clean and snap. Then I had to slice an onion and saute it and slice up some mushrooms and garlic and saute them. All the while boiling the creamy part of the sauce. The green bean casserole is in the fridge ready to get the homemade "french-fried" (with almond meal) onions spinkled on top and put in the oven.
While this was all going on I was trying to cut and scoop out all the silly insides of the pumpkins! Wow, that proved to be my workout for the day! That took me FOREVER to get all the gunk out. But it is done and they are roasted! (And totally delicious)
The pumpkin cinnamon cheesecake is currently in the oven and I am getting to sit down for the first time in a couple of hours! Whew....finally getting to relax a little and watching one of my favorite shows, Man vs. Food!
Today was a day off from my training. I don't know why but I have a hard time resting. Yet, I am trying to train a lot smarter now, especially since I am in the off season and trying to deal with my health issues. So I am going to be trying something new, training really hard when I train, but training way less. Making it more about quality and not quantity. Another big difference in my training is going to be my cardio and how I approach that. I am going to go a month of solely HIIT or SIT cardio and only 20 minutes or less and only a couple of times per week. The hormonal response that this elicits in the body has much greater response towards my goals. Because I have had so many health problems, I have always had to work a million times harder than everyone just to get the same results, so this is a HUGE paradigm shift for me. I know it is the truth and it is right and I have researched the heck out of it, but of course I have a hard time not just going ALL out "balls to the wall" as they say! This month is going to be an interesting month and we will see how it goes. Some of my goals in this are to get healthy, lose body fat, gain lean muscle, and balance out my life more.
I sure hope I get the response that the science says and am happy with the results and the process. I am also going to try my very best to stay away from almost all the foods that I am allergic to and only have one cheat meal a week and eat clean the rest of the week. That will definitely prove to be difficult considering just HOW MUCH I LOVE holidays and baking. I am hoping that by writing out my daily struggles and accomplishments all of you will be able to keep and hold me accountable. My goal is to lose at least 10 lbs from this morning to the morning of Christmas Eve! (Might end up being more after tomorrow!)
Well, there is there timer for my cheesecake....time to wind down for the night because it is going to be an early morning tomorrow starting with a kick-butt workout with Jerome and then onto more cooking! :)

Thanksgiving (Everything Free) Cooking

Ahh...the adventures of Thanksgiving cooking. This will be the first year that I will be cooking the entire meal by myself. Not that I am concerned just have LOTS to do.

Holidays are by far some of my favorite times! I love al the food, family, friends, and traditions. Unfortunately (and fortunately) since last years holiday season I have figured out that I am allergic to just about every good and yummy food you can think of. So at first thought, the holidays started to make me depressed because I figured I wouldn't be able to participate in any of the enjoyable time with family sitting around a table full of delicious, amazing, and mouth-watering food. Yet, after I got past those thoughts, I realized I didn't have to be depressed because I decided to take matters into my own hands!

This will be the Albrecht family's first year of gluten free, dairy free, wheat free, egg free, and sugar free Thanksgiving. Or as some have joked, the healthiest Thanksgiving dinner on the planet!
My goal is absolutely for it to not only be healthy but also for it to be completely tasty and delicious as well so nobody misses the lack of all of those ingredients. I think the best part so far is when we asked my brother, Brett, if he had an requests. The first thing he said is stuffing. Yet, without much delay he quickly added, "Is everything gonna be gluten-free and crap, because I really like my gluten!" I guess we will see if he even notices!

The menu so far is:

Turkey
Stuffing
Gravy
Green Bean Casserole
Mashed Potatos
Sweet Potato Casserole
Pumpkin Pie
Cranberry Pumpkin Upside Down Cake
Pumpkin Custard
Pumkin Cheesecake (possibly)

It all sounds delicious yet obviously I have never made ANY of these without all of the above ingredients, so wish me luck because the Thanksgiving day preparations are about to begin.....
Brittany Albrecht

Earthquake

Well, I keep talking about starting a blog about my life and training and I keep getting people that ask me about it all the time. So, I figured it was about that time especially since I can only tweet 120 characters at once and most of the time I have a TON more to say! So here we go....

I have a deep desire and passion to help change the world by showing others God's love. I have a passion and desire for the lost! In the world we live in today we are constantly bombarded with issues whether it is relationships, work, children, abandonment, rejection, abuse, lonliness, humiliation, anger, body image, stress, cooking, cleaning, etc etc etc. I am sure you could all go on and on. I feel that we often get caught up in these things and start to let other "lords" rule our lives while taking our focus and gaze off of the one true Lord, Jesus Christ! Trust me, it is easy to do and Satan is good at bombarding us with junk to make it even easier. Of course we all have responsibilites that we need to take care of including daily tasks and families to take care of and feed, yet through all of my life experiences, reading and talking with others, all of those responsibilities become even harder when we lose focus of our rock and foundation, Jesus. When we start to build our lives on material things of this world our lives start to get shakier and more unstable. Have you ever been in an earthquake? I have been a couple of times, yet the first time was when I was a little kid (probably too young for most to think I would remember) yet, it was definitely one of those scary and memorable moments. I was in a hotel with my family visiting my Aunt in California. At first, I did not know what was going on I just remember that the floor underneath me one minute was stable and supportive and the next minute was swaying and causing me to stumble and I was having a difficult time standing. When an earthquake happens according to FEMA you are supposed to:

•DROP to the ground; take COVER by getting under a sturdy table or other piece of furniture; and HOLD ON on until the shaking stops. If there isn’t a table or desk near you, cover your face and head with your arms and crouch in an inside corner of the building.



•Stay away from glass, windows, outside doors and walls, and anything that could fall, such as lighting fixtures or furniture.


•Stay in bed if you are there when the earthquake strikes. Hold on and protect your head with a pillow, unless you are under a heavy light fixture that could fall. In that case, move to the nearest safe place.


•Use a doorway for shelter only if it is in close proximity to you and if you know it is a strongly supported, loadbearing doorway.


•Stay inside until shaking stops and it is safe to go outside. Research has shown that most injuries occur when people inside buildings attempt to move to a different location inside the building or try to leave.
 
(http://www.fema.gov/hazard/earthquake/eq_during.shtm)
 
In every instance you should stay away from things that could harm you, break, or are unstable. You should protect yourself and especially your head, you should find something that is strong for support, and when things get back you shouldn't try and leave or move to a different spot.
 
Sometimes life can be one big earthquake! We all go through these seasons in our lives and you may even be in one right now. Maybe your boyfriend broke up with you, you can't seem to find a job, your are living on credit cards, don't know how you are going to pay the bills, are struggling with an addiction, or feel lost. Although on the outside you might try to look like you have it all together most of the time we are all struggling with something. We all have our "things" and our struggles.
 
Yet, God is soo dang good that he even inherently designed into the earth and our world glimpses of Him and His word. Even through something that can be so bad and tragic like an earthquake, we can find Him! Life is very similar to an earthquake and definitely can be sometimes. So when life starts to look like or feel like an earthquake remember FEMA's rules of safely but remembers God's rules for a life of survival and freedom:
 
FEMA's rule: DROP to the ground; take COVER by getting under a sturdy table or other piece of furniture; and HOLD ON on until the shaking stops. If there isn’t a table or desk near you, cover your face and head with your arms and crouch in an inside corner of the building.


GOD's rule: DROP to the ground in prayer, "carry your burdens to the lord in prayer" (Psalms 55: 17) and DROP all of your burdens, sins, struggles, addictions, and pain at God's feet; take COVER by getting under God's sturdy covering and love for you; and HOLD ON tight until the shaking of life or your stuggles stops. God loves us unconditionally. "I pray that you ... may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge" (Ephesians 3:17-19).



FEMA's rule: Stay away from glass, windows, outside doors and walls, and anything that could fall, such as lighting fixtures or furniture.

GOD's rule: Stay away from Satan and his lies and the things of this world that are unstable and do not lead to an eternity with God. Satan has filled this world with lies and "when he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies" (John 8:44). He is also filled the world with great temptations and hungers to tempt us into his trap. "Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness. For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace." (Romans 6: 12-14) God is good and "the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen and protect you from the evil one. (2 Thessalonians 3:3).

FEMA's rule: Stay in bed if you are there when the earthquake strikes. Hold on and protect your head with a pillow, unless you are under a heavy light fixture that could fall. In that case, move to the nearest safe place.

GOD's rule: Stay in and rest in God's character, His word, and His promises. "The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble." (Psalm 9:9-10) and God should be your "hiding place; [He] will protect [you] from trouble and surround [you] with songs of deliverance." (Psalm 32:7-8). Allow your soul to "find rest in  God alone; [your] salvation comes from him. He alone is [your] rock and [your] salvation; he is [your] fortress, [You] will never be shaken. (Psalm 62:1-2). Hold onto His promises and protect your head with God's word, and "take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ" (2 Corinthians 10:5).


•Use a doorway for shelter only if it is in close proximity to you and if you know it is a strongly supported, loadbearing doorway.

GOD's rule: Use God as your shelter because He is ALWAYS in close proximity to you and you KNOW he is strong and supportive and will carry all of your burdens and struggles. "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight." (Proverbs 3:5-6) "So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." (Isaiah 41:10)


FEMA's rule: Stay inside until shaking stops and it is safe to go outside. Research has shown that most injuries occur when people inside buildings attempt to move to a different location inside the building or try to leave.
 
GOD's rule: Stay inside the path that God has drawn. When you try to leave or step off that path, that is when you feel the pain and the struggles of this life that God never intended. Ask God to "direct [you] in the path of [His] commands, for there [you will] find delight" (Psalm 119:35). Remember you should "make level paths for your feet and take only ways that are firm. Do not swerve to the right or to the left; keep your foot from evil" (Proverbs 4:26-27).  
 
As a little kid experiencing an earthquake it is definitely something you don't forget. Luckily, had previously asked my parents what to do just in case of an earthquake. They gave me the best advice, find something sturdy that won't fall when everything else is shaking, like a doorframe, and get under it and hold on tight! When your life begins to shake and you find it hard to walk because the things of this life you have built up as your foundation can no longer support you, remember God's rule's for your life's earthquakes...find something sturdy that won't fall when everything else is shaking, like God and his word, and get under it and hold on tight...