What to eat during fasting menu. Lenten table

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Fasting by its definition is strict ban or restrictions on the consumption of food or only certain products, for example, meat or dairy products.

Great Lent is the path to the Bright Feast of Great Easter, through which a believer must go through, keeping himself in strictness. The ban is imposed not only on eating food, but it is also prohibited to spend this time in fun and pleasure. Great Lent is one of the strictest fasts church calendar, it begins seven weeks before Easter and consists of forty days (Quentum) and the week before Easter (Holy Week). Pentecost is celebrated in honor of the fact that Jesus Christ fasted in the desert for forty days, and Holy Week- memory of the life of Christ in last days His life, His crucifixion and resurrection.

Lent in 2018- from February 19 to April 7

During Lent, it is not recommended to eat food of animal origin - meat, eggs, milk. However, it is allowed to eat fish, but only on the holidays of Palm Resurrection and the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Eating seafood such as squid, shrimp, and mussels is not prohibited during Lent.

But we should not forget that Great Lent is not an Orthodox diet, and the purpose of fasting is not so much to cleanse the stomach as to cleanse the human soul.

According to church regulations, Lent is a tribute to the memory of the Lenten feat of the son of God - Christ. After his baptism, Jesus wandered through the desert in thought for 40 days without water or food. This act marked the beginning of his great saving deeds in the name of all mankind. And in order to thank the Savior and honor him, the church introduced the strictest restrictions on the entire Lent, preceding Easter.

However, there is another version of the origin of the ritual of long pre-Easter fasting. At the dawn of Christianity, before the baptismal rite, future “children of the church” were ordered to pray fervently for 40 days and strictly limit food and water. The christenings themselves took place only 1-2 times a year on major holidays, most often on Easter. Everyone who wanted to join the religion was called catechumens. And being in solidarity with them, the rest of the Christians adhered to 40 days of abstinence in the period before the ritual (that is, before Easter). As a result, the post known to us today was established not all at once, but rather gradually. True, over hundreds of years, the conditions of fasting have undergone changes more than once.

The main rules of modern Lent:

Rejoice in everything and thank the Lord;
Visit the temple during Lent 2018;
Repent at Pentecost and you can be cleansed during Holy Week;
Take care of your health. In case of illness, soften the conditions of fasting;
Don't think about food;
Look at your plate;
Hasten to do good;
Remember why you entered into fasting;
Give up temptations and imaginary pleasures in favor of tireless prayers to the Lord;

As for the meal, according to the Church Charter, there are some rules:

During the first and last weeks of Great Lent, a particularly strict fast is observed.
Meat and dairy products (butter, cheese, cottage cheese, milk), eggs, are excluded. That is, all products of animal origin.
You can eat only once a day, in the evening, however, on Saturdays and Sundays you are allowed to eat twice a day, at lunch and in the evening.
On Monday, Wednesday and Friday, eat cold food, without vegetable oil. Allowed on Tuesdays and Thursdays hot food no oil.
On Saturdays and Sundays it is allowed to add vegetable oil to food, and it is also allowed to drink grape wine (except for Saturday of Holy Week).
On Good Friday (this is the last Friday of Lent) you should abstain from food altogether.
On Saturday, many who observe fasting also abstain from food until the onset of Great Easter.

How to fast correctly for Orthodox laypeople and what to eat on different days

The annual pre-Easter Lent is flexible in the calendar and in 2018 it falls from February 18 to April 7. The ritual of fasting lasts 49 days, of which 40 are the days of the Fourth Day, two twelfth holidays (the Annunciation and the Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem) and the ascetic 6-day cycle of Holy Week. According to the church charter, Lent 2018 is as follows:

first week - February 18-24, 2018;
second week - February 25 - March 3, 2018;
third week - March 4-10, 2018;
fourth week - March 11-17, 2018;
fifth week - March 18-24, 2018;
sixth week - March 25-31, 2018;
Seventh “Holy” Week – April 1-7, 2018.

In addition to the church charter, it is important to know how to fast correctly and what Orthodox laity can eat by day in the 2018 Lent calendar. According to strict conditions, there can be no more than two meals per day. The first traditionally occurs around lunchtime (after church liturgy), and the second - in the evening (i.e. after Vespers). If there is only one meal, its time is 15.00 Moscow time. In terms of nutrition, the first and last “passion” weeks are the strictest. They include days of dry eating and complete fasting. On certain days in other weeks, hot dishes with or without butter are allowed, sometimes fish caviar, and on the twelve holidays - wine and fish. The Orthodox calendar of Lent for 2018 will help you understand each week and its meaning in more detail: what can the laity eat by day, read further in our article.

What foods are allowed to be consumed during fasting?

If you approach your diet wisely during Lent, then, firstly, you will not have to go hungry, and secondly, even during the period of strict fasting, nutrition can be quite varied and balanced.

So, the main products allowed during fasting:

Black bread, cereal crispbread.
Cereals (oatmeal, buckwheat, rice, corn, wheat, barley)
Salted and pickled vegetables, berry and fruit jam.
Mushrooms of various preparations.
Legumes (beans, lentils, peas)
Dried fruits, nuts, honey.
Seasonal vegetables (potatoes, beets, carrots, onions, cabbage, radishes, etc.)
Fruits in season (apples, bananas, grant, oranges, etc.)
Fish is allowed to be consumed twice during the entire fast. On the feast of the Annunciation (in 2016 it falls on April 7) and Palm Sunday (April 24, 2016)

Nutrition calendar by day (menu)

The first week of fasting (the most strict). It is important to enter the fast correctly on the eve of the start. It is also important to know the personal contraindications, who should not fast.

1 week
Monday	It is customary to abstain from food.
Tuesday	black bread, water, kvass are allowed
Wednesday	dry eating, that is, food that is eaten raw, this can be various vegetables and fruits, as well as nuts and herbs. Bread is allowed.
Thursday	continuation of dry eating
Friday	You can eat vegetables, fruits, nuts; vegetable oil is prohibited on this day. Cooking is not recommended; everything should be consumed raw.
Saturday	The food is the same as on Friday, you are allowed to drink grape juice.
Sunday	on this day you are allowed to eat boiled food with vegetable oil. You can also drink a small amount of red wine, which should be natural, without adding alcohol.

Above we described one week, how, according to all the rules and canons, fasting should be observed; this is more acceptable for monks, or for people who strictly observe all the regulations of the church. If you decide to fast for the first time, then you should not take it upon yourself excessive loads! It is quite possible, for example, to eat oil.

Here sample menu, which you can take as a basis by adding or replacing certain dishes:

2 week
Monday	Breakfast	Oatmeal porridge with water. Tea.
	Dinner	Vermicelli soup. Potato cutlets. Apples. Coffee or tea.
	Dinner	Tea
Tuesday	Breakfast	Rice porridge. Cucumber and tomato salad. Tea.
	Dinner	Vegetable soup. Vermicelli with mushroom sauce. Tea with jam.
	Dinner	Tea
Wednesday	Breakfast
	Dinner	Vegetable solyanka. Cabbage salad. Compote.
	Dinner	Tea.
Thursday	Breakfast	Corn porridge. Tea or coffee.
	Dinner
	Dinner
Friday	Breakfast	Barley porridge, cucumbers, tomatoes. Tea or coffee.
	Dinner
	Dinner	Buckwheat porridge. Tea.
Saturday	Breakfast	Vinaigrette. Tea or coffee.
	Dinner	Millet porridge. Vegetables. Compote.
	Dinner
	This is the first parent's Saturday during Lent. Whenever possible, people go to the cemetery to visit their deceased relatives.
Sunday	Breakfast
	Dinner
	Dinner

3rd week of fasting
Monday	Breakfast	wheat porridge. Nuts. Tea.
	Dinner	Potato soup with buckwheat. Potato zrazy. Fruits. Coffee or tea.
	Dinner	Tea
Tuesday	Breakfast	Buckwheat porridge. Tea
	Dinner	bean soup. Vermicelli with mushroom sauce. Tea with jam.
	Dinner	Tea
Wednesday	Breakfast	rice porridge. Tea or coffee.
	Dinner	Vegetable solyanka. Cabbage salad. Compote.
	Dinner	Tea.
Thursday	Breakfast	oatmeal porridge. Fruits. Tea or coffee.
	Dinner	Cabbage soup made from fresh cabbage. Vegetable salad. Compote.
	Dinner	Mashed potatoes with eggplant caviar. Tea.
Friday	Breakfast	barley porridge. Tea or coffee.
	Dinner	Pea soup. Salad with vegetables. Compote.
	Dinner	Buckwheat porridge. Tea.
Saturday	Breakfast	Millet porridge. Tea or coffee.
	Dinner	Rassolnik. Vinaigrette. Vegetables. Compote.
	Dinner	Boiled vermicelli with lecho. Tea.
	Note: This is already the second Parent's Saturday during Lent. It is also necessary to go to the cemetery to pay tribute to your deceased relatives.
Sunday	Breakfast	wheat porridge. Tea or coffee.
	Dinner	Russian-Ukrainian borscht. Fried potatoes. Compote.
	Dinner	Rice porridge with onions and carrots. Tea.

4th week of fasting
Monday	Breakfast	oatmeal porridge. Nuts. Tea.
	Dinner	Vegetable soup. Pea porridge. Nuts. Coffee or tea.
	Dinner	Tea
Tuesday	Breakfast	barley porridge. Tea.
	Dinner	Lentil soup. salted mushrooms. Tea with jam.
	Dinner	Tea
Wednesday	Breakfast	rice porridge. Tea or coffee.
	Dinner	Lenten borscht. Cucumber and tomato salad. Compote.
	Dinner	Tea.
Thursday	Breakfast	rice porridge. Nuts. Tea or coffee.
	Dinner	potato soup with beans. Vegetable salad. Compote.
	Dinner	Mashed potatoes with eggplant caviar. Tea.
Friday	Breakfast	oatmeal porridge. Tea or coffee.
	Dinner	Potato soup with green peas. Salad with vegetables. Compote.
	Dinner	Corn porridge. Tea.
Saturday	Breakfast	Buckwheat porridge. Tea or coffee.
	Dinner	Rassolnik. Vinaigrette. Compote.
	Dinner	Boiled vermicelli with mushroom sauce. Tea.
	Note: This Saturday will be the third one for parents.
Sunday	Breakfast	oatmeal porridge. Tea or coffee.
	Dinner	Russian-Ukrainian borscht. Vegetable salad. Compote.
	Dinner	Buckwheat porridge. with onions and carrots. Tea.

In the subsequent fifth and sixth weeks After fasting, you can repeat your menu as in the second and third weeks.

The seventh (Holy Week) week of Great Lent is as strict as the first.

The sixth Sunday of Great Lent falls on the celebration of the Lord's entry into Jerusalem, or it is also called Palm Sunday. On this day you can eat fish, food with butter, and consume a little Cahors.

On Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday - dry eating. Thursday you can eat warm food, but cooked without oil, and only once a day. On Friday only bread and water. Eating is prohibited on Saturday.

And finally, Sunday, the end of the strictest fast falls on the celebration of Easter.

It is important to watch this video for your safety!

It is worth noting that if you decide to fast for the first time, it is recommended to talk with a priest and decide for yourself the severity of fasting, because you need to understand the very important truth that main goal Observance of fasting is not a restriction in food, but humility and repentance, prayer!

Dietary restrictions during Lent cleanse both soul and body. But you should approach this wisely. If you have health problems, you should not exhaust your body with hunger strikes and diets. Today the church makes exceptions for those who cannot limit themselves for health reasons. Therefore, what you can’t eat and what you can eat during Lent concerns only people who are ready for it not only morally, but also physically.

Fasting varies in severity. People of higher rank and those staying in monasteries eat a little differently than those who abstain from harmful foods at home. But at the same time, any believer can “submit” to strict restrictions at will.

Fasting is divided into several degrees:

The fast lasts 40 days, and during this time all kinds of entertainment activities and quarrels. For those who comply with the strictest rules, there are several additional responsibilities:

In the first and last week, fruits, vegetables and bread are allowed. You can only drink water.
On other days, it is recommended to eat nuts with honey and plant foods.
On the first day and subsequent Fridays of fasting, you can only eat raw plant foods and drink water.

Such a fast should only be held by trained people who do not have health problems and whose body can without harmful consequences endure abstinence from an abundance of food.

You need to prepare for restrictions in advance. You cannot eat enough before fasting and then starve. This may make you feel worse. It is necessary to exclude prohibited foods from the diet gradually, several days before the great event. You should not abuse alcohol and tobacco products.

In the first days, hunger can be very strong, since permitted plant foods do not contain sufficient quantity protein to saturate the body. You'll have to snack more often and don't forget about breakfast.

There is a myth that during fasting you are only allowed to eat cereals, raw vegetables and fruits. Many people do not dare to make such serious food restrictions, believing that such a meager diet is too harsh. In fact, the menu these days can be varied. The main thing is to be able to cook proper and tasty dishes. Desserts, casseroles, sandwiches, dumplings, salads, cereals, soups - all these delicacies are available to fasting people.

Before you start fasting, it is recommended to undergo the sacrament of communion. You need to contact the priest in advance, and he will tell you what you can eat during Lent before communion and what after.

It is worth following all the prescribed rules in order to be completely cleansed. The restrictions before communion last 3 days and holding out is not difficult for an Orthodox Christian. But if for some reason this was not observed, you must repent to the priest during confession, and the priest will forgive this sin.

The most important thing in this short-term restriction is not to overeat. You should eat only when you really feel hungry.

Products that can be consumed:

fish and seafood (boiled or baked);
mushrooms;
nuts and candied fruits;
vegetables (raw only);
fruits and dried fruits;
porridge with water;
yeast-free bread;
tomato paste;
pasta (not from wheat flour);
dark dark chocolate;
natural marmalade and pastille;
seeds;
compote;
kvass;
jelly;

There are countless fasts, the main one being the Great one. There are also one-day posts with strict menu. There is a special calendar in which you can see what you can eat during fasting.

Proper nutrition by day

For those who want to fast correctly, there is set menu by day, where it says what you can eat during fasting:

It would be better to give up white bread for the entire period of restrictions and switch to black bread. It is recommended to season vegetables with lemon juice.

Special days of fasting

According to the canons of the church, there are several special days during the year when one must also fast:

the first Monday of fasting - hunger;
Palm Sunday - you can have fish, wine and caviar;
Good Friday - hunger;
Wednesday in the fourth week - wine is allowed;
Christmas Eve - hunger;
Martyrs' Day - you can have oil and wine.

The menu recommended by the church is actually quite varied. Many housewives come up with more and more recipes with each period of restrictions. Meals during fasting should be moderate, but do not exclude delicacies and tasty dishes:

Fasting is not only possible, but also must be delicious. Food during Lent can be varied, the main thing is not to deviate from the recipe and not to use animal fats.

Tomato soup

To prepare this delicious soup you will need:

For bruschetta, take yesterday's yeast-free bread, a couple of cloves of garlic, olive oil and salt.

Preparation:

When the soup is ready, you can puree it with a blender or eat it like this. The taste will not change, but the consistency will become more pleasant.

Since meat is not allowed during Lent, and on some days even fish, cereals come to the rescue. From oatmeal you can make hearty, tasty cutlets that are indistinguishable from meat cutlets.

You will need:

a glass of oatmeal;
potato;
carrot;
spices to taste.

Preparation:

pour boiling water over oatmeal and leave to swell;
peel and grate vegetables;
combine cereals with vegetables, add spices and mix;
Form cutlets and fry on both sides in a frying pan greased with oil.

If desired, you can add mushrooms to the cutlets.

Sweets made from seeds

There is a recipe for an incredibly tasty treat with seeds. He will definitely not leave anyone indifferent.

You will need:

200 g sesame or sunflower seeds;
2 tablespoons honey;
a pinch of cinnamon;
salt to taste.

The preparation here is quite simple. You just need to fry the seeds in a dry frying pan and mix with the rest of the ingredients. Serve the sweetness on bread or instead of jam for tea.

You need to understand that giving up your usual food for such a long time sets the body up for change. Therefore, you should not overeat on the first day after expenses. Easter is, of course, a sacred holiday, when it is customary to set a rich table. But eating a hearty meal after abstinence can affect your well-being. You need to gradually add familiar foods to your diet, without immediately switching to fried meat. It is better to give preference to less fatty foods.

When deciding whether to fast or not, you must take into account all your physiological abilities. And the main thing is to remember that it is important not only to begin and maintain the fast with dignity, but also to finish it with dignity.

I decided to write an article about what you can eat during Lent, what dishes you can prepare for the Lenten table.

After all, you want to eat tasty, varied, healthy and not boring, so that you don’t eat the same thing every day, right?

I want to offer you some delicious ideas, how to feed yourself and your family during the fasting period.

From this article you will learn:

What can you eat during Lent - menu for Lenten nutrition

So, many people know that fasting can be strict and not strict.

Moreover, during the same fast there are certain differences in daily nutrition.

Accordingly, the dishes that are consumed are different.

Strict fasting and non-strict fasting - what are their differences?

All posts vary in their degree of severity.

Strict post:

During strict fasting, only plant foods (vegetables, fruits, cereals) are allowed, and all products of animal origin are completely excluded. Food can be thermally processed or raw (these are days of dry eating).

Less strict post:

when vegetable oil is allowed in plant-based dishes on some days.

Not a strict post:

on these days fish and vegetable oil are allowed. Otherwise, all food is plant-based; meat, milk and eggs are not consumed at all.

Lent is considered the strictest. The rest are less strict.

What can you cook during Lent?

Many people think that fasting means only carrot cutlets, sauerkraut and “empty” rice... But, in fact, everything is not so scary at all, friends!

How do you like lasagna, spaghetti, pizza, various pancakes, dumplings, pancakes, pies and pies? It is not necessary to cook with white wheat flour if we do not want to gain weight! Can be prepared from buckwheat, corn, oatmeal, pea, etc.

How about various delicious sandwiches with hearty pates, vegetable and mushroom caviar, jelly, mushroom aspic, sweet porridges, dumplings with different fillings and “lazy” dumplings (gnocchi, dumplings, dumplings), julienne, various salads with such a satisfying composition, that they can be called the main dish and dumplings?

Borscht, cabbage soup, soups, dishes made from mushrooms and nuts, and even “scrambled eggs” without eggs!

And how many sweets you can prepare, it’s completely incomprehensible!

And sweets, and kozinaki, and pies, and cookies, and even cakes with cream!

Including cakes without flour, without eggs and without sugar, this is already “aerobatics”, but you can also learn this!

And this is far from full list those dishes that are called lean...

And if fish is allowed, then it’s generally a holiday: fish soup, cutlets, meatballs with rice, fish pastes (pates), steamed fish, fried, grilled and oven-baked.

With vegetables, stuffed, stewed with mushrooms and onions, various fillings with fish for pies and pancakes... You can’t list it all!

What products can be used in preparing Lenten dishes?

Cereals:

millet, wheat, pearl barley, barley, rice of all varieties, . Also buckwheat, bulgur, couscous, spelt, corn grits. As well as oatmeal and cereals from several types of grains.

We prepare from them:

porridge, add to vegetable dishes, make cutlets, zrazy, fillings for pies and pies, prepare cereal soups and various casseroles.

We prepare our own baked goods and bread from buckwheat, oatmeal, rice, barley, corn flour, rye flour, and spelled flour.

Vegetables - absolutely everything

We prepare from them:

soups, vegetable stews, vegetable purees, puree soups, various fillings, vegetable sauces and cutlets.

We add them to pates, make salads from raw and boiled vegetables, casseroles, stew, bake, boil, fry, steam them.

We add cereals, mushrooms to them, water them with all kinds of delicious sauces and eat it just like that, cut into pieces.

Berries, fruits and dried fruits - absolutely everything

We prepare from them:

fruit purees, pastilles, compotes, fruit drinks, jelly, jams and confitures for tea. We also swirl freshly squeezed juices, add them to baked goods, prepare fillings for pancakes and pies, and add them to porridge. We eat it just like that, whole or cut into beautiful pieces.

Greens - any

We prepare from it:

“green” salads, add to smoothies, cut into salads from boiled and raw vegetables, sprinkle generously on your prepared dishes, make “green” fillings for your pancakes and pies.

Legumes:

peas, beans of all kinds, beans, chickpeas, mung beans, lentils.

From legumes we prepare:

soups, puree soups, add to salads, boil and puree, add to vegetable stews, prepare bean pastes, fillings, etc.

Nuts – all the ones you like

We make nut sauces (sweet and salty), nut muffins, nut cutlets, make kozinaki and halva, prepare delicious nut milk, add it to pates and fillings, sprinkle our porridge with chopped nuts and add it to any other dishes and baked goods.

We make cheese from nuts. We prepare nut butters and nut urbechi. We gnaw just like that

Seeds:

sunflower, sesame, flax, poppy seeds, chia seeds, hemp seeds.

We prepare from them:

We add it to baked goods, make kozinaki, sauces for dishes (sweet and salty), sprinkle our porridge with crushed seeds and add it to other dishes.

We prepare vegetable milk (sweet and unsweetened), urbechi from seeds, cheese from seeds, tahini (tahini, tahini) from sesame seeds and pasta mix for sandwiches from various seeds.

Mushrooms - absolutely everything

We fry them, stew them, bake them, grill them, and steam them.

We cook them with various fillings, make pates out of them, cook julienne, add them to vegetable dishes, soups, prepare mushroom soups, mushroom fillings, add them to porridges, and salads.

Vegetable oil - any you want

For salads, cold dishes and snacks, and in ready-made dishes, it is best to use first cold-pressed vegetable oils. Their taste and aroma are simply divine!

Choose those that you like: olive, flaxseed, camelina, and hemp, grape seed oil and walnut oil, sesame.

As well as mustard oil, coconut oil, rice oil, sunflower seeds and from pumpkin seeds.

For frying, boiling and stewing, 100% and refined oils are suitable, they are odorless and can be used for cooking, as well as coconut oil.

Where to get protein in a lean diet?

Mushrooms are our “meat” for the period lean nutrition. This also includes legumes, nuts, greens and seeds.

All these products are very nutritious, contain large amounts of protein, healthy fats(nuts and seeds), as well as vitamins and minerals.

During fasting, all these products are MANDATORY in daily diet. In this case, you will not have any “protein fasting”.

What kind of porridges are prepared during Lent?

Our Russian porridge is not just food, it is a whole “philosophy”! We are, of course, not talking about quick, instant porridges that you “poured and ate right away.”

Although, this is also an option: simple oatmeal or a mixture of cereals, doused with boiling water or vegetable milk, and with the addition of berries, nuts, fruits and seeds - what’s not a hearty, tasty breakfast?

And porridge with vegetables and mushrooms is not a wonderful and satisfying dish for lunch?

The main idea here is this: porridge is never NOT tasty. The porridge just needs to be cooked correctly.

Here's an example: pearl barley. Don't like it? You just don’t know how to cook it!…

Here you need to know the secret of delicious pearl barley. Try to do this: rinse it, pour a fairly large amount of boiling water, wrap it in a warm blanket and let it brew all night, 8–10 hours. If all the water is not absorbed, then drain it, add a small amount of water again and cook for 10 minutes.

Fry separately the onion, cut into beautiful rings and grated potatoes, add spices and mix with the prepared pearl barley.

If you want, you can add mushrooms too.

No one will refuse such porridge!

It’s a similar story with buckwheat porridge. Do you like it with milk? Please: grind the seeds or nuts with water in a blender, strain, and you will have the healthiest milk in the world! Any porridge is good with vegetable milk, and buckwheat is especially good. Make the porridge sweet or salty as you wish.

An excellent option for buckwheat porridge is buckwheat with onions, carrots and other fried vegetables.

Buckwheat with mushrooms and onions - who can refuse it, right?

Very tasty buns, pancakes are prepared from buckwheat flour, and “grechaniky” are fried.

In stores, look for spaghetti or any other pasta made from buckwheat flour. It's very tasty and unusual!

Prepare sweet pilaf from rice: add steamed raisins, nuts, seeds, any fresh berries or fruits to boiled rice, pour over sweet nut sauce or honey. This is delicious!

What about rice with mushrooms and vegetables? Why not pilaf? A very tasty and satisfying dish, you won’t even notice the absence of meat...

You can serve any porridge with a sauce you prepare yourself. It’s as easy as shelling pears to make a sauce from the same seeds or nuts. You can make vegetable sauce, tomato sauce, sweet fruit and berry sauce.

Be sure to add spices to any porridge. This will enrich the taste of your cereals, give them an incredible aroma and make them more healthy and easily digestible.

Dried fruits for fasting

Of course, dried fruits are eaten during Lent.

The amount of vitamins in them, of course, decreases, but the amount of sugar increases.

But, despite this, the benefits of dried fruits are still beyond any doubt, because all trace elements are stored there in the necessary and sufficient quantities.

They are available for sale, they are not so expensive in price, especially since you can’t eat too many of them. Of course, it is better to buy those that have not been processed, that have been dried and stored without being exposed to “chemical influence.”

They are not as beautiful and glossy as those that were first filled with sugar syrup and dried at high temperatures, and then also treated with sulfur dioxide, etc., but you know 100% that you are not doing harm to yourself by consuming their.

You can eat dried fruits just like that, say, with tea. To do this, it is better to first soak them in water. They will acquire juiciness and softness, and will look like fresh.

You can make a delicious dessert treat from any dried fruit.

Particularly good in this dessert will be: figs, cherries, large prunes.

You need juice from red berries. If it’s not the season, then feel free to take your preparations off the shelves and get started! Add the following spices to the juice: vanilla, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, nutmeg, black pepper and sugar. Add dried fruits cut into large pieces, mix and boil it all over very low heat: first without a lid for 50-60 minutes, then under the lid for another 40 minutes. Watch, it may take less time. The main thing is that the syrup becomes thick.

This dessert can be served with tea, served with porridge, or simply cracked with a spoon...

The use of dried fruits is not limited to this.

Many amazing things are done with dried fruits: for example, they are added to the filling for stuffing tomatoes, sweet bell peppers and eggplant. They are stewed with red beans and fried onions.

It turns out unusual, original and piquant.

How to cook mushrooms during Lent?

If we do not take into account the “newfangled” soybeans, then mushrooms are exactly the “meat” that will be on our table during the entire Lent.

Mushroom soup, potatoes with mushrooms and onions, vegetable stew with mushrooms, mushroom julienne, mushroom caviar, potato cutlets stuffed with mushrooms, with mushroom sauce (zrazy), mushroom risotto and dumplings with mushrooms...

All this, of course, can be easily prepared from dried or frozen mushrooms. Not only boring champignons and oyster mushrooms are suitable. Honey mushrooms, chanterelles, boletuses, porcini mushrooms – anything goes!

Recently, you can also find Japanese shiitake mushrooms. He is the “world champion” in wrestling cancer diseases. In addition, they are incredibly tasty, the Japanese know a lot about them!

And the huge, simply gigantic portobello mushrooms? It tastes like pure chicken! And they are quite often sold in regular supermarkets, check them out!

Mushrooms have a simply fantastic variety, and this is a great reason for daily “mushroom experiments” in order to cook with mushrooms often, cook a lot and taste delicious.

Here are some options for you:

Wild mushrooms can be used to make sandwiches with tapenade: grind the capers with olive oil, add lemon juice, season with salt and pepper. The result is a paste that is perfectly spread on toasted slices of bread, and between two slices there are slices of mushrooms fried until crisp.
And from the good old oyster mushrooms a salad “emerges” by itself: mushrooms, apples, celery stalks, lettuce and large dark grapes fried until beautifully golden brown. Everything is doused with dressing from lemon juice with crushed pine nuts, salt, pepper and a little cinnamon. Mmm…
And champignons fried with soy sauce, honey, sesame seeds and green onions? Served hot right away, they are incredible!

How to eat nuts and seeds during fasting?

Nuts in our lean diet nutrition plays a fairly important role.

You can not only sprinkle them on cakes and add them to beetroot and garlic salad...

During Lent, when almost every protein counts, nuts are simply irreplaceable!

If the nuts are fresh, then consider it “almost a panacea” in the autumn-winter period, when all sorts of colds and ARVI bother us.

It’s just so nice to chew nuts and make nut butters from them. It doesn’t have to be peanuts; very tasty pastes can be made from absolutely any nut! It’s even better to make it from nuts, and from raw ones. Still, peanut butter is a controversial product...

Although, if you really want to, then you can, just not a lot. It can be prepared very easily at home: fry peeled peanuts in the oven, grind them in a meat grinder twice, add salt and water to the desired consistency.

Or blend everything at once in a blender - peanuts + salt + water.

Use the same principle to make raw nut paste:

Do you want something sweet? No problem: add honey and cinnamon.
Do you want something unusual? Please: add pepper, just a little honey and spices. The nut butter has a very original taste!
Want something more filling? Then combine lightly roasted nuts in a blender (walnuts are perfect for this snack, but you can use any nuts, depending on your taste), fried onions, salt, pepper and water. Very, very tasty, filling and aromatic snack! It smells so good that you immediately need to spread it on your own bread and eat it before your family “grinds it”, otherwise you won’t get it, believe me!
If you want to make something “more substantial” for a snack, you can add boiled beans and a little garlic to this recipe. Again: we scroll everything in a blender with adding water to the desired paste-like consistency.
You can do the same with seeds - prepare a paste and spread it every morning thin layer for yourself a piece of bread, crispy toast, cookies (can be sweet or salty) or whole grain bread. Nourishing, tasty, healthy, what more do you need, right?

Make sweet pastes, make savory ones, whatever you want!

Who said tahini has to be salty?

Aren't you afraid of experiments? Then prepare sweet tahini: sesame seeds(can be raw, or can be fried in a dry frying pan, with fried seeds it turns out many times more aromatic) + honey + cinnamon + salt.

This is such an awesome thing, friends! To say it’s delicious is to say nothing! Therefore, as soon as you prepare it, grab yourself a spoonful of bread, and only then call your family, although you won’t need to call them, I’m sure: the aroma of fried sesame seeds is something that they will come running to, believe me!

Here's another very, very original idea for a snack: raw almonds, lemon juice, a little honey, fresh basil leaves, salt, a little garlic and ginger (proportions are arbitrary, to your taste), grind through a meat grinder or in a blender, adding enough water to get a paste of the consistency you need.

Then you take apples, carrots, celery stalks, cucumbers and whatever else you can think of, cut them into pieces and eat them, dipping them in the prepared sauce.

Very tasty, unusual, nutritious and mega-healthy snack! Be sure to cook it, you will definitely like it!

I really love preparing various pastes and pates from seeds and nuts, it’s so helpful when you don’t have time, but you need to eat something quickly, preferably healthy!

And don’t be afraid of the calorie content, even if you want, you won’t be able to eat a lot, it’s very filling!

Such pastes can not only be spread on bread, they can be used as fillings, added to your own porridge, and to spaghetti - instead of sauce.

You need to store nut or seed butter in the refrigerator.

Lenten first courses

Friends, try this, and buckwheat soup will become your “favorite” Lenten period, honestly!

What do you think of the idea of kharcho soup, gazpacho, pickle soup? You can continue the list. All this can be prepared without meat, and it’s all quite tasty and nutritious!

This, friends, is what I wanted to tell you today. I really hope that you will take some of the ideas for yourself and apply them.

If you liked the ideas from this article, then share with your friends on social media. networks, friends and co-workers at work.

Write in the comments what you can eat during Lent, your ideas for Lenten nutrition. What are you cooking? It will be very interesting for me, I'm always looking for something new and cool.

And other readers will also be interested to know, write!

See you later, my dears!

Alena Yasneva was with you, Health and Delicious Fasting to all!

Of course, the main purpose of fasting is the spiritual growth of a person, the correction of sins, and the cleansing of the soul from passions. It is not for nothing that there is such a saying - fasting is not in the belly, but in the spirit. Therefore, before talking about the “food” component of fasting, I will cite one wonderful saying of St. Basil the Great: “Do not limit the benefits of fasting to abstinence in food, because true fasting is getting rid of evil deeds... Forgive your neighbor’s insult, forgive him his debts. You do not eat meat, but you offend your brother... True fasting is the removal of evil, abstinence of the tongue, suppression of anger, excommunication of lusts, slander, lies and perjury. Abstinence from this is true fasting.”

Thus, fasting should not be considered a diet for weight loss. This article will talk about how to rationally create your menu so as not to violate the rules of food abstinence during Lent and not to harm your health.

Speaking about proper nutrition during Lent, it is worth noting that the measure of abstinence in food varies from person to person. Some are healthy, some have chronic diseases, requiring therapeutic diet. Some are studying, some are doing hard work. physical labor. For pregnant and nursing mothers, fasting is also usually relaxed. It is best to discuss the measure of abstinence in food during Lent with your confessor.

Now we are in Lent, which means excluding meat, fish, poultry, dairy products, and eggs. There are days of dry eating, days of eating food without oil. During less strict multi-day fasts - Christmas and Peter's fasts - on some days fish and fish caviar are blessed.

Among those who are fasting, there is a controversial attitude towards eating soy products and seafood (bloodless sea reptiles) during fasting, as well as eating foods such as Lenten mayonnaise, Lenten sweets and cakes, etc. Again, if there are doubts and questions, all controversial issues are better decide with your confessor. If eating squid and soy cheese is a delicacy and a temptation for you, of course you should refuse such food. However, one should not condemn one’s neighbor for eating such products - perhaps a person has the blessing of a confessor to eat certain products.

Basic principles of proper nutrition during fasting

During fasting, most of the fasting person's diet consists of carbohydrate foods, and very little protein is consumed. Meanwhile, protein is essential for human health; it is the “building material” of our body. Animal protein is excluded during fasting, but vegetable protein is allowed. Sources vegetable protein- nuts, seeds, legumes, mushrooms, cereals, bread, soy products. Sea reptiles - shrimp, squid, mussels, etc., are also very rich in protein.
If a person leads active image life, it is obligatory to consume products that are good source energy and give a feeling of fullness for a long time - these are pasta, potatoes and cereals. But keep in mind that instant porridge is “fast” carbohydrates! This porridge quickly fills you up, but it also “burns” quickly, and after just a couple of hours you may feel hungry. Choose rolled oats with a cooking time of 15-20 minutes. If you don’t have time to prepare in the morning, you can pour the rolled oats in the evening cold water, and in the morning - just warm up the porridge.
It is useful to season salads with olive oil, 1 tablespoon of oil per serving.
Moderate consumption of dried fruits during fasting is beneficial - dried apricots, prunes, dates, and nuts. You can add them to your morning porridge or take them with you for a snack. Dried fruits and nuts are high in calories, so they fill you up quickly.
Instead of sugar, use honey - it can be added to morning porridge, tea, and used as a natural sweetener in baked goods. Dark chocolate, marmalade and dried fruits in moderate amount preferable to sweet lean ones flour products, which can be found on store shelves. These foods tend to be high in fat, and consuming them can lead to weight gain.
Very important principle proper nutrition in the post is daily use fresh and/or thermally processed vegetables and fruits. Vegetables and fruits are great for a snack - for example, if it is a vegetable salad (you can, if desired, diversify it by adding mushrooms, legumes, squid, nuts, croutons), seasoned with olive oil and 1 fruit.
It is important not to starve and try to plan your meals so that there are no long breaks between meals. In this case, the digestive system will quickly and better adapt to a plant-based diet and the risk of such “troubles” as gastritis, constipation and indigestion will be reduced. For those people who comply with the monastic rules, eating no more than 2 times a day, observing the days complete refusal from food, it is better to prepare in advance. Even before fasting, you should gradually reduce the frequency of meals to make it easier for the body to adapt to the new regime.
If you are overweight, it is important to follow these rules to avoid gaining weight while fasting.

First of all, it is necessary to reduce the amount of carbohydrate food in the evening meal as much as possible. Since carbohydrates provide a lot of energy, and in the evening after school or work energy is usually not spent, it will be stored as fat “in reserve.” Therefore, in the evening it is better to give up pasta, potatoes, rice, cereals, flour products, bread and sweets. For dinner you can eat a variety of vegetable and legume dishes. These can be vegetable and bean salads, vegetable casseroles and cutlets, stews, vegetable caviar, baked and stewed vegetables, grilled vegetables, vegetable and bean soups (without potatoes, cereals and pasta). It is recommended to have dinner no later than 3-4 hours before bedtime! If you consider it obligatory to have a snack after dinner (for example, if dinner took place 5-6 hours before bedtime), then have a snack no later than 2 hours before bedtime.
If it is acceptable for you to consume sea reptiles and soy products, you can also include them in your menu in the evening.
On days when fish is allowed, excellent option dinner will be fish + any vegetables (except potatoes).
In the evening, you can eat a few nuts with tea (not sweet). Sweets should be excluded for dinner.
Eating potatoes is acceptable for lunch or breakfast, but not every day. Rice and pasta are preferred over potatoes. It is better to eat cereals for breakfast, fruits and dried fruits - before 7 pm. Diversify your diet with frequent consumption of vegetables, both raw and cooked.
Pay attention to moderate consumption of vegetable oil - the most high-calorie product from the famous!
Eating a variety of soups is encouraged, both for lunch and dinner (for dinner, vegetable/bean soups without cereals, pasta and potatoes).
Further, in the examples of the Lenten menu, you will see the mark (diet breakfast/lunch/dinner), this means that this option food suitable for people with excess body weight. On days of dry eating there is no such mark, since the diet on such days is itself dietary.

DISH RECIPES for LENT BREAKFAST/LUnch/DINNER on dry eating days

Oatmeal and fruit smoothie: Fill the rolled oats with cold water overnight. In the morning, add 1-2 teaspoons of honey and diced fresh fruits - banana, kiwi, orange. Beat with a blender, adding water if necessary. You can use other fruits and any berries to make smoothies. If desired, you can add dried fruits and nuts.

Fruit and nut salad: 1 apple, 1 banana, 1 orange cut into pieces, mix, season with lemon juice, cinnamon and 1 tsp. honey Add any dried fruits and nuts if desired. If desired, you can add any fruits and berries to this salad.

Oatmeal muesli with soy milk: Pour muesli with soy milk, wait 10 minutes until the flakes swell.

Carrot - apple salad: Grate the apple and carrot, mix, season with lemon juice, 1 tsp. honey, garnish with nuts if desired.

Strawberry-pear-carrot salad: Grate 2 carrots on a coarse grater, add strawberries and pears cut into large cubes (peel the pear and remove the core), add 1 tsp. honey and 1 tsp. lemon juice. Mix.

Vegetable salad: chop the tomato, cucumber, radish, corn, leek, lettuce, dill, parsley, sesame seeds, mix. To this salad you can add grated celery root, young zucchini, and croutons. Season with lemon juice.

Hearty salad: Mix canned beans, corn, green peas and diced tomato. You can add croutons, avocado and garlic if desired.

Cabbage and pea salad: Chop white cabbage, mash with salt with your hands, add diced fresh cucumber and green peas, sprinkle with lemon juice, mix.

Wheat salad: chop the salad leaves, add wheat sprouts, diced avocado, corn, pine nuts, olives. You can add crackers. Mix.

Avocado salad 1: Cut the avocado into cubes, mix with chopped lettuce, croutons and sprinkle with lemon juice.

Avocado salad 2: cut the avocado into cubes, mix with chopped fresh cucumber, dill and corn, sprinkle with lemon juice.

Carrot and pumpkin salad: grate carrots and pumpkin, season with 1 tsp granulated sugar or 1 tsp. honey Sprinkle with lemon juice.

Avocado and tomato sandwiches: Grease black bread with crushed garlic, place sliced avocado on top, and sliced tomato into rings on top of the avocado.

Sandwiches with avocado pate: Mash the avocado with a fork, add a little lemon juice, dried basil, a pinch of salt and paprika. Stir until smooth and spread on bread. You can sprinkle sesame seeds or roasted pine nuts on top.

Examples of a lean breakfast on dry eating days:

— Any salad/smoothie from the list of dishes + tea/coffee/cocoa with dried fruits/nuts.

— Oatmeal muesli with soy milk + tea/coffee/cocoa with dried fruits/nuts.

— Cornflakes with soy milk + tea/coffee/cocoa with dried fruits/nuts.

— Vegetable salad from the list + fruit salad/smoothie from the list + tea with lemon.

— 2 sandwiches with avocado + tea with dried fruits/nuts.

— Vegetable salad from the list + fresh fruits 1-2 pcs + tea with honey and lemon.

Examples of a lean lunch on dry eating days:

— Any salad/smoothie from the list of dishes + 1-2 sandwiches with avocado + tea with honey and dried fruits/nuts.

— Any salad/smoothie from the list of dishes + 1-2 slices of bread + 1-2 fruits.

Examples Lenten dinner on dry eating days:

— Vegetable or bean salad from the list of dishes + 1-2 sandwiches with avocado + tea with lemon and nuts.

— Vegetable or bean salad from the list of dishes + bread + tea with lemon and nuts.

— Vegetable or bean salad from the list + bread + fresh fruit 1 piece + tea with lemon.

DISH RECIPES for LENT BREAKFAST/LUnch/DINNER on days without oil

Oatmeal, boiled in water with 1 tsp. honey, a handful of fresh berries/fruits or dried fruits (prunes, dried apricots, raisins, dates) or nuts.

Baked apples with oatmeal, berries and nuts: Take out the core of the apples, put oatmeal in the middle, 1 tsp. honey, berries and nuts. Place in a mold and bake in the oven at 200 degrees. 15 minutes.

Millet porridge in water with pumpkin and/or prunes: Wash the millet, pre-soak the prunes in warm water. Cut the pumpkin pulp into cubes. Place everything together in boiling water and cook until thick. At the end of cooking, add salt to taste. Before serving, add 1 tsp. honey and garnish with nuts if desired.

Lenten thick borscht: Pour water into a large saucepan, add spices: bay leaf 2-3 pcs, cloves 4-5 pcs, allspice 2-3 pcs, black pepper 1-2 pcs. and 1-2 medium-sized peeled potatoes, cook over medium heat. Pour 2-3 ladles of water into a separate small saucepan, add a finely diced onion and grated carrot, and cook over medium heat. Grate 1 large beet, sprinkle it with 1-2 tsp. lemon or 1 tsp. vinegar, mix and place in a small saucepan 10 minutes after the carrots, without stirring. The beets should be slightly covered with water. Remove spices and cooked potatoes from a large saucepan. Mash the potatoes in a separate container with a pestle and return to the pan. Separately chop 3-5 tubers raw potatoes cube, place in a large saucepan. When the beets become matte, place the contents of the saucepan into a large saucepan. You can take either sauerkraut or fresh cabbage. Sauerkraut Rinse lightly with water and place in a saucepan. Chop raw cabbage and place in a saucepan. Add 2-3 tablespoons tomato paste, mix thoroughly. Add salt to taste and cook until done. 5 minutes before readiness, add chopped parsley and dill.

Mushroom soup with potatoes: Pre-soak dry mushrooms in hot water. Pour water into a saucepan, add spices: 2-3 bay leaves, 2-3 allspice, cook with spices for 5-10 minutes, remove spices. Cut 4-5 potato tubers into cubes, place in a saucepan, and add salt to the soup. Chop the onion and carrot into cubes and place in a frying pan with 2 tbsp. water, simmer for 5-10 minutes. Chop the mushrooms as desired, put them in a frying pan with the onions and carrots, and simmer for another 10 minutes. Place the contents of the frying pan into the saucepan with the soup, stir, and cook until tender. 5 minutes before readiness, add chopped parsley and dill.

Bean soup with potatoes: Pre-soak the beans overnight in cold water with 1 tsp. baking soda. In the morning, drain the water, rinse the beans, put them in a pan with water and cook until almost done. When the beans become almost soft, cut 4-5 potato tubers into cubes, place in a saucepan, and add salt to the soup. Dice the onion, grate the carrots, place in a frying pan with 2 tbsp. water, simmer for 5-10 minutes and place in a saucepan with soup. Salt the soup, add spices to taste and cook until done. 5 minutes before readiness, add chopped parsley and dill.

Vegetable stew: Chop the mushrooms into large pieces and fry in a non-stick frying pan. Place vegetables (you can take a frozen mixture of vegetables, or any of your own, cut into cubes, if desired) into a frying pan with the mushrooms, add salt, add spices, 1 tbsp. tomato paste and some water. Simmer covered over low heat until done.

Mashed potatoes with mushrooms: Boil the potatoes and mash with a small amount of potato broth. Chop the mushrooms, add salt and simmer in a frying pan. Serve the dish sprinkled with chopped dill.

Potatoes with pumpkin and mushrooms in the sleeve: Chop potatoes, pumpkin, fresh mushrooms as desired, add salt and add spices/herbs to taste, mix. Place the mixture into the sleeve. Pierce the sleeve in several places with a toothpick (so as not to burst during cooking). Bake in the oven at 180 degrees for 40-50 minutes. Serve sprinkled with fresh herbs.

Examples of a lean breakfast on days without oil:(diet breakfast).

— Oatmeal porridge with water + green salad + tea with lemon/coffee.

— Baked apples with oatmeal, berries and nuts + vegetable salad + tea/coffee.

— Millet porridge on water with pumpkin and/or prunes + green salad + tea/coffee.

Examples of a lean lunch on butter-free days:(diet lunch).

— Lenten borscht + 1 slice of bread + vegetable salad + tea with lemon + nuts + tangerine.

— Mushroom soup with potatoes + sandwich with avocado pate + tea with lemon and nuts + apple.

— Bean soup with potatoes + 1 slice of bread + green salad + tea with dried fruits.

Examples of meatless dinners on days without oil:

— Rice with vegetable stew + vegetable/bean salad + compote.

— Mashed potatoes with mushrooms + vegetable salad + tea with lemon and nuts.

— Potatoes with pumpkin and mushrooms in the sleeve + bean salad + tea with lemon and nuts.

— Vegetable stew + bean salad + tea with lemon and nuts. (diet dinner).

DISH RECIPES for LENT BREAKFAST/LUnch/DINNER on days with oil

Apple pancakes: Sift 1.5 cups of flour, mix with 0.5 tsp. baking powder, 4 tbsp sugar, a pinch of salt, 2-3 tbsp vegetable oil. whisk or mixer until smooth, adding water to the consistency of thick sour cream. Peel and core 1 large apple, grate on a fine grater and add to the dough, mix. Heat a frying pan, grease with vegetable oil and bake the pancakes over medium heat on both sides. You can serve with honey, fresh berries and fruits, jam.

Lenten yeast pancakes. Place a dough of 1 tbsp. flour, 1/2 cup water, 1 tbsp. granulated sugar and a packet of dry yeast (1-2 teaspoons, depending on the final amount of dough). Place the dough in a warm place (you can put the bowl with the dough in a bowl of hot water and cover with a dry towel) for half an hour. The dough should fit well. Next, add 2-3 cups of sifted flour, a pinch of salt, 1 tbsp. granulated sugar, 3-4 tbsp. vegetable oil and a glass of water. Beat the mixture with a mixer, adding water until it reaches the consistency of liquid sour cream or fermented baked milk. Place the finished dough in a warm place for 20 minutes, covered with a dry towel. When the dough has risen, check it. If it becomes too thick, add a little water and mix thoroughly. Heat the pans well, and periodically grease them with vegetable oil, bake pancakes. Serve with honey, fresh berries, fruit, jam.

Granola: Mix 1.5 cups of rolled oats, a handful of hazelnuts, almonds, pumpkin and sunflower seeds, coconut flakes, diced dried fruits (optional) thoroughly with 2 tbsp. honey, 2-3 tbsp. r oil. Place parchment paper on a baking sheet, spread the mixture and bake at 160 degrees for 40 minutes. Stir every 5 minutes. The mixture should take on a nice golden color. brown. Don't dry it out! Cool, add coconut and raisins, stir. Can be stored in the refrigerator for several days. You can serve it with soy milk.

Pea soup: Soak the peas overnight with 1 tsp. baking soda. In the morning, drain the water. Boil the peas in new water until half cooked. Cut potatoes into cubes, carrots and onions fry on vegetable oil. Add the roast and potatoes to the soup. Salt and add spices to taste. Cook until done. Serve with croutons.

Lenten soup - kharcho with mushrooms: Soak dried mushrooms in boiling water for half an hour. Fry onions and carrots in a frying pan. When the onions turn golden, add the mushrooms and a little water. Simmer covered for 10 minutes. Place the contents of the frying pan into boiling water and add rice, cook for 10 minutes. Salt the soup to taste, add 2 tbsp. tomato paste and chopped dill and parsley. Cook for another 5-7 minutes, bringing to a boil.

Baked eggplant with tomato: Cut the eggplant into rings, pour salted water for 1 hour (to remove the bitterness). Cut the tomatoes into slices. Squeeze eggplants from excess water, lightly fry in a frying pan with vegetable oil. Grease a baking sheet with vegetable oil, place eggplant mugs, tomato mugs on top, a drop on top lean mayonnaise(can be replaced with mushroom caviar). Bake in the oven at 200 degrees. 15 minutes.

Pots with vegetables and mushrooms: Cut the eggplant into cubes and soak in salted water for half an hour to remove the bitterness. Cut the tomato and onion into cubes. Cut the champignons into large slices. Fry the onions in a frying pan, when the onions are browned, add the mushrooms, fry for 5-7 minutes, add the eggplants with tomatoes and lightly fry. Cut carrots into slices. WITH canned beans drain the water. Place all the ingredients in pots and fill with salted water so that the water slightly covers the vegetables. Place the pots in the oven and cook at 200 degrees for about 1 hour.

Lahanorizo: Fry onion and grated carrots in vegetable oil. Chop 300-500 grams of white cabbage, add it to the carrots and onions and fry over high heat until caramelized, stirring continuously. Add 2-3 tbsp. tomato paste and spices. Add salt to taste, stir and reduce heat.
Add ½ cup rice and 1 cup water to the cabbage. You can add more or less rice as desired. Simmer covered until the rice is ready.

Examples of a lean breakfast on butter days:

— Apple pancakes + green salad + tea with lemon.

— Lean yeast pancakes + green salad + tea with lemon.

— Granola + green salad + coffee with soy milk. (diet breakfast).

Examples of a lean lunch on butter days:(diet lunch).

— Pea soup + green salad with butter + tea with lemon + apple.

— Lenten kharcho soup + raw vegetables + sandwich with vegetable caviar + tea with lemon.

— Thick lean borscht + green/bean salad + tea with 2-3 pieces of marmalade.

— Lahanorizo + sandwich with vegetable caviar + fruit salad + tea with lemon.

Examples of meatless dinners on days with butter:

— Spaghetti with vegetable stew + bean salad + tea with lemon.

— Boiled potatoes with 1 tsp. aromatic oil+ baked eggplants with tomato + vegetable salad + compote.

— Lahanorizo + vegetable salad + tea with lemon and nuts.

— Pots with vegetables and mushrooms + bean salad + tea with lemon and nuts. (diet dinner).

DISH RECIPES for LENTEN LUNCH/DINNER on days with fish

Potato soup with red fish: Pour water into a saucepan, add diced potatoes. In a frying pan with 1 tbsp. oil, fry grated carrots and diced onions. After 10 minutes of cooking the potatoes, add the fried potatoes and pieces of red fish to the soup. Add spices and salt to taste, chopped dill and parsley. Cook for another 10-15 minutes.

Potato soup with squid meatballs: Meatballs: Cook potato soup. When the soup is almost ready, use a teaspoon to make meatballs: take squid puree into a spoon, form a ball the size of walnut. Carefully lower the spoon with the minced meat into the soup, hold it for a few seconds until it “seizes” and turn the spoon over, our meatball will no longer fall apart. This is how we make all the meatballs. Bring the soup to a boil and the soup is ready!

Salad with rice and fish: Boil the rice, cool, add boiled pink salmon in pieces (or canned food), green peas, green onions, dill, vegetable oil, salt to taste and mix.

Squid cutlets: These cutlets can be frozen for future use. We take squid carcasses. If it has skin, remove it with a stocking and remove the insides. Using an immersion blender or meat grinder, puree the squid. Salt and pepper to taste, add 2-5 tbsp. breadcrumbs (breadcrumbs are only needed so that you can form cutlets from the squid mass), chopped dill, mix. Form cutlets and roll them in breadcrumbs. Freeze for future use, or fry in a pan.

Fish cutlets: Pass the pulp of any fish through a meat grinder (or take ready-made minced fish), add 2-3 tbsp. Breadcrumbs, salt and pepper to taste. In a frying pan, fry diced onions and grated carrots. Mix with minced meat. Form cutlets.

Tuna and tomato salad: Cut the tomatoes into cubes, add pieces of tuna (canned), chopped lettuce, dill and green onions. Drizzle with olive oil and stir.

Examples of a lean lunch on days with fish.(diet lunch)

— Potato soup with red fish + bean salad + 1 piece of bread + compote.

— Potato soup with squid meatballs + green salad + 1 slice of bread + tea with lemon.

— Boiled rice + baked fish + green salad + tea with lemon and nuts.

— Vegetable soup + salad with rice and fish + 1 slice of bread + compote .

Examples of Lenten dinners on days with fish.

— Buckwheat porridge+ baked fish + raw vegetables + tea with lemon.

— Fish cutlets + boiled rice + vegetable salad + tea with lemon.

— Tuna salad and tomato + lahanorizo + tea with lemon and nuts.

— Vegetable stew + fish cutlets + a piece of soy cheese + tea with lemon (diet dinner).

— Squid cutlets + vegetable stew + vegetable salad + tea with lemon. (diet dinner).

— Grilled vegetables + red fish steak baked in the oven + tea with lemon and nuts. (diet dinner).

When adhering to proper nutrition during Lent, it is important to know one more thing. Excluding certain foods from your diet can lead to deficiency important vitamins and microelements. For example, when you give up milk and fermented milk products, the intake of calcium into the body, from which our bones are “built,” is significantly reduced. And if you refuse meat food, you may experience a deficiency of iron, which is necessary for blood formation and oxygen “nutrition” of the body. Therefore, to make up for this deficiency, you can supplement your diet food additives and multivitamin complexes, the use of which must be discussed with your doctor.

Do not forget that the end of the post should not be “abrupt”. Our body needs time to adapt to “heavy” food and rebuild metabolic processes. At the end of the fast, you need to include fast food in your menu as carefully as possible - first introduce dairy products and eggs, after a while - fish and meat. And it is very important not to overeat.

I wish the readers good health!

Endocrinologist Akmaeva G.A.

Every Orthodox man sooner or later he thinks about how to organize his meals during fasting 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, on the day of Christmas Eve - Rozhdestvensky and Epiphany. Meals during fasting are scheduled for each day. 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 take food 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 struggled with temptations, and physical body supported 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?

From mushrooms, vegetables and sea creatures you can cook very tasty soups. Eating during fasting does not prohibit the use of seasonings and spices. And they are almost always not of animal origin. In Lent - it's 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 every day during fasting 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 greatly expand your culinary horizons by adding new dishes to your diet, but also get rid of dysbacteriosis and improve your work gastrointestinal tract, cleanse your body of waste and toxins. The nutrition calendar for Lent sets quite rigid frames 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 for the 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 useful 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.