Diet on fast days. What foods can you eat while fasting?
So, with the beginning of Lent, which begins on February 27 in 2017, our entire diet changes radically. Therefore, let's look at the menu for Lent by day for 40 days 2017 for the laity, so that it is easier for you to navigate and tune in to certain products for all days of fasting. By the way, don’t be afraid, if you approach the problem of nutrition rationally and thoughtfully during fasting, you won’t have to go hungry. You can plan your meals in such a way that the food will not only be varied, but also satisfying, nutritious and tasty. And don’t forget - nutrition is only a part of fasting, the main thing is to strengthen prayers, acts of mercy, visit the temple and train in love for others, then food restrictions will benefit the soul and body.
Just a small clarification, fasting actually lasts not 40, but 48 days (plus Holy Week).
During Lent 2017, you are allowed to eat the following foods:
1. Cereal bread and plain black bread made from coarse rye flour.
2. Any cereals and porridges made from them, cooked in water.
3. Summer preparations, namely salted, pickled and soaked vegetables and salads made from them, preserves, marmalades and jams.
4. Mushrooms prepared in all possible ways.
5. Beans, peas, beans and lentils - boiled.
6. Nuts, honey and dried fruits.
7. All vegetables, both fresh and boiled. Fruits and berries.
8. Seafood (squid, shrimp, mussels) and fish.
9. Tea, coffee, still mineral water, herbal infusions.
10. In between meals, you need to drink water - 2.5 liters of mineral water and always without gas. Food should be taken three times - 1. morning (breakfast), 2. day (lunch), 3. evening (dinner). The size of each serving is 200 – 400 grams.
Look, it will be easier to make dietary changes.
The beginning of Lent 2017 - the strictest first week(like the last one, Passionate).
02/27/2017, Monday - abstain from food, only tea is allowed - chamomile, mint, St. John's wort.
02/28/2017, Tuesday – during the day you are allowed to eat 200 g of bread, a decoction of dried fruits, herbal tea and water.
03/01/2017, Wednesday: per day - 250 g of bread and herbal tea.
03/02/2017, Thursday: fresh, unprocessed fruits and vegetables. Preferably - grapes, apples, nuts, greens.
03/03/2017, Friday: decoction of dried fruits or tea throughout the day. Eating any food is prohibited.
03/04/2017, Saturday – 1. A glass of juice or tea.
2. Boiled vegetables - beets, carrots or potatoes, a glass of red, but only natural, wine.
3. Compote and Lenten cookies.
03/05/2017, Sunday – 1. Vinaigrette and coffee.
2. Any lean soup, potatoes with onions and mushrooms. Wine and compote.
3. Boiled cauliflower with apple and carrots, tea
You can bake it for borscht or soup, look at the step-by-step recipe, it’s very tasty. Besides, they can be made sweet for tea.
The 2nd week of Lent in 2017 in nutrition may look like this:
03/06/207, Monday. 1. Oatmeal with water, tea.
2. Vermicelli soup with carrots. Potato cutlets, fresh vegetables, jelly.
3. Apple and tea
03/07/2017, Tuesday. 1. Buckwheat on water, coffee.
2. Cabbage soup made from sauerkraut (lean), vermicelli (pasta) with mushroom sauce, vegetable salad with fresh vegetable oil, compote.
3. Apples, baked with honey and tea.
03/08/2017, Wednesday. 1. Rice porridge, coffee.
2. Soup - vegetable hodgepodge. Potatoes with mushroom sauce with onions, herbs and tomatoes. Fresh cabbage salad with apple, carrots and cucumber, sauced with berry (grape) vinegar and butter. Compote.
3. Tea with lemon and jam.
03/09/2017, Thursday. 1. Corn porridge, tea.
2. Lenten cabbage soup, vinaigrette, cranberry juice.
3. Mashed potatoes with zucchini. Salted or pickled vegetables. Tea, maybe with lemon or apples.
03/10/2017, Friday. 1. Barley porridge, tea with jam (honey).
2. Lenten pea soup, vegetable salad and apple compote.
3. Potato salad with mushrooms, tea.
03/11/2017, Saturday. 1. Vinaigrette with mushrooms, coffee.
2. Buckwheat soup, rice cutlets, beetroot caviar, a glass of wine, pumpkin jelly.
3. lean pasties, tea.
03/12/2017, Sunday. 1. Millet-pumpkin porridge, coffee.
2. Lenten borscht, potatoes stewed with mushrooms, wine, lemon juice.
3. Vegetable caviar, pea cutlets, tea.
3rd week of Lent 2017, menu for every day
03/13/2017, Monday. 1. Millet, tea with honey.
2. Beetroot soup with pearl barley, potato zrazy stuffed with onions and mushrooms, pea salad with pickles, wine, fruit, cranberry lemonade.
3. buckwheat pie, tea with honey.
03/14/2017, Tuesday. 1. Boiled potatoes with garlic, coffee.
2. Bean soup, pasta with mushroom sauce, lingonberry juice.
3., tea with honey.
03/15/2017, Wednesday. 1. Semolina porridge with strawberry jam, coffee.
2. Lenten solyanka, cauliflower casserole with peppers and tomatoes, coffee.
3. Fried squid with boiled potatoes and tea.
03/16/2017, Thursday. 1. Oatmeal with fruit and tea.
2. Lenten cabbage soup, canned pickles with barley, compote.
3. Vegetable ratatouille, tea.
03/17/2017, Friday. 1. Rice porridge, coffee.
2. Pea soup, boiled potatoes with brown mushroom sauce, rosehip compote.
3. Squash caviar with buckwheat, tea.
03/18/2017, Saturday. 1. Semolina porridge with raspberry jam.
2. Pumpkin soup, stuffed squid with rice, wine, cranberry juice.
3. Open Lenten pie with apples, tea.
03/19/2017, Sunday. 1. Brewed oatmeal with dried fruits and coffee.
2. Lenten borscht, pilaf with mushrooms, wine and compote.
3. Buckwheat with lecho, tea with honey.
4th week of Lent in 2017
03/20/2017, Monday. 1. Bean porridge, fruit, coffee.
2. Vegetable soup, lean pilaf, nuts, orange juice.
3. Stewed cabbage, tea.
03/21/2017, Tuesday. 1. Pearl barley porridge, coffee.
2. Lentil soup, pea puree with pickles, compote.
3. potatoes with garlic and mushroom caviar, tea
03/22/2017, Wednesday. 1. Lenten cabbage rolls, coffee
2. Mushroom pickle, cauliflower casserole, pineapple juice.
3. Nuts, fruits, tea
03/23/2017, Thursday. 1. Brewed rice, coffee.
2. Bean soup, rice with mushroom sauce, lingonberry juice.
3. Mashed potatoes with zucchini, tea.
03/24/2017 Friday. 1. Oatmeal, coffee
2. Pea soup, baked vegetables, compote.
3. Pumpkin salad with honey,
03/25/2017 Saturday. 1. Custard buckwheat, coffee.
2. Cabbage soup on sauerkraut, squid baked with carrots and onions, compote
3. Potato cutlets, tea.
03/26/2017 Sunday. 1. Apples baked with honey, coffee.
2. Lenten borscht, fried potatoes with boiled fish, fruit drink
3. Barley with tomatoes, nuts, or.
5th week of fasting, menu
03/27/2017, Monday. 1. Vinaigrette, coffee.
2. Lentil soup, pasta with mushroom sauce, squash caviar, compote.
3. Boiled potatoes with sauerkraut, tea.
03/28/2017, Tuesday. 1. Oatmeal, coffee.
2. Vermicelli mushroom soup, boiled fish with rice, berry jelly.
3. beets with prunes and tea.
03/29/2017, Wednesday. 1. Barley, coffee
2. Lean shea, vegetables, compote.
3. Apples baked with honey, tea.
03/30/2017, Thursday. 1. Stewed cabbage with carrots and herbs, coffee.
2. pea soup, baked vegetables, fried fish in lemon sauce, compote.
Dinner – sweet rice with fruit, tea
03/31/2017, Friday. 1. Oatmeal with jam, tea
2. Lenten borscht, boiled potatoes with herring and onions, rosehip jelly.
3.Vermicelli with mushroom caviar, tea
04/01/2017, Saturday. 1. Seafood, tea
2. Lenten solyanka, wine, raspberry juice.
3. Buckwheat with canned eggplant appetizer, tea
04/02/2017, Sunday. 1. Porridge with pumpkin, coffee
2. Cabbage soup with sour sauerkraut, boiled fish and chips, wine, coffee
Dinner – baked vegetables, tea
6th week of fasting 2017
04/03/2017, Monday. 1. Oatmeal with berries, coffee
2. Light soup with peas and corn, tomatoes with garlic and nuts, vermicelli, compote
3. Buckwheat with mushroom sauce, tea
04/04/2017, Tuesday. 1. lean vegetable pizza, with spicy tomato sauce, coffee
2. lean borscht, boiled squid, rice, juice
3. zucchini with boiled potatoes, tea
04/05/2017, Wednesday. 1. Semolina, coffee
2. Potato soup, raw vegetables, tea
3. Carrot cutlets with garlic and onions, tea
04/06/2017, Thursday. 1.beet cutlets, coffee
2. Lunch – lean cabbage soup, herring with vinaigrette, compote
3. Baked peppers stuffed with carrots and garlic, tea
04/07/2017, Friday. 1. Seafood, coffee
2. Vegetable soup, fried fish, rice, compote.
3. Beans baked with carrots and onions, tea
04/08/2017, Saturday. 1. Custard oatmeal with berries, coffee.
2. Buckwheat soup, boiled fish and potatoes, mushroom caviar, wine, compote
3. Sauteed eggplant with rice, tea
04/09/2017, Sunday. 1. Barley porridge, coffee
2. Mushroom puree soup, baked vegetables, boiled fish, wine, juice.
3. Roast mushrooms with potatoes, tea
The last, Holy Week of Lent, coming in 2017
04/10/2017, Monday, fasting day, bread and water.
04/11/2017, Tuesday. 1. Rice, coffee.
2. Cabbage cutlets, juice.
3. Baked apple, tea.
04/12/2017, Wednesday, 1. Fresh vegetables, coffee.
2. Cabbage salad with carrots and apples, coffee.
3. Fruits.
04/13/2017, Thursday. 1. Corn, tea
2. Cabbage soup with green peas, vinaigrette, herring, compote
3. Korean baked squid with carrots. Tea.
We bake Easter eggs and paint them!
Look - simple and delicious.
04/14/2017, Friday. Hungry day, herbal tea, water, bread are allowed.
04/15/2017, Saturday – we don’t eat until the first star.
We have provided you with a sample menu for Lent in 2017, and you see for yourself, you can replace some products with similar ones, the main thing is to follow the rules for every day. And don’t forget to do good deeds, help the poor, show love to your neighbors, attend worship services and pray for everyone. And give the money you save on food to the poor.
April 16, 2017 - Great Easter, congratulations to everyone, you have endured fasting, cleansed your soul and body before the Lord, and you can safely break your fast!
Great Lent 2018, nutrition calendar by day
Unlike the Assumption and Nativity Lents, Lent is not in specific numbers, but mobile. In 2018, it starts on February 19 and ends on Saturday, April 7. And on April 8, 2018, the main holiday of Orthodox Christians begins - the Holy Resurrection of Christ - Easter.
Lent is the longest - it lasts 48 days. The Lord Jesus Christ himself was tempted by the devil for 40 days in the desert and did not eat anything during these days. Thus He began the work of our salvation. Therefore, Great Lent in Orthodoxy is established in honor of the Lord Himself, and the last week of Lent - Holy Week - in honor of the remembrance of the last days of the earthly life of Jesus Christ, His suffering and death.
The most important goal of fasting is spiritual improvement. Therefore, those people who reduce fasting only to observing certain nutritional rules are very mistaken. Restrictions on food are needed in order to learn to control and restrain our desires, to understand our true needs (in fact, we can do without much that we are very accustomed to). In many cases, we are like little children - we are used to being guided only by our “I want”. Fasting develops willpower. After all, if we cannot organize ourselves and our lives in small things, then even more so we will not be able to achieve results in something larger and more important. Therefore, food fasting is the first step to spiritual growth.
How strictly should you fast?
Lent is the strictest of all four multi-day fasts. Many printed calendars and the daily nutrition calendar that we present below contain data based on the church charter. With the exception of a few days, the routine is as follows: from Monday to Friday inclusive - dry eating, on Saturday and Sunday - fast food with vegetable oil.
Dry eating is one of the strict degrees of fasting (after all, there is also complete abstinence from food). The following products are allowed by the church charter: water, bread, salt, honey, herbs, as well as raw, dried, soaked or pickled vegetables. Further, depending on the severity of the regulations, permission is given only for soaking food of plant origin or for heat treatment by boiling/baking, but without flavoring additives. All of the above - without the use of vegetable oil. Currently, dry eating most often refers to herbal infusions, cold drinks, juices, bread, raw and soaked fruits, raw and baked vegetables (of course, without vegetable oil).
This monastic charter has such a name because it fully relates to the monastic practice of Palestine. The laity are not obliged to adhere to it. Typically, people in the world choose one of two options:
- More strict:
- Monday of the first week (February 19, 2018) and Great Friday, i.e. Friday of Holy Week (April 6, 2018) - complete abstinence from food
- Monday, Wednesday, Friday - dry eating
- Tuesday, Thursday - hot food without oil
- Saturday, Sunday - hot food with butter
- Less strict:
- Monday of the first week and Great Friday (Friday of Holy Week) - dry eating or food without oil
- all other days of fasting - any food of plant origin with vegetable oil
Each layman can choose the measure of fasting for himself individually, but it is better to consult with a priest. Great Lent 2018, nutrition calendar by day.
The monastic charter is recommended (and then optionally) to be observed by those people who already have experience of fasting for many days. If you want to try fasting for the first time or have never held Lent in its entirety, then simply start by eliminating all meat products. If you feel strong, then exclude all products of animal origin (milk, kefir, cottage cheese, cheese, eggs, etc.), but leave all types of cooked food and vegetable oil. You should not immediately, without preparing, take on the feat of dry eating.
As for the two most strict days of Great Lent - Monday of the first week (February 19, 2018) and Friday of Holy Week (April 6, 2018) - where the monastic charter prescribes complete abstinence from food, then you should be even more careful here. For people with chronic diseases (not only the gastrointestinal tract, but also any others), daily fasting is contraindicated. And putting your health (and, as a result, your life) in danger is not blessed by the Church. Remember that everything needs to be approached with reason.
Since Lent is strict, fish is not eaten during it, with the exception of two holidays - Palm Sunday (April 1, 2018) and the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary (April 7). But since this year the Feast of the Annunciation falls on Holy Saturday before Easter, fish is not allowed by the monastery charter. However, in honor of the holiday, you are allowed to drink very little wine. Thus, the only day on which you can eat fish during Lent is Palm Sunday, April 1, 2018. And on Lazarev Saturday (March 31, 2018) fish caviar is allowed.
So, Lent 2018 begins on February 19, see the daily nutrition calendar below. But once again we emphasize that laymen do not have to adhere to strict monastic rules. It is better to determine the measure of fasting by consulting with a priest from the parish church.
Menu for fasting before Easter 2018 by day
It is recommended to completely abstain from eating any food. However, this is a requirement of the monastic charter. The laity can adhere to fasting according to their own abilities. For example, on the first day of fasting, maintain a dry diet - consume products of plant origin (vegetables, fruits) without seasoning with vegetable oil. And, of course, in limited quantities.
On Monday of the first week of Lent in the evening in church they read the first part of the Great Canon of St. Andrew of Crete, so it is advisable to be in church at this time. If this is not possible, you can read the same part of the canon at home. The Great Canon of Andrew of Crete is often published separately as a small booklet. It can be purchased at any church shop, store with spiritual literature, or you can find the text of the canon on the Internet (it is advisable to use a trusted source) and print it out.
According to the monastery charter, dry eating is prescribed on this day. That is, you can eat all fruits (as well as dried fruits, nuts) and vegetables, raw, pickled, baked, heat-treated, but without flavorings. Salt is allowed in this case. You can also eat lean baked goods without vegetable oil.
Despite the fact that now is not the season for vegetables grown in our region, you can buy products from greenhouses or brought from other countries in stores. You can eat raw not only the usual tomatoes, cucumbers, white cabbage, radishes, carrots, garlic, and onions. But also zucchini, bell peppers, beets, broccoli, cauliflower. In addition to the fact that many raw vegetables contain more vitamins, they also taste more interesting, although not very familiar to us.
At Great Compline in church on Tuesday of the first week of Great Lent, the second part of the Great Canon of Andrew of Crete is read. As on Monday, it is better to go to church at this time for conciliar prayer. And if this is not possible, then pray at home.
On Wednesday, the monastic charter again prescribes dry eating - that is, bread products, raw or soaked fruits, as well as raw, pickled or baked vegetables (with salt, but without seasonings, vegetable oil).
On this day, the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts is served, and the third part of the Great Canon of St. Andrew of Crete is also read.
Dry eating (fruits, vegetables, bread).
On this day, at Great Compline in the church, the fourth part of the Great Canon of St. Andrew of Crete is read.
On Friday of the first week of Great Lent, dry eating is also prescribed by the monastery charter.
The Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts is served, and at the prayer behind the pulpit the prayer canon of St. Theodore Tiron and is blessed kolivo (sochivo).
For the first time on the first week, on Saturday, food with vegetable oil is allowed by the monastery charter. And, of course, here the menu becomes much wider. A hearty solution would be fried potatoes, any vegetable salad with oil dressing, mushroom or vegetable soup with fried carrots and onions.
On this day the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom.
On this day, the fast is also weaker than in the first five days of the first week - food with vegetable oil is allowed. You can prepare a variety of side dishes, main and first courses from vegetables, mushrooms, and legumes. There are also many more options for baking with vegetable oil than without it. We have selected several recipes for you, which are located after the given daily nutrition calendar for Lent 2018.
In church tradition, Sunday is often called a week. So, February 25 is the first week of Lent, which is called the Triumph of Orthodoxy.
According to the monastic charter - dry eating. Let us remember that this means eating plant foods without oil.
Dry eating (fruits, vegetables, bread). To make the vegetables more juicy, or to avoid the urgent need to dress the salad, you can use the juice of the vegetables themselves. For example, add salt to shredded cabbage or grated carrots and mash well with your hands for at least three minutes. Then just leave it to stand for 10 minutes.
Eating lean foods without oil (vegetables, fruits, bread). During fasting, including on days of dry eating, do not ignore honey - it is allowed by church regulations and serves as a good support for the immune system.
On this day the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts is served in the church.
The monastic charter is dry eating (vegetables, fruits, baked goods). You can prepare bean or pea puree without using vegetable oil. To do this, soak (if required) the peas/beans for several hours, then boil. Drain the water into a separate bowl, and grind the prepared beans or peas in a blender. Add drained water if desired. This puree can be eaten cold.
Bread, fruits, and vegetables without vegetable oil are allowed at meals. Let's look at several options for the bases for lean dishes on dry eating days: pumpkin with honey; pumpkin with apple; baked potatoes and beets; beans with potatoes; cabbage with prunes; radish with garlic; prunes with walnuts; potatoes with pickles, etc.
This Friday
On Saturday, the monastic charter allows the consumption of food with vegetable oil. You can saute and fry vegetables, and use them to prepare a lot of dishes - vegetable stew, mashed potatoes, lean soup or cabbage soup, filling for pies or dumplings.
On this day the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom. And one more important moment is the first parental Saturday of Lent. To commemorate the dead on this day, it is good not only to pray at home for all deceased relatives and loved ones, but also to order a memorial service in the church, preferably being present at it. If possible, you can visit the cemetery.
Food containing vegetable oil is allowed. As an option, you can make lean cabbage rolls, any porridge with vegetable or mushroom frying, vegetable cutlets, potato balls, potato and carrot pancakes, bake pancakes or wrap any vegetable/mushroom filling in thin pita bread. From the first courses you can prepare beetroot soup, potato cabbage soup, soup with noodles or dumplings.
This Sunday the Liturgy of St. Basil the Great.
Dry eating - bread, vegetables, fruits - all without the use of vegetable oil. You can eat vegetables separately or make a salad, but season them not with oil, but with something else - lemon juice, soy sauce, some juicy fruit with a not very strong taste.
According to the monastic charter - dry eating. As an option, you can make some kind of pate without adding oil. It is convenient to prepare it in a chopper - a blender bowl. You can use pitted olives or any raw or baked vegetables without oil as a basis.
It is allowed to eat bread, fruits and vegetables without using oil. An example of an excellent vitamin salad is to grate green radish, sprinkle with lemon juice, add cranberries, and stir.
On Wednesday the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts is served.
8 March 2018, Thursday
Dry eating (fruits, vegetables, bread products). With this measure of fasting, canned peas and corn come in handy. I added them to the same boiled potatoes and fresh onions - it’s already a salad! Or you can simply serve it with baked potatoes.
The monastic charter provides for dry eating. An option for a healthy and satisfying snack is to combine grated raw carrots with crushed nuts and sprinkle with a little apple cider vinegar.
On this day, the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts is celebrated in churches.
On this day, any lean food with vegetable oil is allowed.
March 10, 2018 is the second parental Saturday of Lent. On this day, if possible, it is better to attend a church service, order a memorial service for deceased relatives, and also pray at home. You can visit the cemetery.
This Saturday the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom.
The monastic charter on this day prescribes food with vegetable oil.
This week (Sunday) of Lent is the Worship of the Cross. Everywhere in churches the Liturgy of St. Basil the Great, at Matins, after the great doxology, the Cross is taken out and venerated.
According to the monastic charter - dry eating. Of course, during this winter-spring period, in the absence of fresh berries (however, now greenhouse strawberries are sold in some supermarkets all year round), you can use frozen berries for eating and cooking.
In the church on this day at the 1st hour the veneration of the Cross is performed.
Dry eating (vegetables, fruits, bread). On such days, you can experiment with different fruits. For example, make quite exotic caviar from mango and avocado, punching them in a blender and seasoning with salt and lemon juice. This dish can be eaten without anything or spread on bread, a roll, a loaf of bread or cookies.
Once again, the monastery charter suggests dry eating. Another dish that is not quite familiar to us is a salad made from sauerkraut, finely chopped (or grated) apple, grapes cut in half and celery sprigs.
On this Wednesday, at the 1st hour, the veneration of the Cross is performed. The Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts is celebrated.
Eating baked goods, fruits and vegetables without using vegetable oil. A hearty and affordable version of the salad that will help out in any conditions - cut baked or boiled potatoes and pickled cucumbers into small cubes, chop onions (if desired, you can first pour boiling water over them), any greens, mix everything and season with lemon juice.
In the event that a polyeleos is celebrated in honor of the “Sovereign” Icon of the Mother of God, the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts is served.
Dry eating (bread, vegetables, fruits). Fast days without eating vegetable oil are a good reason to eat more greens - lettuce, dill, parsley, cilantro, arugula, sorrel, celery, green onions.
The Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts is served and the Cross is venerated.
The monastic charter allows food with vegetable oil.
March 17, 2018 is the third parental Saturday of Lent. You can bake Lenten buns or pies and distribute them to neighbors, friends or parishioners of the nearest church as a memorial service for your deceased relatives. It is also good to give alms with a request to pray for your deceased relatives.
Food containing vegetable oil is allowed. Many people underestimate the importance of mushrooms during fasting. They are rich in plant protein, which to some extent replaces animal protein during fasting. Mushrooms can be used to make caviar, stews, dumplings, soups, salad, and mushroom goulash. Even just frying it with potatoes and onions will turn out simple, satisfying and tasty.
On this day the Liturgy of St. Basil the Great.
The monastic charter prescribes dry eating on this day - vegetables, fruits, bread. On such days, you can prepare a delicious vitamin compote. To preserve maximum beneficial properties, you need to thoroughly rinse dried fruits (any that you have and that you like) with lukewarm water. Then fill them with purified cold water and leave overnight. In the morning, put everything together on low heat and bring to a boil, covering with a lid. When it boils, add sugar (or you can do without it if you don’t really like sweets or are strictly fasting) and turn it off immediately. Leave alone for several hours. The compote will infuse and be very tasty.
Dry eating - fruits, vegetables, bread without vegetable oil.
This year, the service in honor of the 40 Martyrs of Sebaste, which usually takes place on March 22, has been moved to this day. However, in 2018, the 22nd falls on Thursday of the fifth week of Great Lent, when the Great Canon of Andrew of Crete is read.
The Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts is celebrated.
On this Wednesday, according to the monastic charter, eating food with butter is allowed, which means that you can safely fry vegetables and mushrooms to prepare stews, salads, soups or fillings for pies, Lenten chebureks (kutabs).
The Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts is celebrated.
This week on Thursday it is allowed to eat food using vegetable oil.
Thursday of the Great Canon - everywhere at matins in churches the Great Canon of St. Andrew of Crete and the life of St. Mary of Egypt are read. The Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts is celebrated. Let us remind you that the service in honor of the 40 Martyrs of Sebaste this year has been postponed to Tuesday, March 20.
The monastic charter provides for dry eating on this day - all fruits, vegetables, baked goods, but without the use of vegetable oil. On such days, you can experiment with various healthy desserts. For example, combine finely grated raw pumpkin with coarsely grated apple (or chopped orange pulp). Season with honey and, if desired, spices (cinnamon, cardamom, etc.)
The Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts is celebrated in the church on this day. Either at the evening service on this day, or at the morning service on Saturday, an akathist to the Most Holy Theotokos is sung.
On Saturday, food with vegetable oil is allowed. Why not make some kind of lean sauce like mayonnaise? Many of these recipes require sunflower oil, and due to the lack of preservatives they have a short shelf life. It will be great to prepare this sauce for yourself and your family just for Saturday-Sunday.
The Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom. If the akathist to the Most Holy Theotokos was not sung the day before, then it is sung at Matins.
Sunday meal involves eating food with vegetable oil. If you have a blender, for variety you can make a puree or cream soup based on pumpkin, potatoes, broccoli, beans, etc.
On this day the Liturgy of St. Basil the Great.
The monastic charter provides for dry eating on this day. For variety, you can make lean chips, such as beet chips. To do this, peel the beets and cut them into thin slices. Place them on a baking sheet lined with foil or parchment paper. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes at 180 degrees. If desired, add salt on top. If you are not fasting so strictly, you can sprinkle the baked slices with any vegetable oil.
Dry eating (bread, vegetables, fruits). As an option, a simple and very healthy salad that does not require any dressing (however, you can lightly sprinkle it with lemon juice). Combine washed and dried arugula leaves, pomegranate seeds and pine nuts.
Fruits, vegetables, baked goods without oil. An option for lunch is a very simple salad without dressing, but still juicy. It requires only two ingredients - sauerkraut and oven-baked (1.5 hours at 200 degrees) beets, grated on a coarse grater. Even without oil it turns out not dry at all.
The Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts is celebrated.
Dry eating - bread, vegetables, fruits without consuming vegetable oil. Perhaps the simplest and most satisfying thing you can cook is to bake potatoes in the oven without using oil. Either whole (if the tubers are small) and “in uniform”, or cut in half. Let us remind you that according to the monastery charter, salt is allowed.
Dry eating again - eating bread, fruits and vegetables. Try a very simple and unusual salad with just two ingredients - pomegranate seeds and onion rings. Onion rings (if the head is small; if larger, then cut the onion into halves or quarters of rings) just thinly slice and that’s it! If desired, you can scald with boiling water and then sprinkle with lemon juice.
On this day the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts is served.
This day is a holiday - Lazarus Saturday. It is allowed to eat fish roe. For those who accept this product, there is usually no difficulty in consuming it. Caviar is good simply on fresh bread or, on the contrary, on toast.
But we suggest diversifying your diet on this holiday. For example, bake lean pancakes according to any recipe, let them cool, put caviar on them, roll them up and cut each of them in half diagonally. The dish will look very elegant!
You can make sandwiches - apply a thin layer of mayonnaise on the bread, place a circle of fresh cucumber on top, and place a spoonful of caviar on it, garnishing with herbs.
On Lazarus Saturday the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom. At the all-night vigil (on Saturday evening) the consecration of the tree takes place.
This week (Sunday) is called flowering week. Among the people, the holiday of the Lord's Entry into Jerusalem, always celebrated exactly a week before Easter, is called Palm Sunday. In honor of the holiday, eating fish is allowed. Here there is room for imagination to unfold not only in terms of choosing the type of fish, but also the method of preparing it - fried, smoked, baked, salted, canned, etc. There are a lot of variations when hot - you can simply fry it with onions and spices or fry it breaded with flour and seasonings. Bake on a bed of vegetables or with herbs and lemon/orange slices. Can be stuffed with rice and vegetables.
On this day, the Liturgy of St. is served in churches. John Chrysostom.
According to the monastic charter - dry eating (bread, vegetables, fruits). You can make fruit puree for breakfast or a light dinner. The main thing is to have a blender on hand. All that remains is to thoroughly wash all available fruits, peel them from skins and seeds (if necessary), cut them into arbitrary pieces and put them in a blender. Carrots go well with any fruit. Keep this in mind, because it contains a lot of vitamins that are so needed in the spring and even more so during Lent!
On Holy Monday the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts is served.
On Holy Tuesday, the monastery charter also prescribes dry eating (baked goods, vegetables, fruits). One of the very satisfying and healthy dishes is beetroot caviar. Bake the beets in the oven without anything (no oil, spices) for 1.5 hours at a temperature of 180-200 degrees, using foil or a baking sleeve. Then scroll through a meat grinder or grind with a blender. Next, add, if desired, either crushed walnuts with garlic, or also prunes minced through a meat grinder.
On this day the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts is served.
Again fruits, vegetables, bread without the use of vegetable oil. As we know, on days of dry eating, cold boiled vegetables without oil are allowed. An excellent option for such a case is broccoli. You need to put it in boiling salted water and boil it for 7-10 minutes from the moment it boils again. Drain in a colander. Sprinkle with lemon juice.
On Great Wednesday the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts is served.
Dry eating (fruits, vegetables, bread). The monastic charter allows cold drinks on days of dry eating. Therefore, you can make delicious homemade lemonade. To do this, you need to thoroughly wash two lemons with warm water and squeeze the juice out of them. And finely chop the zest (without the white bitter layer). Stir sugar in cold boiled water. Then pour in lemon juice and zest. Cover tightly with a lid and place in the refrigerator until completely cooled. Strain before serving.
April 5 - Maundy Thursday. Memories of the Last Supper. In the evening, Matins of Great Friday is celebrated with the reading of the 12 Gospels of the Holy Passion of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Liturgy of St. Basil the Great.
Good Friday is called Great Friday - this is the strictest day because of the Remembrance of the Holy Saving Passion of the Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, the monastic charter prescribes complete abstinence from food.
Liturgy is not served on this day. Vespers is celebrated, at the end of which the Holy Shroud is taken out of the altar.
April 7 is the twelfth (one of the 12 most important holidays in Orthodoxy after Easter) holiday in numbers - the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Usually on this day you can eat fish. However, in 2018, this holiday falls on Holy Saturday, and therefore fish and oil (vegetable oil) are not allowed according to the monastery charter. However, you are allowed to sip a little wine.
On this day the Liturgy of St. Basil the Great.
Bright Resurrection of Christ - Easter. Of course, there is no fasting on this day; you are allowed to eat everything. But if you are fasting, be careful with fatty foods. Also limit yourself in the amount of food you eat.
Recipes for Lent or menus for the fast before Easter 2018
Bean salad on dry eating days
Ingredients:
- canned beans (red or white) - 1 can
- canned corn - 1 can
- croutons (dried black bread with garlic) - to taste
- avocado - 1 piece
Preparation:
Combine canned beans and corn together. Grate the avocado - it will act as a salad dressing. Add crackers just before serving. To stir thoroughly.
Cabbage and cranberry salad on dry eating days
Ingredients:
- white cabbage - ¼ of a small head of cabbage
- soaked cranberries or lingonberries - 2 tbsp.
- vinegar 6% - 1 tbsp.
- salt, sugar - to taste
Preparation:
Since the dry-eating salad does not require seasoning with vegetable oil, it is better to choose juicier cabbage with fleshy leaves. Finely chop it. Season with salt and add a little sugar if desired. Mash the cabbage well with your hands. Sprinkle with vinegar (apple, raspberry or table vinegar). Add soaked berries.
Vegetable salad with prunes on dry eating days
Ingredients:
- white cabbage - 150 g
- carrots - 1-2 pieces
- prunes - 100 g
- salt, sugar - to taste
- lemon juice - to taste
Preparation:
Chop the cabbage, grate the carrots, combine together, sprinkle with salt and sugar, mash with your hands for a couple of minutes, leave for 10 minutes. Cut the prunes into long strips (if they are dry, soak them first). Add to vegetables. Season with lemon juice and stir.
Granola for dry eating days
Ingredients (you can use any proportions to suit your taste):
- cereals
- nuts (several types possible)
- dried fruits (any)
- flax seeds
- sesame
Preparation:
Chop the nuts with a knife. Dry the nuts and oatmeal in a dry frying pan. Cut dried apricots and prunes with a knife. Combine everything together, add sesame seeds, flaxseeds, liquid honey (if candied, then dissolve it in a water bath or low heat). Mix the mass thoroughly. Cover the pan with foil. Pour out the mixture and compact it well. Place in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours. Then cut into arbitrary pieces.
Healthy dessert in a pumpkin pot
Ingredients:
- pumpkin - 1 piece (diameter and height about 15 cm)
- apples - 3-4 pieces
- raisins - 50 g
- prunes - 100g
- semolina - 3 tbsp.
- corn flour - 3 tbsp.
- sugar - 3 tbsp.
- vanilla - to taste
- water for cooking
Preparation:
Rinse raisins and prunes well. Cut the apples into slices. Combine apples, dried fruits, semolina, corn flour, sugar and vanilla. Mix. Cut off the top of the pumpkin and remove the seeds. Stuff the pumpkin with the prepared filling. Place the pumpkin in a cauldron of water to create a steam bath effect. Cover with foil and bake in the oven at 180 degrees for about two hours.
Ingredients:
- beets - 500 g
- walnuts - 1.5 cups
- vinegar - 1 tbsp.
- pomegranate juice - 30 ml
- onion - 1-2 heads
- garlic - 2-3 cloves
- cilantro - 0.5 bunch
- dill - 0.5 bunch
- parsley - 0.5 bunch
- ground red pepper - 0.5-1 tsp.
- khmeli-suneli - 1 tsp.
- coriander - 0.5 tsp.
- pomegranate seeds for decoration
Preparation:
Bake the beets in the oven (1.5 hours at 200 degrees) or boil until tender. Scroll through a meat grinder with a large grid. To season the onion, garlic and nuts (pre-calcined in a frying pan or in the oven), scroll through the fine attachment of a meat grinder. Combine with finely chopped herbs and spices. Season with vinegar (rice, balsamic, raspberry, apple), salt, mix thoroughly. Combine the beets with the dressing, form into balls (you can give them an oval shape). Sprinkle with pomegranate seeds.
Champignons stuffed with onions
Ingredients:
- medium size champignons - 5 pieces
- red onion (ordinary one is also possible) - 1 small head
- salt, black pepper - to taste
- olive oil - 1 tbsp.
- parsley for serving
Preparation:
Separate the stems from the caps of the mushrooms. Place the caps in a baking dish or on a baking sheet. Cut the onion into small cubes and fry in olive oil until transparent. Finely chop the champignon legs with a knife and add to the onion. Add salt and pepper and fry together for 2-3 minutes. Stuff the caps with this mixture and bake in the oven until golden brown at 180 degrees. When serving, sprinkle with herbs.
Ingredients:
- buckwheat noodles - 0.5 packs (2 bunches)
- onion - 1 head
- carrots - 1 piece
- bell pepper - 1 piece
- olive oil - 2 tbsp.
- soy sauce - 2 tbsp.
- sesame - 2 tsp.
- salt - to taste
Preparation:
Chop bell peppers, carrots and onions as desired. Fry in olive oil for 7-8 minutes. Add soy sauce and sesame seeds, simmer for about 10 minutes. At the same time, boil the buckwheat noodles in salted water for about 12 minutes. Combine noodles and vegetables together.
Creamy chickpea and curry soup
Ingredients:
- canned chickpeas - 1 can
- potatoes - 2 medium tubers
- carrots - 2 pieces
- onion - 1 head
- garlic - 2 cloves
- curry - 1 tsp.
- turmeric - 0.5 tsp.
- pepper - 0.3 tsp.
- water - 2 liters
- olive oil - 1 tbsp.
- lemon juice - 1 tsp.
- salt - to taste
- greenery
Preparation:
Cut the potatoes into cubes and place in boiling water. Cook for 7 minutes. Sauté onions and carrots, cut into small cubes, in olive oil. Add chickpeas, prepared vegetables to the potatoes, add turmeric, curry, pepper, salt. Cook until the potatoes are fully cooked. Puree with an immersion blender, then add chopped or pressed garlic and lemon juice. Stir, put on fire, bring to a boil. Serve with greens.
Ingredients:
- flour - 200 g
- boiling water - 80 ml
- vegetable oil - 80 ml
- baking powder - 1 tsp.
- salt - a pinch
- starch - 1 tbsp.
- any fruit or berries for filling
Preparation:
Combine flour with baking powder and salt. Pour boiling water and vegetable oil into this mixture. Knead elastic dough. Roll into a circle, sprinkle with starch (since the filling is juicy). Cut any fruit (here apples, pears and plums) and place on the dough. Fold the edges and bake for 35 minutes at 180 degrees.
Ingredients:
- pumpkin puree - 0.5 cups
- sparkling mineral water - 0.5 cups
- vegetable oil - 0.5 cups
- sugar - 0.5-1 cup (to taste)
- baking powder - 1 tbsp.
- flour - 3.5-4 cups
- coconut flakes - to taste
- poppy seed - to taste
Preparation:
To obtain pumpkin puree, puree the pumpkin prepared in any way using a blender. Add sugar to the puree and stir. Pour in mineral water and vegetable oil. Then add flour mixed with baking powder. Knead a not very stiff dough, roll it into a layer about 0.7 cm thick. Sprinkle with coconut flakes and poppy seeds, roll out a little with a rolling pin (up to 0.5 cm). Cut out cookies with a cookie cutter. Bake at 180 degrees, depending on the oven settings, from 12 to 25 minutes.
Fish steaks in the oven
Ingredients:
- steaks of any red fish (here trout) - 500 g
- lemon (juice) - 2 pieces
- vegetable oil - 50 ml
- garlic - 2 cloves
- dill - 0.5 bunch
- spices - to taste
- salt - to taste
Preparation:
Wash the lemons with very warm water and squeeze the juice out of them. Add chopped garlic, vegetable oil, spices, salt, chopped herbs to it. To stir thoroughly. Pour the prepared sauce over the steaks and refrigerate for 30-60 minutes. Bake in the oven at 200 degrees for 20-25 minutes.
Ingredients:
- pike perch - 1500 g
- champignons - 300 g
Subscribe to our channel in Yandex.Zen!Great or strict fasting in the Orthodox Church is considered the longest. Lent begins seven weeks before Easter. What is Lent and what are the rules of human behavior at this time? Let's figure it out.
Great Lent is, first of all, a cleansing that should be not only physical, but also spiritual. This is a time of repentance before the Lord, reading prayers, spiritual literature, as well as confession and communion. A fasting person is instructed to curb his anger, lust, greed, envy and rudeness. Slander, slander and anger are strictly prohibited.
The true meaning of Lent is the spiritual elevation of man. The diet of the fasting person also plays an important role here, since it is easier for the soul to cleanse itself in a clean body. Diet restrictions are quite strict and seem overwhelming to many. However, if you look at it, the Lenten menu is reminiscent of the newfangled diets that modern girls are so eager to follow. However, diet is just a way to give your body the desired shape. Fasting has a much deeper spiritual meaning.
Lent: how to eat right?
The most difficult days are considered to be the first day of Lent - Clean Monday, as well as Good Friday and Great Saturday - the last two days before Easter. On these days you should completely abstain from food. On other days, dietary restrictions are expected.
How to eat healthy during Lent? It is necessary to exclude meat, milk and dairy products, as well as eggs. These products, as well as any dishes that contain the above, should be completely excluded from the diet. Fish and fish products are allowed only on the Annunciation, Palm Sunday and Lazarus Saturday. On other days, fish should also be avoided.
If you break down proper nutrition during Lent day by day, it will look like this:
- Monday, Wednesday and Friday - you are allowed to eat cold food without vegetable oil, once a day in the evening.
- Tuesday and Thursday - it is allowed to eat steamed food (boiled, stewed, baked) without adding oil, also once a day in the evening.
- Saturday and Sunday are more gentle days of fasting, you are allowed to eat twice a day in the morning and evening, you can eat vegetable oil, and you are also allowed to drink a glass of red grape wine (once a day).
List of products allowed for consumption during fasting:
By eating all of the above foods, you can get a fairly good and varied diet for every day. The main thing in the Lenten menu is not to overeat, since the true meaning of fasting is to give up any excesses, especially in food.
The post is not useful for everyone. It is recommended that pregnant and lactating women, the elderly, and children under 14 years of age refrain from observing strict fasting. However, true believers try to observe fasting from beginning to end under any circumstances.
How should one enter and exit a fast?
Despite the tangible benefits of Lent for cleansing the body and soul, a sharp refusal of the usual foods included in the daily diet can negatively affect the condition of the body. Therefore, it is recommended to start fasting gradually. A week before the start, it is recommended to give up egg dishes, and a few days later - from milk and dairy products. It is preferable to use lean meat (poultry, turkey, beef). In the first days after the end of fasting, it is also better to use food that has become familiar over the previous seven weeks. To vegetable dishes, you should gradually add low-fat meat dishes first, then milk and eggs. For the first week after fasting, it is recommended to abstain from dishes such as dumplings, soups with fatty broth, fried pork, and pancakes.
Thus, we can conclude that following the nutritional rules during Lent brings only benefits to our body. A lenten menu significantly reduces the risk of obesity, diabetes, stroke, removes waste and toxins from the body, and promotes cleansing. In addition to cleansing the body, a person, having passed the tests of Lent, overcomes the path of spiritual cleansing, and “spiritual purity” is much more important than “physical purity.”
Every Orthodox person sooner or later thinks about how to organize his meals during Lent on a daily basis. He asks his friends, studies literature and is often frightened by the strict rules of eating and a monotonous diet. It's actually not that scary.
Refusal from certain types of food for a while is a spiritual feat
Among our compatriots there are many who not so long ago decided to make their bloodless sacrifice to the Creator. These people discovered many products that previously in ordinary worldly life the menu consists largely of protein foods of animal origin. Fasting prohibits meat and dairy products, as well as eggs.
How to properly prepare for fasting?
What time and what to eat during fasting is not an idle question. The church allows seafood, vegetables, nuts, fruits, mushrooms and cereals. They can be eaten throughout the entire period of abstinence, with the exception of a few special days on which you cannot eat at all, in particular on Good Friday, and on Christmas Eve - Christmas and Epiphany. Meals during fasting are scheduled by day in each Orthodox calendar. The degree of severity is regulated by the canons. However, regulations sometimes change. In every church, priests make sure to explain to parishioners what they can do during fasting and what they should abstain from. The most correct thing is to ask a priest for a blessing before fasting. He will clarify what is possible and when, and what will have to be refused. Some Christians quite rightly believe that the inhabitants of monasteries know and follow the most precise rules. Whether to copy their routine or not, each layman has the right to decide independently, having previously talked with his confessor of clergy.
Do lay people need to follow the monastic rules?
The diet of lay people and monks differs significantly. The monks fast according to all the rules - they eat only once a day, strictly observe dry eating on the prescribed days, and do not eat meat even outside of fasting. The main guideline for all Christians is the forty-day fast of Jesus Christ. Before accepting the mission entrusted by God the Father, the Lord retired to the desert, where he prayed and fought temptations, and supported his physical body with wild honey and locusts. Christ commanded us that we can save our souls only by fasting and prayer. Any fast should be aimed primarily at the desire to comprehend and accept into your soul the commandment “Love one another.”
What foods are allowed during fasting?
Meals during fasting by day for the laity usually look like this. On Monday, Wednesday and Friday, dry eating is accepted, that is, food cannot be cooked. These days, cereals soaked in water and soaked until soft, as well as dried fruits and water soaked in the same way are allowed.
On Tuesday and Thursday you can cook hot food. It can be porridge with water or vegetable broth, jelly, seafood, pasta. Do you often make jelly for yourself outside of fasting? But they are very good for health. Kissels can be made from fruits, berries, and cereal flakes.
What can be prepared from lean products?
You can cook very tasty soups from mushrooms, vegetables and sea creatures. Eating during fasting does not prohibit the use of seasonings and spices. And they are almost always not of animal origin. Lent is the time to master oriental cuisine. Soy sauces, Indian spices, domestic herbs, nuts, honey - these are all things that you can experiment with four days a week, and on Saturday and Sunday vegetable oil is also allowed. Eating daily while fasting will add variety to your life. At the end of the week you can bake strudels. These are a kind of rolls made from very thinly rolled stretch dough. To prepare it, only flour, water and a little salt are used. The filling for them can be sweet, for example, apple and apricot. Take fresh apples, dried apricots or apricot jam, flavor with cinnamon or vanilla, and so that the filling does not flow out, secure it with potato starch.
You can use fresh cabbage as a filling for a savory lean roll. To prevent it from becoming bitter, boil water and put chopped cabbage leaves in it for 3-5 minutes, then drain in a colander. After the water has drained, use the cabbage in any dish. To fill the strudel, fry the onions in vegetable oil and mix with cabbage; to improve the taste, add one cardamom grain, salt and pepper.
Meals during Lent can be varied with jelly and jellied dishes on agar-agar. They can be made for future use, but whether they are allowed to be eaten on Monday, Wednesday and Friday will have to be checked with the priest of your church.
Benefits of fasting for physical health
Eating during fasting every day will not allow you to gain excess weight, but will allow you to eat those foods that you forbade yourself in everyday life. For example, potato pies fried in vegetable oil. Will you say: “Death to the figure”? Nothing happened! You can only afford this pleasure on Saturday and Sunday. The rest of the days the weight will return to normal. In general, eating during fasting by day of the week is quite an exciting thing. You will not only significantly expand your culinary horizons by adding new dishes to your diet, but also get rid of dysbiosis, improve the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract, and cleanse your body of toxins. The nutrition calendar during Lent sets quite strict boundaries for believers, but it does not make their life dull and monotonous.
Fasts vary in length and severity. During the Apostolic, or Peter's, Fast, as well as during the Filippov Fast, that is, the Nativity Fast, fish is quite often allowed. Accordingly, the filling for baked goods, soups and main courses become even more interesting. Even during Lent you can treat yourself to fish on Annunciation and Palm Sunday and fish caviar on Lazarus Saturday.
The joy of successfully overcoming carnal temptations
Only those who have endured a multi-day fast have the opportunity to feel the real joy of eating. Usually the first week after a multi-day fast is continuous. Foods that have been banned for several weeks are perceived in a new way. Fresh cottage cheese with rich sour cream and condensed milk tastes like the most delicate ambrosia. And if you spread it on a butter cake, the flesh of which is not white, but bright yellow from the eggs generously added to the dough?! Who can afford such luxury if not those who for a long time have deprived themselves of the joys of gluttony, abstinence from food and prayer?
The joy of the Incarnation of the Lord in the Only Begotten Son and His victory over death are celebrated very widely; no prohibitions overshadow these two holidays for those who properly prepare for them. At this time, believers completely freely indulge in the joys of life, without worrying about a slim figure, calories, eating hours, etc. A liberated and cleansed body works perfectly. All beneficial substances are used to improve health and build tissue cells of all organs, and harmful ones are removed without delay.
You no longer have to wonder when and what to eat. During fasting, these issues had to be resolved every day, because it is no secret that, no matter how hard you try, fasts generally last a long time, and it is not always possible to cook food. Snacks on Snickers and cappuccino are not allowed. So Orthodox Christians most often eat water, nuts and dried fruits. Honestly, it's not easy.
What if you couldn’t cope with the prohibitions and regulations?
Attending worship services and reading prayers greatly help strengthen the will and spirit. And if you still couldn’t pass the test of fasting, don’t despair. It didn’t work out now, it will work out another time. The most important thing is that the Lord sees your efforts.
Fasting exists in many religions and worldviews. Symbolically, it reflects many principles and performs more than one function, but formally it is reflected in the agreed restrictions imposed during this period on nutrition, behavior, and sometimes appearance. And most often it is nutrition that is put at the forefront when it comes to fasting. It’s not surprising, because daily food is the key to our strength, health and well-being. Another thing is that we do not always correctly understand the benefits and harms of certain products, and we form a diet according to many, far from the healthiest habits. And fasting gives very specific recommendations, following which we get a chance to cleanse not only the soul, but also the body - who would refuse such an opportunity?
So we invite you to understand precisely the gastronomic aspect of fasting, leaving the spiritual ones to your discretion as deeply personal issues. But even this purely practical approach has many nuances regarding the set of permitted foods, time and other additional conditions for eating, which together make up proper nutrition during fasting. Therefore, eating properly during Lent does not mean simply forgetting about meat, but knowing what, when and how you can cook and eat in order to withstand this difficult test and at the same time not harm your health.
What is lean nutrition? Lenten and fast food
Let’s make it clear right away that we are considering the rules of nutrition during Christian, or even more precisely, Orthodox fasting. After all, fasting and similar ascetic practices are characteristic of Hinduism, Judaism, Islam, and other religions, but it is impossible to adequately describe all their features within the framework of one article. Therefore, we will pay attention to the tradition that is closer to the numerical majority of our compatriots in the hope that adherents of other faiths will understand us correctly - as befits true believers. As for Orthodoxy, it understands fasting as abstinence (refusal or limitation) from food and drinks - all or only some, for a specified time. Observing physical fasting also helps to withstand spiritual and mental fasting, and ideally, to prepare for contact with the Almighty through Communion. But even if you are not yet ready for such deep internal work, fasting will not do you harm - only benefit.
During fasting, some foods are excluded from the diet, which are called modest foods, that is, not allowed during fasting. Roughly speaking, all food of animal origin belongs to the skormny, and if in more detail, this concept unites:
- meat of animals and birds;
- offal;
- animal fat (lard, fat tail);
- semi-finished products and any products containing meat and offal;
- eggs;
- butter;
- dairy products;
- dairy products;
- fish on certain days of strict fasting;
- confectionery and other dishes prepared using the listed ingredients.
- vegetables;
- fruits;
- greenery;
- mushrooms;
- cereals and cereal flakes;
- legumes;
- nuts;
- spices and herbs;
- vegetable oils, with the exception of some days;
- fish and seafood, except on some days;
- honey;
- salt.
When should you follow the rules of fasting?
Orthodox fasting is observed several times a year, and each time has a different duration and name. The longest and strictest is Lent, lasting 40 days. If you have never fasted before, you can start small and try eating according to the rules of fasting for one day, for example, on Wednesdays or Fridays. And check the schedule of longer food restrictions with the church calendar. There you will also find instructions on the prohibitions and permissions provided for each specific Lenten period. They are different:
- Strict fasting- This is a refusal of all foods and drinks, except pure water.
- Xerophagy- this is the use of only plant products in their natural form, not cooked or even heated. Drinks are also served cold.
- "Brewing Poison" allows you to cook vegetable food, but prohibits filling it with oil.
- "Eating boiled with oil" implies that you can not only cook/heat products of plant origin, but also flavor them with vegetable oil.
- "Eating Fish" allows not only thermally processed plant foods seasoned with oil, but also fish and fish products in raw or boiled form.
Who should not fast?
Restrictions on food, like any drastic changes, are stressful for the body, especially if you are not used to denying yourself meat and oily dishes. On the one hand, such a shake-up will have a beneficial effect on the digestive, cardiovascular and immune systems, therefore the exclusion of heavy and generally any food is used as therapeutic fasting. The effectiveness of this method has been repeatedly proven by both alternative and traditional medicine, but it is used for a short time: one to three days, a maximum of a week. Longer interruptions in the supply of nutrients (and in a lean diet, protein and fat are primarily lacking) can have the opposite effect, especially for a less than healthy and/or weak person. Therefore, the strictness of fasting is not the same, and some relaxations are allowed in such cases:
- For children of preschool and primary school age, lean nutrition can be harmful. Their body is at the stage of active formation, when complete protein, vitamins and minerals are especially important. Therefore, do not deprive your child of meat and fish at all and/or replace some animal products with plant sources of protein: legumes, mushrooms, nuts, buckwheat. There should be enough of them to ensure the structure of bones, teeth, muscle tissue and the nervous system. And in general, do not force your child to fast; let him make his own decision by watching you. Whether your child will want to follow your example depends on how wisely you eat during Lent.
- Pregnant and lactating women are allowed to eat eggs, fish and dairy products, without which their body will not cope with its responsible mission. They need to especially carefully monitor their well-being and listen to the doctor more attentively than to their confessor.
- Recovering patients, especially after injuries and wounds, should not reduce their diet - on the contrary, they need amino acids and fats to restore strength. At the same time, fasting can be turned into a spiritual and spiritual direction, without overeating and doing inner work, praying and helping others.
- Some types of disease are a direct contraindication to fasting. These are ailments associated with metabolic processes, digestive and endocrine systems: anemia, gout, pancreatitis, diabetes, etc.
- The first fast in your life in adulthood can be with minor concessions. They are selected depending on your health status and your goals, which are determined together with your doctor and/or priest. But since observing fasting is your conscious decision, then try not to do yourself any big favors and eat properly during fasting, as you should.
Eating properly during Lent means not allowing yourself too much, but from time to time adding variety to the list of allowed foods. What and when exactly? If you do not fall into one of the categories of people described in the previous paragraph, then according to the schedule established by the church. Its specific calendar dates change slightly from year to year, but overall the “schedule” remains unchanged. Here are his main postulates using the example of Lent: - Fasting begins on Monday, or Clean Monday. On this day you cannot eat at all, you can only drink water.
- All subsequent Mondays during Lent will not be so strict, but not without restrictions: you can eat only once in the afternoon, adhering to dry eating (cold raw vegetables, fruits, herbs without oil).
- Every Wednesday and Friday during fasting you should also follow a dry raw food diet, drink cool water and even avoid vegetable fats. On these days, unleavened bread is allowed.
- On Tuesday and Thursday you can indulge in hot dishes, boiled or steamed. True, you will have to enjoy them again only once a day (in the evening) and do without oil.
- Saturday and Sunday are the most pleasant days of fasting in terms of nutrition. Firstly, these days you can eat twice a day: morning and evening. Dishes can be boiled and seasoned with oil, and you can even drink grape wine for dinner.
- Friday and Saturday of the last week of Lent represent exceptions to these general rules. On Good Friday, any food is prohibited, and on Holy Saturday you can extend your fast or eat boiled food without oil and other seasonings.
- Twice during Lent you are allowed to treat yourself to fish: on Annunciation and Palm Sunday.
- Lazarus Saturday is an occasion to treat yourself to caviar, although eating fish on this day is not allowed.
- At the end of the fast, throughout the last week, you will have to limit yourself more strictly and adhere to dry eating.
How to eat deliciously during Lent
Some people mistakenly perceive fasting as a diet, at best for health, at worst for weight loss. In both cases, when the true role of fasting is taken into account, and the restrictions are not supported by internal desire, it is quite difficult to endure the fast psychologically. Culinary experience and imagination come to the rescue, necessary to add variety to the daily menu. So, if vegetable salad and lean cabbage soup already set your teeth on edge, try using these tricks:
- In addition to sunflower and olive, use other vegetable oils: flaxseed, grape, sesame, etc.
- Eat a variety of cereals to help your bowel movements. Don’t forget about sauerkraut so as not to deprive your body of lactic acid, which has a beneficial effect on intestinal microflora.
- Explore exotic cuisines. For example, many Asian dishes contain tofu, sesame, and seaweed. And Ayurvedic cooking almost entirely meets the requirements of a lean diet.
- Take advantage of a lean diet to increase the amount of healthy foods in your diet: for example, replace your usual bread with yeast-free bread, or even better, whole bread with bran.
- Use spices and look for new ways to prepare dishes. For example, a pinch of allspice in a salad improves digestion and promotes faster satiety, and instead of oil, fish can be fried in a dry non-stick pan, grilled or steamed.
You can prepare a huge number of dishes without meat - perhaps you can’t even imagine the number of lean cooking recipes. Not only cold salads and appetizers, but also first, second, sweet dishes and drinks are prepared from vegetables, fruits, mushrooms, and berries. Well, for example:
- The vinaigrette. Take 4 potatoes, 2 pickled cucumbers, 1 beet, 1 carrot, 1 onion, 100 grams of sauerkraut, 1 teaspoon of mustard, a pinch of salt and sugar, vinegar. Boil potatoes, carrots and beets, peel and cut into small cubes. Chop the onion and cabbage, cut the cucumbers into cubes. Prepare a dressing from salt, sugar, mustard and a tablespoon of vinegar. Place all ingredients in a salad bowl, season and mix.
- Lenten bean soup. Take 4 potatoes, 2 onions, 2 carrots, 1 cup beans, 4 walnuts, bay leaf, a pinch of salt and ground black pepper. Cook the beans until tender. Peel and cut the potatoes into cubes, place in a saucepan with water and bring to a boil. Add bay leaf and salt. Peel and chop the onion and carrots, fry in a frying pan until soft. 5 minutes before the potatoes are ready, place the beans, carrots with onions and peppers in the pan, cover with a lid and cook for 5 minutes. Add the peeled nut kernels and serve.
- Fruit puffs. Take a package of puff pastry, 1 large apple, 1 kiwi, 1 pear, 100 grams of raspberries or other berries, 100 grams of sugar. Peel the fruits and cut them into small equal cubes. Roll out the dough and cut into 6 square pieces. Place fruits and berries on the dough, mixed or in parts, sprinkle with sugar. Fold the edges of the dough over to form small rolls. Preheat the oven to 200°C and bake the puff pastries for 15 minutes.
