What can you eat today? How should Orthodox people eat on weekdays, holidays and fasts? What foods are allowed to be consumed during fasting?

For weight loss, a fasting diet is ideal, which includes meals with a limited menu of meat and animal products. The duration of the diet is determined by the person - you can fast for all seven weeks of Lent, or you can only fast partially. Such a refusal of meat, fish, milk and eggs has its own contraindications. Before deciding to go on a meatless diet, consult your doctor and nutritionist.

What is a Lenten Diet?

Vegetarian is a diet during fasting, which many perceive as advice for losing weight. Meals during this period are low-fat and low-calorie, therefore guaranteed to reduce weight. Vegetables, fruits, grains - plant foods during fasting, which renew the body, improve optimal mode digestion, accelerates metabolism. Those who fast do not suffer from diseases of the heart, blood vessels, or experience problems with cholesterol. In a week, 2-7 kilograms of excess weight are lost. Fasting as a diet gives a lasting effect; excess weight does not return.

What can you eat while fasting?

The fasting diet includes restrictions on the foods you eat. Recommended ones include:

cereals;
vegetables, fruits, berries;
mushrooms;
nuts, dried fruits, candied fruits;
honey, jam, compotes;
pickles, pickled vegetables;
spices, seasonings, herbs;
legumes;
vegetable oil.

The fasting diet allows you to eat fish three times and caviar on the last day for the entire period of observance. For the rest of the period, the following menu is recommended:

on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays – dietary cold dishes without oil;
Tuesday, Thursday – fast hot food without adding oil;
Saturday, Sunday – food with butter, you can drink a little wine;
a few days out church calendar you need to fast and eat in the evening; they fall during the first and last week.

What foods should you not eat during fasting?

For proper weight loss It is worth knowing that during fasting you cannot eat products of animal origin - meat, fish, eggs, animal fat and milk. Low-fat dairy products, chicken and seafood are also prohibited. The fasting diet does not recommend eating too much bread and potatoes - this will lead to excess weight gain. It is allowed to take wine only on holidays according to the calendar, plus there is an exemption for taking fish and caviar.

How to eat healthy while fasting

Simple and correct for weight loss includes fruit and vegetable dishes, which you don’t need to think about how to prepare. Sauerkraut, pickles, and mushroom preparations are ideal. You can make boiled, stewed dishes, use a grill, a double boiler, or a multicooker. The fasting diet by day involves a short heat treatment products for preserving vitamins and nutrients.

The most important Lenten dish is porridge - cook it in water, without butter. To improve the taste, add lean additives to the cereals - fried onions with mushrooms for a savory dish and nuts and raisins for a sweet dish. If it is difficult to give up animal protein for almost two months, buy “soy meat” or tofu - chop it, simmer in sauce and spices. The dish will replace meat products in value and taste, and will be easy to prepare.

Diet for Lent

Nutritionists claim that Lent and proper nutrition during it help you lose weight. So that the diet during fasting for every day brings positive result, follow the rules of the technique:

Include in your diet soy products, legumes, nuts, seeds, cereals, and coarse flour.
Pasta and potatoes should be eaten less frequently than other foods.
Eat at least half a kilo of vegetables and fruits every day.
Useful options are brown rice, millet, buckwheat, soybeans, lentils, dates, bananas, peanuts.
To meet the body's need for vitamin B12 and iron, take complex dietary supplements.
You need to drink at least 1.5 liters of clean water every day.
Honey and delicious dried fruits can be eaten instead of sweets and sugar.
Eat 4-5 times a day, follow your diet, chew your food thoroughly.
Exit the diet carefully - do not overeat on meat or fried foods. Gradually increase the caloric content of food intake by 200 kcal per day.

Menu during fasting

To make it easier to find the right recipes, check out the lean diet menu for weight loss for a week. It includes three full meals a day. It does not include an afternoon snack and the portions are small. by day is presented in the table and looks like this:

Day/Meal
Monday	Rice porrige on the water, berries, herbal tea	Vegetable puree soup with celery	Steamed vegetable stew, fruit salad
	Bread with eggplant caviar, dried fruits, chicory drink	Salad of fresh sweet peppers, cucumbers, tomatoes, a little vegetable broth	Roasted pumpkin or turnip
	Zucchini pancakes, tomato juice	Stuffed cabbage rolls with rice and carrots, herbal tea	Oatmeal on water or baked potatoes with lemon juice
	Pancakes on a spoon of vegetable oil, which can be filled with jam

Every Orthodox man sooner or later he thinks about how to organize his meals during fasting by day. 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 can’t eat at all, in particular on Good Friday, and on the day of 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 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 in the following way. 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?

Mushrooms, vegetables and sea creatures can be cooked very delicious 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 crushed vegetables in it for 3-5 minutes. cabbage leaves, then drain in a colander. After the water has drained, use the cabbage in any dish. For the strudel filling, fry in vegetable oil onion and mix with cabbage, add one cardamom grain, salt and pepper to improve the taste.

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 by day will not allow you to gain excess weight, but will allow you to eat those foods that you forbade yourself during the day. ordinary 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 in 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 useful material 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.

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 design 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 study, some do hard 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 of 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 cook in the morning, you can pour cold water over the rolled oats in the evening, and just heat the porridge in the morning.
It's good to dress salads olive oil, per serving - 1 tablespoon of oil.
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 baking. Dark chocolate, marmalade and dried fruits in moderation are 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 during fasting 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 digestive system adapts faster and better to a plant-based diet and reduces the risk of such “troubles” as gastritis, constipation and indigestion. For those people who follow the monastic rule, eating no more than 2 times a day, and observing days of complete abstinence 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 as much as possible carbohydrate food in the evening meal. 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 vegetable stew, 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. Diet variety frequent use vegetables, both raw and cooked.
Pay attention to moderate consumption of vegetable oil - the most high-calorie product known!
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 nutrition option is 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 cut into cubes 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: canned beans, corn, green pea and mix the diced tomato. You can add croutons, avocado and garlic if desired.

Cabbage and pea salad: white cabbage chop, 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 leaf lettuce, crackers 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 and put them in the middle cereals, 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: Rinse 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 beetroot, 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 are matte, place the contents of the saucepan into a large saucepan. You can take either sauerkraut or fresh cabbage. Lightly rinse the sauerkraut with water and place in a saucepan. Chop raw cabbage and place in a saucepan. Add 2-3 tablespoons tomato paste, to stir 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 the pan, 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: Potatoes, pumpkin, fresh mushrooms cut 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 lean lunches on oil-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, vegetable oil 2-3 tbsp. 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. Can be served 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 with 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. It is good to heat the pans, and periodically grease them with vegetable oil, bake pancakes. Serve with honey, fresh berries, fruit, jam.

Granola: 1.5 cups of rolled oats, a handful of hazelnuts, almonds, pumpkin and sunflower seeds, coconut flakes, diced dried fruits (optional) mix 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 color. 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 the potatoes into cubes, fry the carrots and onions in 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 out excess water from the eggplants and 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 eggplant 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 LENT 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 boiling the potatoes, add 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 and form a ball the size of a walnut on the spoon. 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 and tomato salad + 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 the diet can lead to a deficiency of important vitamins and minerals. For example, when refusing 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.

This year Lent will last from February 27 to April 15. He is particularly strict when it comes to nutrition. During fasting, meat, eggs, dairy products, sweets, alcohol and all kinds of excesses should be excluded from the diet.

It should be remembered that the main purpose of fasting is still spiritual cleansing. Don't view it as a diet or detox program. Even if you expect to lose weight while fasting, such an attempt is unlikely to be successful. As a result, you will still return to a normal diet, and an exhausted body will not only gain back all the lost kilograms, but will also take a few more with it.

So, you have decided to observe Lent for the purpose of spiritual cleansing. Where to begin? We share tips and tricks that will help minimize the stress that your body will inevitably experience.

Take care of your gut

The intestinal microflora is the first to suffer from severe food restrictions. This is something to think about and take care of in advance so you don't end up in the doctor's office.

What happens to the intestinal microflora during fasting? If the body perceives giving up meat for a few days positively and gets rid of unnecessary toxins, then giving up dairy products will be a kind of blow. Include oatmeal in your diet and sauerkraut. They will help normalize the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract and make it easier to cope with giving up your favorite dairy products.

Include calcium in your diet

The absence of fermented milk products in the diet for a long time also leads to the formation of calcium deficiency in the body. This element is simply vital for health nervous system, heart and blood vessels, bones and teeth.

To compensate for calcium deficiency in the body, eat more sesame and sunflower seeds, nuts (especially almonds), kale and spinach. These products also contain calcium, which will help you last through the fast without noticeable losses.

Experiment

If you think that the diet during Lent is too monotonous, then you are mistaken. The permitted list includes a huge number of tasty and healthy products, from which you can cook some really cool dishes.

During fasting you can eat grains, porridges, legumes, vegetables and fruits, seeds and nuts. Fasting people, on the contrary, are constantly looking for interesting and original recipes, because variety helps maintain motivation.

Drink more fluids

During fasting, it is important to observe proper drinking regime. Be sure to drink more clean drinking water and green tea. Sometimes the body mistakes normal thirst for hunger. Plus no one canceled the action of the usual psychological reception, when hunger is “overshadowed” by water, as it fills the intestines. In some cases this may help.

Replace animal protein with plant protein

The body noticeably suffers from a sharp lack of animal protein in the diet. Be sure to think ahead about which meat alternatives you are likely to enjoy. A lot of plant protein is found in all types of legumes and soy products (for example, tofu). This is a fairly satisfying and nutritious food, without which your diet during Lent will be meager, monotonous and not very healthy.

Watch your fats

If you strictly observe fasting, then you probably know that on some days you cannot even add vegetable oil to your food. Our body inevitably suffers without healthy fats, which is why it is so important to fill this deficiency. Foods that contain large amounts of omega-3 and omega-6 will help you with this. Examples include nuts, seeds and avocados.

The most important component of fasting is a special nutritional system, which is designed to help a person cleanse himself physically, as well as prepare the body for spiritual renewal. At the same time, nutritionists warn that ill-considered fasting during Lent can significantly reduce the intake of essential vitamins and minerals into the body, as well as have a detrimental effect on metabolism. Such problems can only be avoided with the help of a well-balanced lean diet...

Nutrition during fasting involves avoiding consumption of all types of meat products, poultry, milk and its derivatives, fish, eggs and animal fat. At the same time, the Orthodox Church distinguishes between special days of strict fasting and times when Christians are allowed to eat certain products. For example, on the day of the Annunciation Holy Mother of God and Palm Sunday Lenten menu complemented by fish and seafood.

Scientists say that daily requirement An adult's protein content is approximately 90 grams. During fasting, the intake of protein food into the body decreases sharply. Compensate for the deficiency of animal proteins with soy and other legumes, sunflower seeds, mushrooms, nuts, which in their amino acid composition are very close to meat products. In addition, the lack of protein food is easier to bear for those who get good sleep and spend a lot of time outdoors.

On days when seafood is allowed, include shrimp or squid in your diet. They have high nutritional value and are perfectly absorbed by the body.

During fasting, watch the calorie content of your meals. It is important that the food consumed provides the body with required amount energy. Boiled and raw vegetables supplement with cereals that contain large amounts healthy carbohydrates. An important source energy during fasting is sugar, but you should not abuse sweets.

Don't start fasting without preliminary preparation: abrupt change habitual diet can have a detrimental effect on health. Prepare your body for a new diet in advance (at least 2 weeks before fasting). You should also not quickly return to quick meals after removing church prohibitions. Introduce animal products into the menu gradually and in small portions.

In order for fasting during Lent to be beneficial, make proper nutrition a habit: avoid fried and smoked foods, limit the consumption of alcohol, sweets and salt, try to eat in small portions, etc. Only if these conditions are met, dietary restrictions will be effective, and fasting will not be a difficult test for the body.

Recipes Lenten dishes in Lent 2013

The Lenten table is not only considered beneficial for health, Lenten foods: vegetables, grains are the most sophisticated culinary products, often requiring special art of preparation and giving the most amazing results...

During Lent, meat, eggs, dairy products, and animal fats are excluded from the diet. Fish is allowed on Annunciation and Palm Sunday. Fish caviar is acceptable on Lazarus Saturday...

Salads

Preparing salads during strict fasting can greatly diversify the table. During Lent, of course, fresh vegetables are less available than during summer fasts, but you can widely use preparations: frozen, dried, pickled vegetables and fruits, tofu, add cooked rice or other cereals.

To dress salads, sunflower oil, soy mayonnaise, sauces are used, or ingredients that are juicy enough are selected so that the salad is tasty without additional ingredients.

Salad of various vegetables

100 g kohlrabi, 50 g canned green peas, 2 carrots, 2 fresh apples, cucumbers, 50 g lettuce or green onions, 50 g plums or prunes, 1 tomato or fresh sweet pepper, 1 teaspoon sugar, 200 g . soy mayonnaise, pepper, salt to taste, dill.

Peeled boiled young kohlrabi, cut carrots into thin slices. Rinse the prunes, add hot water to swell, remove the seeds and cut into slices. Also chop the pitted plums.

Tomatoes cut into 5-6 parts, fresh Bell pepper, removing the stalk along with the grains, cut into strips. Peel the apples, remove the seeds and cut them in the same way as vegetables. Cut the washed lettuce leaves into 2-3 parts, and chop the cucumbers into slices.

Mix chopped vegetables and fruits, add canned green peas, lightly salt and pepper and season with mayonnaise when serving. You can add sugar (preferably powdered sugar) and lemon juice to the salad. Vegetable salad can be prepared from other vegetables available.

The vinaigrette

Peel boiled potatoes and beets, cut into small cubes or thin slices. Cut pickled cucumbers and onions into cubes. Sort through the sauerkraut and cut into large pieces.

If sauerkraut has a very sour taste, rinse it with cold water or even soak it for some time, squeeze it out, grind it. Finely chop the onion. Then mix all the vegetables, add salt and season with vegetable oil. Potatoes can be partially or completely replaced with boiled beans.

Lenten seaweed salad

Dried seaweed soaked, boiled, washed thoroughly, . Separately, chopped onions are fried, mixed with prepared cabbage, seasoned with soy sauce, ajinomoto, and other spices to taste.

Korean salads

Very many Korean salads have lean components and are therefore quite suitable for a Lenten meal. You can buy them ready-made or prepare them yourself. To prepare salads, you need a special grater (only an experienced hand can cut it as thinly as necessary).

Here are some classic options: 1) carrots (chopped thinly), 2) carrots and green radish(the second is smaller, chop both products), 3) cabbage (cut into 2x2 cm squares, add either chopped carrots or beets, but very little of the latter, just for color). Prepared vegetables are salted, mixed, crushed, allowed to stand until juice is obtained, the juice is drained or squeezed out.

Heat odorless sunflower oil in a frying pan. At this time, season the vegetables with vinegar, red pepper, ajinomoto, and coriander. Finely chop the garlic and place it in a heap on the vegetables, pour the heated oil directly onto the garlic, and mix everything. Let stand and cool.

Salad of cabbage, carrots, apples and sweet peppers

The washed white cabbage is cut into strips, ground with a small amount of salt, the juice is drained, mixed with peeled chopped apples, carrots, sweet peppers, seasoned with sugar and vegetable oil. Sprinkle with finely chopped herbs.

300 g cabbage, 2 apples, 1 carrot, 100 g sweet pepper, 4 tablespoons vegetable oil, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon sugar, herbs.

Beet caviar

Finely chop the onion, grate the carrots on a coarse grater. Fry everything in vegetable oil until golden brown. Then add grated fresh beets. Five minutes before cooking, add salt to taste and tomato paste.

1 onion, 1 carrot, 3-4 medium beets, 100 g vegetable oil, 1/2 cup tomato paste diluted with water, salt.

Radish salad with butter

Peel and rinse the radish well, put it in cold water for 15-20 minutes, then let the water drain, chop the radish on a grater, season with vegetable oil, salt and vinegar, put in a salad bowl, garnish with herbs. You can add chopped onions sautéed in vegetable oil to the grated radish.

Radish 120 g, vegetable oil. 10 g, 3 g vinegar, 15 g onions, greens.

Vitamin salad

Finely chop the fresh cabbage and grate the carrots on a coarse grater. Mix everything and add salt. Add green peas (canned). Pour vinegar, vegetable oil, sprinkle with ground black pepper and herbs. You can add fresh cucumbers and green onions.

300 g of fresh cabbage, 1 large carrot, 5 tablespoons of peas, salt, 1 tablespoon of vinegar. 10 g vegetable oil, 2 g black pepper.

Salad “Summer”

Place the tomatoes in a colander, pour boiling water over them, and then immediately pour cold water over them. Remove the skin. Cut the peeled tomatoes into thin slices. Cut the peeled apple in half and remove the core. Cut the apple into slices too. Cut the onion and pepper into small strips. Mix everything. Salt, add sugar, add lemon juice and pour over vegetable oil.

2 ripe tomatoes, 1 apple, 1 small onion, 1 sweet peri pod, 3 tablespoons vegetable oil, salt, sugar, 1 tablespoon lemon juice.

Tomatoes stuffed with vegetable mixture

Wash the tomatoes sharp knife cut off the top part and remove the core with a spoon. Finely chop the boiled carrots, finely chop the apple, grate the cucumbers on a coarse grater. Place all vegetables in a bowl, add peas, salt, vegetable oil and stir. Stuff the tomatoes with this minced meat. Sprinkle dill on top.

5 small tomatoes, 1 carrot, 1 apple, 2 pickled cucumbers, 100 g green canned peas, 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, 1/3 teaspoon salt, dill.

Rice salad

Boil rice in salted water. Chop the vegetables, mix with cooled rice, salt and pepper, add sugar and vinegar to taste.

100 g rice, 2 sweet peppers, 1 tomato, 1 carrot, 1 pickled cucumber, 1 onion.

Leek

Finely chop the green part of the leek into rings (you need four stems), fry in margarine with garlic and thyme. Add white part stems. Pour the whole thing half and half with white wine and vegetable broth before putting the container in the oven, cover with food paper, put in the oven and keep for 30 minutes.

4 stalks of leeks, 2 cloves of garlic, a bunch of fresh thyme, 115 g of butter (vegetable margarine is possible), 2 glasses of chardonnay, 285 ml of vegetable broth, sea salt and black pepper.

Crumbled buckwheat with mushrooms and onions

3 glasses of water, 1.5 glasses of buckwheat, 2 onions, some dry porcini mushrooms. Pour water over the kernel, cover with chopped mushrooms and put on high heat, closing with a lid.

When it boils, reduce the heat by half and continue cooking for 10 minutes until thickened, then reduce the heat again to low and cook for about 5-7 minutes. until the water has completely evaporated. Remove from heat and wrap warm for 15 minutes. At the same time, fry finely chopped onion and add salt. Add the fried onions to the porridge and stir evenly.

Mushroom pilaf

For pilaf, thick-walled dishes are preferred, they heat up evenly and release heat slowly. The ratio of the main components: rice\carrots\mushrooms (frozen, fresh or soaked dry) is equal, i.e. for half a kilo of rice there are exactly the same amount of carrots and mushrooms.

You can partially or completely replace mushrooms with soy meat, but it should be remembered that soy meat itself does not have the same taste as mushrooms, and when using it, the dish should be seasoned with the help of flavorings and spices.

Heat the cauldron and the oil in it (do not skimp on oil for pilaf: its taste improves significantly), fry the mushrooms and carrots, add salt and spices, cover the top, without stirring, with a layer of washed rice and carefully pour in water (1.5 volumes of rice), so that the rice turns out covered with water with a margin of more than a couple of centimeters. Close the lid tightly, trying not to open the lid further unnecessarily.

When we hear that the contents of the cauldron are boiling, reduce the heat to a minimum, at this time we will prepare the garlic: we will need several small cloves. They are placed directly into the cap of rice (the rice has already swollen and absorbed all the water above it) whole and lightly pressed down, immersing it in the rice, after which the cauldron is turned off, but the pilaf continues to cook due to the residual heat.

After ten to fifteen minutes you can mix everything and serve. Homemade pickled cucumbers or tomatoes or sauerkraut are a good addition to pilaf.

Sweet barley porridge with poppy seeds

Rinse the barley and begin to cook in plenty of water over moderate heat, skimming off the foam. When the cereal begins to secrete mucus, excess water drain and cook until the cereal is soft and thick, stirring.

Prepare poppy seeds (less than half a glass of poppy seeds per glass of cereal): pour boiling water over it, let it steam, after 5 minutes. Drain the water, rinse the poppy seeds, add boiling water again, and immediately drain it as soon as droplets of fat begin to appear on the surface of the water. Then grind the steamed poppy seeds, adding a little boiling water.

Mix prepared poppy seeds with thickened, softened barley porridge, adding honey, heat over low heat for 5-7 minutes, stirring continuously, remove from heat, add jam.

Millet porridge with pumpkin

Boil small pieces of pumpkin in water for 10-15 minutes. Wash the millet thoroughly and add it there, lightly salt and sweeten. Stirring, cook until thickened (min. 15-20). You can set it to “ready” for a short time in the oven. The proportions between pumpkin and millet are chosen according to taste, the amount of water is taken depending on the previous components, and when more Pumpkins require less water.

FIRST MEAL

Adaptation to fasting soup-kharcho

Pour half a glass of rice into two to three liters of boiling water. Fry 3-4 onions, add them to water with rice, bay leaf, allspice (crush the peas). After 5 minutes, add half a glass of crushed walnuts.

After another short time, add half a glass of tomato paste (more classic version: tkemali plums, which are not found here, or half a glass of pomegranate juice): dried herbs (basil, parsley), red pepper, a little cinnamon, suneli hops (a key seasoning for the taste of the soup).

After another 5 minutes, you can turn it off completely, adding fresh herbs and chopped garlic, and let it brew. In an even more adapted version to the Russian environment, potatoes can be placed in boiling water before rice.

Rassolnik

Soak a small amount of pearl barley for several hours (no more than half a glass for a standard three-liter pot of soup). Boil it lightly. Place potatoes cut into cubes into boiling water with barley. Separately, fry the onion and add carrots to the rice and potatoes.

Later, when the potatoes are ready, add chopped pickles and season with brine (it’s good to stew these cucumbers in the brine a little before). At the end of cooking, add chopped garlic, bay leaf, dried or fresh herbs. Can be served with soy mayonnaise, if available.

Korean soup

For this soup you need to have a special soy seasoning: chai. It has a very thick consistency, dark brown, specific taste and smell. The Japanese have an analogue called “Mizo”.

For a lean version of this soup, three or four onions are fried with the addition of two or three tablespoons of chai; you can also add steamed soy meat here. After this, water is added (up to three liters), after boiling the potatoes and a little later the “profile” vegetable.

It could be fresh or dried Korean cabbage, or chopped zucchini, or a couple of green radishes. The soup is cooked until the vegetables are ready. The tai should give the saltiness and spiciness, but if it seems insufficient, you can add more salt and red pepper. Serve with unleavened rice, cooked in a thick-walled bowl, ratio of rice to water: two to three, gradually reduce heat.

Lentil soup

Soak the lentils for a couple of hours, set to cook, peel and cut the potatoes, carrots and onions fried in oil. Successful additions and spices to this soup: coriander, thyme, garlic, herbs. Pairs well with soy meat (fry with onions and carrots), tomatoes, olives (their brine is added directly to the soup) and soy mayonnaise when serving.

Vegetable soup

Fry chopped onion, parsley and celery in vegetable oil, add water, add chopped carrots, rutabaga and shredded cabbage and cook over low heat for 20-30 minutes. About halfway through cooking, add crushed garlic and seasonings; add applesauce or grated apple at the very end. When serving, sprinkle the soup with chopped herbs.

2 onions, 1 parsley root, celery, 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil, 1 liter of water, 2 carrots, 1 slice of rutabaga, 1 cup of finely shredded cabbage (150 g), clove of garlic, 1 bay leaf, 1/2 teaspoon of cumin , 1 apple or 2 tablespoons applesauce, salt, herbs.

Pea soup with pearl barley

Soak the peas overnight in cold water and, adding washed pearl barley, cook in the same water. Cut the carrots, onions and parsley into small cubes, fry in oil and combine with the peas when they are half cooked. Salt and sprinkle with herbs.

1 liter of water, 1 cup of peas, 1 tablespoon of pearl barley, 1/2 carrots, 1/2 onions, 1/2 parsley root, 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil, herbs, salt.

Lenten pea soup

In the evening, pour cold water over the peas and leave to swell and prepare the noodles.

For noodles, mix half a glass of flour well with three tablespoons of vegetable oil, add a spoonful of cold water, add salt, and leave the dough for an hour to swell. Cut the thinly rolled out and dried dough into strips and dry in the oven.

Cook the swollen peas without draining until half cooked, add the fried onions, diced potatoes, noodles, pepper, salt and cook until the potatoes and noodles are ready.
Peas – 50 g, potatoes – 100 g, onions – 20 g, water – 300 g, oil for frying onions – 10 g, parsley, salt and pepper to taste.

Russian Lenten soup

Weld pearl barley, add fresh cabbage, cut into small squares, potatoes and roots, cut into cubes, into the broth and cook until tender. In the summer, you can add fresh tomatoes, cut into slices, which are added at the same time as the potatoes.
When serving, sprinkle with parsley or dill.
Potatoes, cabbage – 100 g each, onions – 20 g, carrots – 20 g, pearl barley – 20 g, dill, salt to taste.

Borscht with mushrooms

Prepared mushrooms are stewed in oil along with chopped roots. Boiled beets grate or cut into cubes. Potatoes, cut into oblong pieces, are boiled in broth until soft, other products are added (flour is mixed with a small amount of cold liquid) and the whole thing is boiled for 10 minutes. Greens are added to the soup before serving. If tomato puree is added, it is stewed together with mushrooms.
200 g fresh or 30 g dried porcini mushrooms, 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, 1 onion, a little celery or parsley, 2 small beets (400 g), 4 potatoes, salt, 1-2 liters of water, 1 teaspoon flour, 2 -3 tablespoons of herbs, 1 tablespoon of tomato puree, vinegar.

SECOND COURSES

Peppers, eggplants, stuffed zucchini

Peel peppers, eggplants, young zucchini from stalks and seeds (cut off the peel from zucchini) and stuff with minced vegetables, which includes finely chopped onions, carrots, cabbage, taken in equal parts, and 1/10 of the total volume of parsley and celery.

All vegetables used for minced meat must first be fried in vegetable oil. Also fry stuffed eggplants, peppers and zucchini. Then put in a deep metal bowl, pour in 2 glasses tomato juice and place in the oven for 30-45 minutes. for baking.

Tikhvin porridge

Wash the peas, boil in water without adding salt, and when the water has boiled down by 1/3 and the peas are almost ready, add the mixture and cook until tender. Then season with finely chopped onions, fried in oil, and add.
1/2 cup peas, 1.5 liters of water, 1 cup buckwheat, 2 onions, 4 cm. spoons of vegetable oil.

Simple stew

Cut raw potatoes into large cubes and in a wide frying pan, in vegetable oil, as quickly as possible (over high heat) and fry evenly on all sides until golden brown. As soon as the crust has formed, place the still half-baked potatoes in a clay pot, cover with finely chopped herbs, onions, salt, add boiling water, cover with a lid and place in the oven for 1 minute. The finished stew is eaten with cucumbers (fresh or salted) and sauerkraut.
1 kg of potatoes, 1/2 cup of vegetable oil, 1 tablespoon of dill, I cm. a spoonful of parsley, 1 onion, 1/2 cup water, salt.

Braised cabbage

Finely chop the onion, put it in a frying pan with vegetable oil and fry until golden brown. Then add finely shredded cabbage and fry until half cooked. In 10 min. add salt, tomato paste, red or black before finishing ground pepper, sweet peas and bay leaves. Close the pan with a lid. Sprinkle with herbs before serving.

2 medium onions, 1 small head of cabbage, 1/2 cup vegetable oil, salt, leek, 2-3 allspice peas, 1 bay leaf, 1/2 cup tomato paste diluted with water.

Potatoes in garlic sauce

Wash the peeled potatoes and dry with a towel. Cut each potato in half. Heat more than half of the vegetable oil in a frying pan and fry the potatoes until golden brown. Then prepare the garlic sauce. To do this, grind the garlic with salt, add 2 tablespoons of sunflower oil and stir. Pour garlic sauce over fried potatoes.

10 small potatoes, half a glass of sunflower oil, 6 lobes of chenok, 2 teaspoons of salt.

Friable rice-oat porridge

Rinse the rice and oats, mix and pour the mixture into boiling water. Keep on high heat for 12 minutes, then reduce the heat to medium and keep for another 5-8 minutes, then remove from heat, wrap warm and only after 15-20 minutes. open the lid. Season the finished porridge with onions fried in oil and finely chopped garlic and dill. Heat in a frying pan over low heat for 3-4 minutes.

1.5 cups rice, 0.75 cups oats, 0.7 liters of water, 2 teaspoons salt, 1 onion, 4-5 cloves of garlic. 4-5 tablespoons of sunflower oil, 1 tablespoon of dill.

Tochonka

Soak the poppy seeds for 10 hours, drain the water, squeeze and grind in a mortar.
Soak the beans for 10 hours, boil for 2 hours and grind the boiled beans into puree, to which hot add mashed poppy seeds, mashed potatoes, finely chopped onion, sugar, pepper, parsley and grind.

5 potatoes, 0.5 cups beans, 2 tablespoons poppy seeds, 1-2 onions, 2 teaspoons sugar, 1 tablespoon parsley, 0.5 tablespoons ground black pepper.

Potato cutlets with prunes

Make a puree from 400 grams of boiled potatoes, add salt, add half a glass of vegetable oil, half a glass of warm water and enough flour to make a soft dough.

Let it sit for about twenty minutes so that the flour swells, during which time prepare the prunes - peel them from the pits and pour boiling water over them. Roll out the dough, cut into circles with a glass, put prunes in the middle of each, form cutlets by pinching the dough into patties, roll each cutlet in breadcrumbs and fry in a frying pan in a large amount of vegetable oil.

Potato fritters

Grate some of the potatoes, boil some, drain the water, add salt and add finely chopped onion and fried in vegetable oil. Mix the entire potato mixture, add flour and soda and bake pancakes from the resulting dough in vegetable oil.

750 g grated raw potatoes, 500 g of boiled potatoes (mashed), 3 tablespoons of flour, 0.5 teaspoon of soda.

Rice with vegetables

Heat oil in a frying pan, fry onions, carrots, and bell peppers. Then add lightly boiled rice, salt, pepper, a little water and simmer for another 15 minutes. Bring until cooked, the rice should absorb all the liquid. Then add green peas, parsley and dill.

2 full glasses of rice, 100 g of vegetable oil, 3 onions, 1 carrot, salt, pepper, 3 sweet peppers, 0.5 liters of water, 5 tablespoons of green peas.

KVASS, COMPOTES

Dried fruit compote

Wash the fruits, and then separate the apples and pears, as they take longer to cook.

Rinse the sorted fruits 3-4 times and place in boiling water. Cook pears and apples for 35-40 minutes, other fruits - 15-20 minutes. Add sugar at the end.
200 g of dry fruits, 5 tablespoons of sugar, 1.5 liters of water.

Rhubarb compote

Rinse the rhubarb stems in warm water. Remove the skin from the thickened ends with a knife. Then cut the stems into pieces 2-3 cm long, put them in a bowl, cover with cold water and leave in it for 15 minutes. Boil sugar syrup. Remove the prepared rhubarb from cold water and immerse in boiling syrup, add lemon zest and cook for 10-15 minutes.
200 g rhubarb (stalks), 150 g sugar, 4 glasses of water, 8 g lemon zest.

Lingonberry compote with apples

Wash winter apples, cut into slices, and remove the core. Then immerse the fruits in sugar syrup made from a decoction of apple peels and cores. Bring the syrup to a boil and add lingonberries to it.
150 g lingonberries, 150 g apples, 150 g granulated sugar, 600 g water.

Mushroom vinaigrette

Mushrooms and onions are chopped, boiled carrots, beets, potatoes and cucumber are cut into cubes and mixed. The oil is seasoned with vinegar and seasonings and poured over the salad. Sprinkle with herbs on top.
150 g pickled or salted mushrooms, 1 onion, 1 carrot, 1 small beet, 2-3 potatoes, 1 pickled cucumber, 3 tablespoons vegetable oil, 2 cm. spoons of vinegar, salt, sugar, mustard, pepper, dill and parsley.

Mushroom caviar

Fresh mushrooms are stewed in their own juice until the juice evaporates. Salted mushrooms are soaked to remove excess salt, dried mushrooms are soaked, boiled and allowed to drain in a colander. Then the mushrooms are finely chopped and mixed with chopped onions, lightly fried in vegetable oil. The mixture is seasoned and finely chopped green onions are sprinkled on top.
400 g fresh, 200 g salted or 500 g dried mushrooms, 1 onion, 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, salt, pepper, vinegar or lemon juice, green onions.

Stewed mushrooms

Heat the oil, add thinly sliced mushrooms and chopped onions. Broth is added to the boiled mushrooms; fresh mushrooms are stewed in their own juice for 15-20 minutes. Towards the end of the stewing, add salt and herbs. Boiled potatoes and raw vegetable salad are served as a side dish.
500 g of fresh or 300 g of boiled (salted) mushrooms, 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil, 1 onion, salt, 1/2 cup of mushroom broth, parsley and dill.

PIES

Lenten pie dough

Knead the dough from half a kilogram of flour, two glasses of water and 25-30 g of yeast.

When the dough rises, add salt, sugar, three tablespoons of vegetable oil, another half a kilogram of flour and beat the dough until it stops sticking to your hands.

Then put the dough in the same pan where you prepared the dough and let it rise again.
After this, the dough is ready for further work.

Apple charlotte with black bread

Apples (preferably sour varieties, such as Antonov) - 3 pieces, granulated sugar - 100 g, cinnamon, cloves and vanillin to taste, almonds (I took hazelnuts because there were no almonds) -20 g, dry white wine – 20 g, mashed black bread – 1 glass (I took 2 glasses, it seemed to me that a glass was not enough), vegetable oil – 20 g, zest of 0.5 lemon, orange peels– 20 g. Peel the apples, cut into slices, remove the grains, put 2 tablespoons of sugar, add cinnamon, crushed nuts, orange peels, white wine.

Buckwheat porridge shangi

Roll out flatbreads from lean dough, put buckwheat porridge, cooked with onions and mushrooms, in the middle of each, fold the edges of the flatbread.

Place the finished shangi on a greased pan and bake them in the oven.

The same shangi can be prepared stuffed with fried onions, potatoes, crushed garlic and fried onions.

Buckwheat pancakes

Pour three glasses of boiling water over three glasses of buckwheat flour in the evening, stir well and leave for an hour. If you don’t have buckwheat flour, you can make it yourself by grinding buckwheat in a coffee grinder.

When the dough has cooled, dilute it with a glass of boiling water. When the dough is lukewarm, add 25 g of yeast dissolved in half a glass of water.

In the morning, add the rest of the flour, salt dissolved in water to the dough and knead the dough until the consistency of sour cream, put it in a warm place and bake in a frying pan when the dough rises again.
These pancakes are especially good with onion toppings.

Pancakes with seasonings (with mushrooms, onions)

Prepare a dough from 300 g of flour, a glass of water, 20 g of yeast and place it in a warm place.

When the dough is ready, pour in another glass of warm water, two tablespoons of vegetable oil, salt, sugar, the rest of the flour and mix everything thoroughly.

Soak the washed dried mushrooms for three hours, boil until tender, cut into small pieces, fry, add chopped and lightly fried green onions or onions, cut into rings. Having spread the baked goods in a frying pan, fill them with dough and fry like ordinary pancakes.

Pea pancakes

Boil the peas until soft and, without draining the remaining water, grind, adding 0.5 cup wheat flour for 750 g of pea puree. Form pancakes from the resulting dough, roll in flour and bake in a frying pan in vegetable oil.

Pies with pea filling

Boil the peas until tender, mash, add onion fried in vegetable oil, pepper and salt to taste.

Prepare a simple yeast dough. Divide the dough into balls the size of a walnut and roll into flat cakes 1 mm thick. Add the filling. Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes.

Unleavened dough products

What are the characteristics of unleavened dough prepared during Lent? We cannot put an egg in it to strengthen it. Because of this, our actions depend to a greater extent on the “character” of the flour, on the strength of its gluten.

If the flour is good, and you tried to make a very tight dough (water:flour ratio = 1:3 by volume, and don’t forget to salt - adding salt also strengthens the dough a little), you will get an excellent dough for dumplings.

But a situation may well arise when the quality of the flour leaves much to be desired, there is not enough strength to knead the dough, and there is no masculine strength to help. Then you can pour more water (1:2.5), but be prepared for the dough to “float” during the cooking process, dumplings or other products will be slippery and fall apart. Treat this with prayer and patience and eat with humility (it is always useful).

In the future, when using the same flour, you can “overcome” the weakness of its character by changing the cooking method: steam it (it will be something like manti), or fry it in oil (like chebureki).

Both of these methods require a softer dough. Interesting dough variations are obtained by replacing water with brine or another liquid. There are methods that use hot water, which produces a dough with a special taste, with a slight sweetness, and this dough requires more water.

The dough can be used directly for noodles, dumplings, as a side dish or as a component for soup, or as a shell for filling: fried cabbage or other vegetables, mashed potatoes, mushrooms, onions, herbs, fresh or frozen berries with sugar, boiled and twisted dried fruits, bean or pea puree and even porridge: for example, millet or buckwheat.

Flatbread

We prepare ordinary unleavened dough, let it rest for about twenty minutes, roll it into small thin circles and fry them on both sides. We serve it on the table, where various fillings are prepared: bean pate, fresh vegetable salad, stewed vegetables, and maybe jam, fruit salad. We put the filling directly on the flatbread and eat it right away along with the “plate”.

Galushki

Roll out the unleavened dough, kneaded with water, into a 1 cm thick cake, cut into strips 2-3 cm wide, pinching off small pieces from each strip, and throw into salted boiling water (or vegetable or mushroom broth). Dough for dumplings can also be prepared from a mixture of wheat and buckwheat flour. Dumplings boiled in water are drained and seasoned with fried onions. Dumplings boiled in broth are eaten with liquid.

Dumplings with mushrooms

Soak and boil 150 g of dried mushrooms, finely chop, add 2 onions fried in oil, 2 tablespoons of crumbs from stale bread, pepper, salt, a little mushroom broth, knead everything and simmer lightly. The dough is the usual one for dumplings. Roll out thinly, make small dumplings and cook. Serve doused with oil.

Lenten manti with pumpkin

To prepare manti, you need special utensils: a double boiler or a saucepan with a removable top part, where grills with manti (cascan, manti cooker) are inserted. Dough: half a liter for 1 kg of flour hot water, salt, knead well, let sit.

Minced meat: pumpkin cut into small (half a centimeter) cubes, soy meat in proportionate pieces in equal proportions with pumpkin, spices: salt, red pepper, ajinomoto. Roll out the dough into thin circles the size of a small saucer. Place a heaping tablespoon of minced meat in the middle.

The dough is pinched on top: with a bag or figured. The grates are lubricated with vegetable oil. Place the manti on them (do not crowd them, otherwise they will stick together), insert them into a pan where water is already boiling and steam for 45 minutes.

Serve with sauce: dilute soy sauce (classic, Korean, brown) with water, add just a little vinegar, red pepper (a noticeable amount), chopped garlic.

Dumplings with cherries

Make a dough from flour and water, not very stiff, roll it out into a thin crust. Peel the cherries and sprinkle with sugar. Digest the juice that drains with sugar. Make small dumplings, boil, drain in a colander, pour juice on a plate. Serve cold.

Dumplings with apples

For the filling, take 800 g of apples, 1/2 cup of sugar. Peel the apples, remove the core, cut into strips, sprinkle with sugar, prepare dumplings from a not very thin dough and boil them. When serving, sprinkle the dumplings with sugar or honey.

Dessert

I would like to start talking about desserts with the simplest, something that does not need cooking: fresh fruits or washed and steamed dried fruits (dried apricots, raisins, figs, dates, prunes), nuts of the most different types, halva, kazenaki, pastila, jam of various consistencies.

Lenten ones include many candies and jelly candies, marshmallows (technologically they can be lean). Among the desserts prepared, we note jelly, jelly, and fruit salads. The latter are either prepared from predominant juicy fruits or seasoned with syrup prepared from canned fruits or prepared independently. We will consider baked goods and flour desserts separately.

Apple dessert

Mix chopped baked apples with boiled rice and add ginger and curry. Baked apples can also be served without rice with powdered sugar and cinnamon.

Cereal dessert with dried fruits

Cook a regular compote of dried apricots, raisins or other dried fruits without seeds. When the fruit is ready, add semolina (or other small grains) in a thin stream with stirring, evenly, in a small amount.

Citrus jelly

4 oranges, lemon, 100 g sugar, 15 g agar-agar, half a glass of water. Dissolve agar-agar and sugar in warm water, add the zest of half an orange, the juice of oranges and lemon, mix, strain, pour into molds and into the refrigerator. When serving, the molds are lowered briefly under water so that the jelly can easily separate.

Fruit salad

Boil the pasta until tender, drain in a colander and rinse with cold water, season with vegetables. oil and stir. Cut the grapes in half and remove the seeds. Cut bananas into slices.

Peel the apple from the core and cut into thin slices. Add tangerines or oranges in slices or half-slices. Sprinkle the fruits with cinnamon sugar and lemon juice. Finely chop the figs and dates, chop the nuts.

Place the canned fruit in a colander, mix with the pasta and other ingredients and add a little canned fruit syrup. Mix everything, sprinkle with coconut and/or chocolate chips.

Pumpkin aspic

Stew the peeled pumpkin in the oven until transparent with a small amount of water. In a flat bowl, on the bottom half a finger thick, pour layers of raisins, peeled walnuts(slightly chopped), dried apricots (also cut into 3-4 parts).

Cover it all with a pumpkin on top. Do not discard the remaining pumpkin juice from cooking, but use it instead of water to make jelly (see instructions on gelatin bags). Pour the prepared warm jelly over the workpiece, then put it in the refrigerator and serve cold.