In the old days, with the beginning of Lent, life in cities and villages literally came to a standstill - the noisy Maslenitsa festivities ended, there were no weddings, no visits, and people went to bed early.
This is not a diet!
For Orthodox believers, the main meaning of fasting is not in observing some gastronomic rules, but in purifying the spirit. Moreover, refusing food is not an end in itself. This is a kind of support necessary for deep inner work. You should not go hungry while fasting. You need to eat to your fill, but not overeat. It is necessary to satisfy the feeling of hunger so that you can work spiritually and physically.
It is possible and it is not possible
During Lent, believers refuse certain foods, the so-called fast food. This includes meat, eggs, milk and dairy products, and strong alcohol.
During Lent, you can afford grain products (bread, cereals, cereal products), vegetables, fruits, berries, nuts, mushrooms, honey, vegetable oils, and spices. On certain days you are allowed to drink red wine (no more than 1 glass) and eat fish and seafood.
Pregnant women, nursing mothers, the sick and children under five years of age may not fast. Children over five can be gradually introduced to fasting, but without too strict restrictions. For example, they may abstain from animal food not throughout the entire fast, but only for a few days.
February 19 - 25
The 1st week is called Feodorova. At this time, it is customary to remember all the defenders of the Orthodox faith. The Church remembers the final victory of Orthodox doctrine over heresy.
Clean Monday. The name Clean Monday comes from the desire to spend the first day of Lent clean. On Clean Monday a very strict fast is observed. Whenever possible, believers try to abstain from food, pray more diligently, and fight sinful passions.
According to the Church Charter, hot food without oil is allowed.
The monastic charter stipulates that one should eat hot food without oil.
Food with vegetable oil is allowed. On this day Orthodox Christians honor Holy Martyr Theodore Tiron, who, in response to the Roman emperor's coercion to sacrifice to idols, continued to profess the Christian faith.
For disobedience to the emperor, Theodore was put in prison and given over to torture.
However, he did not renounce the Christian faith and was burned.
The monastic charter allows food with vegetable oil.
The 2nd week of Lent is dedicated to remembrance Gregory Palamas. Saint Palamas, who lived in the 14th century, renounced his court position and retired to the Athos monastery to devote himself to serving the faith and preaching about the power of fasting and prayer.
The church charter prescribes dry eating. You can eat bread, vegetables, fruits.
The church allows hot food, boiled and baked dishes, but without vegetable oil.
You can eat hot food, but without vegetable oil.
Cook in a double boiler, bake, cook soups.
The charter prescribes dry eating. You will have to limit yourself to fresh vegetables, bread, and fruits.
Parents' Saturday is the day of remembrance of the dead. On this day, the Church calls on everyone to unite in funeral prayer. The fact is that, according to the rules, during Lent it is not necessary to organize memorial services, magpies and funeral services. But so that the deceased are not left without prayer, the Church has set aside special days for commemoration. On Parents' Saturday, you need to visit the temple and, together with everyone else, ask for repose for your deceased relatives.
Hot food with vegetable oil is allowed, you can drink a little grape wine.
Memorial Day of Gregory Palamas. You can eat hot food with vegetable oil, drink wine.
March 5 - 11
The 3rd week of Lent is called the Worship of the Cross. On the third Sunday of Lent, in all churches, a cross decorated with flowers is taken out from the altar. The Holy Cross reminds us of suffering Jesus Christ and strengthens believers to continue fasting.
Hot food without vegetable oil is allowed. Prepare soups, bake and stew vegetables.
Xerophagy. The church allows you to eat fresh vegetables, fruits, and bread. You can eat pickles, pickled berries, fruits and vegetables, and sauerkraut.
You can eat hot food without vegetable oil.
Hot food is allowed, you can flavor it with vegetable oil. According to tradition, on this day relatives went to visit each other and treated themselves to jelly - berry or oatmeal.
Parents' Saturday. As on the second Saturday of Great Lent, one is supposed to go to church and pray for the repose of deceased relatives. On Parents' Saturday, hot food with vegetable oil is allowed, and you can drink a little grape wine. Wine can only be dry, without added sugar, no more than 200 g.
On this day, they visit churches to venerate the Cross, consecrate prosphyra, and read traditions about the lives of saints. Hot food with vegetable oil and wine are allowed.
March 12 - 18
The 4th week of Lent is called the Week Venerable John Climacus. John put his thoughts on spirituality into a book, which Christians consider a reliable staircase to the gates of Heaven. The book is called “The Ladder”.
According to the regulations, you can eat hot food without oil: soups, stewed vegetables, compotes and jelly.
The church charter prescribes dry eating. Only bread, vegetables and fruits are allowed.
The monastic charter allows hot food without vegetable oil.
Xerophagy
Parents' Saturday- Day of Remembrance of the Dead. Despite the name Parental, Saturday commemorations should not only refer to the deceased father and mother. On this day we remember all those who have passed away.
Hot food with vegetable oil is allowed, you can drink a little grape wine. Wine can only be dry, without added sugar, no more than 1 glass (200 ml). It is better to dilute the wine with water.
Memorial Day of St. John Climacus. You can eat hot food with butter.
March 19 - 25
The 5th week of Lent is dedicated to Venerable Mary of Egypt, this week is also called Praise, since on Saturday a special prayer is read in the Church - Praise Holy Mother of God. On Wednesday of Praiseworthy Week an all-night vigil with the canon is celebrated Andrey Kritsky- Christian preacher. In the old days, girls considered it obligatory to endure this service, believing that for their zeal, Andrei Kritsky would help them get suitors.
The Church prescribes dry eating. Fresh and soaked vegetables and fruits are allowed. You can eat pickles, bread and dried fruits.
But you will have to abstain from hot food.
According to the church charter, you can eat hot food, but without vegetable oil. Prepare soups, compotes, jelly, stew and bake vegetables.
According to the regulations, you can eat hot food without vegetable oil.
Xerophagy. You should not eat anything other than bread, vegetables, and fruits.
Praise to the Blessed Virgin Mary. This holiday appeared in the 9th century in honor of the deliverance of Constantinople from invaders. When crowds of pagan Persians moved towards the Christian city, the Mother of God defended the city. In gratitude, all the churches of Constantinople sang an all-night hymn of praise in honor of the Mother of God.
On this day, the church charter allows hot food seasoned with vegetable oil. You can drink some dry grape wine.
On this day the Church remembers the Venerable Mary of Egypt. Mary was a great sinner and then repented. On this day you can eat hot food with butter and drink wine.
March 26 - April 1
The 6th week of Great Lent is dedicated to the Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem. People call it Palm Week. On this day, Jesus entered Jerusalem and revealed himself as the Messiah, and the believers greeted him with branches.
Xerophagy. Bread, vegetables, fruits
Church regulations allow eating hot food without oil. Boil, stew vegetables, prepare jelly and compotes.
The Church prescribes dry eating. You can only eat fresh vegetables and fruits and bread. Don't neglect nuts, dried fruits, and pickles.
The Church allows hot food to be eaten without oil.
The charter prescribes dry eating. You can eat vegetables and fruits that have not undergone heat treatment.
Lazarev Saturday. A few days after the death of Saint Lazarus, Jesus resurrected him. The news of the miracle spread throughout Judea, and it was after this that the Pharisees (at that time representatives of the most influential religious movement) decided to kill Jesus Christ. It is allowed to eat hot food with butter, fish caviar and a little wine. In the old days, bread was baked for Lazarus, and a penny was placed in one of them. Whoever gets it - be happy.
Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem. In churches on this day, the rite of blessing the willow is performed.
It is allowed to eat hot food, fish dishes and some wine.
April 2 - 8
The 7th week of Lent is called Holy Week in memory of the suffering that Jesus endured in last days of your earthly life. All days this week are called Great. At this time, the whole life of Christ and all His teaching pass before believers. This is the strictest week of fasting.
The church charter prescribes dry eating - fresh vegetables, fruits, pickles, and bread are allowed.
The day when the Orthodox remember various parables of Jesus, His denunciation of the Pharisees, who cared more about the purity of their bodies than about their souls. Dry eating is recommended.
On this day, Judas decided to betray Jesus Christ to the Jewish elders and received 30 pieces of silver for this. The monastic charter prescribes dry eating.
People call Maundy Thursday Clean Thursday. On this day you are supposed to clean your home, paint eggs and bake Easter cakes. The Church recommends dry eating.
On this day, Jesus was put on trial, torn to pieces, crucified and killed on the cross. Church charter prescribes complete abstinence from food.
Annunciation. On this day to Virgin Mary appeared Archangel Gabriel with the good news that Mary is to give birth to a son, Jesus Christ.
Usually it is allowed to eat fish on the Annunciation, but this year this day falls on Holy Saturday, so you will have to give up fish. But some red wine is allowed.
Easter holiday. The end of Lent, you are allowed to eat any food.
Main products
Because the Lent falls at the end of winter and spring, it is worth taking care that the body does not lack vitamins.
Vitamin C is especially important during this period. Pay attention to sauerkraut. In terms of ascorbic acid content, it is second only to rose hips. To compensate for the lack of vitamin C, cabbage should be eaten every other day throughout the fast.
Don’t forget about pickled apples, cucumbers and tomatoes - all pickled products contain a large number of probiotics, which are food for beneficial microflora.
During Lent, legumes and nuts must be present on your table. They will help fill the protein deficiency that occurs when giving up meat and milk.
You should not ignore fresh vegetables - they will supply not only vitamins, but also valuable microelements, and at the same time cleanse the intestines of accumulated “garbage”.
The body cannot do without unsaturated fatty acids. Some of them can be found in linseed oil(it is enough to take 1 teaspoon per day). And the other part is found in fish and seafood. If you do not eat fish during fasting, take dietary supplements containing omega-3 acids.
But you shouldn’t chase multivitamin complexes during fasting. The fact is that acidification of the body interferes with the absorption of vitamins, so it is better to take them after the body has been cleansed.
During fasting, you can eat cereals, bread, vegetables, fruits, berries, nuts, honey, sugar. On some days of Lent it is allowed to add to food vegetable oil and spices, prepare fish dishes.
But meat, eggs, milk and dairy products are in no way suitable for the Lenten table.
Strong alcohol should also be avoided for the entire period of fasting. The only thing you can afford is a little red wine, but only on certain days.
IN modern world Fasting is much easier than before. Now many manufacturers offer a huge number of lean products that are allowed for consumption during fasting.
But let's first understand the benefits and harms of certain products, as well as what really applies to lean products.
Soybeans and products made from it
There are entire stores specializing in the sale of soybean semi-finished products. And all sorts of lean products are made from soybeans: cutlets, chops, goulash, and even the entire list of dairy products, from milk to cheese.
This is very healthy, because soy is rich in various vitamins, it cooks quickly and helps saturate the body with proteins. Also, soy products are beneficial for blood vessels, brain function and comprehensively improve the functioning of our body.
There is, perhaps, only one risk - most soybeans are grown using transgenes. Those. It’s still not worth it to abuse soy products, even if they are lean.
Lean sausage
Sausage. Once upon a time it was impossible to even dream about this product. Now, even during the period of fasting, it turns out that you can treat yourself to such a lean product as sausage. But here is its composition: dyes, thickeners, flavors, etc., alas, they are unlikely to do anything other than worsen your well-being.
Lenten bread
To be honest, we already eat lean bread. After all, no eggs are used in its production and butter.
But it’s still worth mentioning which bread is healthier. The healthiest bread is a product made from malt. Bran bread can be considered the second most useful. It is not very beautiful, but very useful, because... Coarse flour is used in its production.
And, of course, bran and grain breads can undoubtedly also successfully and with the greatest benefit replace regular bread. They contain a lot of vitamins and microelements.
But for lovers of sweets, confectionery factories during Lent significantly expand their range of lean products, and sweet pastries appear in stores that everyone can enjoy.
Pasta and dumplings
Pasta is another product that can be consumed without restrictions during Lent. As we all know, they are made using only water, flour and salt. True, you can’t add butter to them during Lent, but it’s quite possible to add a little bit of vegetable oil.
The main thing is to pay attention that the pasta is made without adding egg powder and made from durum flour. This information can be found in the description.
Dumplings are, in fact, the same pasta, only with filling. Whether you can use them during Lent or not depends only on what you put in them. Those. We also carefully read the composition.
Margarine and spread
Both margarine and spread are substitutes for butter. They are made from plant ingredients. True, manufacturers sometimes add animal fats to spreads. A completely plant-based spread, whether it is allowed as a lean product or not, can be understood already from the name. If the name is “vegetable-fat spread,” then it contains no animal fats. If it is “vegetable-fat”, then animal fats are present in the composition and it is no longer possible to call such a product lean.
Lenten mayonnaise
Theoretically, mayonnaise cannot be a lean product in principle. The main thing that mayonnaise is made from is eggs. That is, “lenten mayonnaise” is a mayonnaise-flavored sauce. It’s better to make this sauce yourself. It will be both healthier and better for your figure.
Lenten baked goods and sweets
During the fasting period, in the confectionery departments you can find baked goods specially made for fasting people. The main thing is to pay attention to the composition so that it does not contain eggs or milk.
Also a lean product are dark and dark chocolate. It is important that there is no milk in the composition. But this applies to white and milk chocolates. You can’t use them during fasting.
Marmalade, kozinaki and halva. Well, where would we be without these sweets during the fasting period! They do not contain any animal fats, so you can enjoy them with pleasure.
The most important thing during the fasting period is not to replace your usual food with something the same, only different in composition. The main thing is to cleanse the soul through the ability to think through your actions and refrain from temptation. Therefore, when creating a menu, the main thing is to remember the purity of your soul.
Well, so that you don’t have to spend a lot of time planning lunches and dinners, we offer a list of allowed products.
List of Lenten Products
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 believe that fasting is exclusively about 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 do you like 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 course 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 not a complete list of 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 and mushrooms to them, pour all sorts of delicious sauces over them and eat them 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 boiled and raw vegetables into salads, generously sprinkle 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
From nuts we prepare: nut sauces (sweet and salty), nut muffins, nut cutlets, make kozinaki and halva, prepare delicious nut milk, add to pates and fillings, sprinkle our porridge with chopped nuts and add 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 plant-based milk (sweet and unsweetened), urbechi from seeds, cheese from seeds, tahini (tahini, tahini) from sesame seeds and a paste 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 oil and pumpkin seed oil.
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 of fasting. 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 cereals 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, mushrooms - what’s not wonderful and hearty dish For dinner?
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. Do not love? 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 subjected to “chemical influence.”
They are not as beautiful and glossy as those that were first filled with sugar syrup and dried under high temperature, and then they are also treated with sulfur dioxide, etc., but you know 100% that you are not harming yourself by consuming them.
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!
IN Lately You can also find Japanese shiitake mushrooms. They are “world champions” in the fight against cancer. 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:
- You can make sandwiches with tapenade from wild mushrooms: grind 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 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 topped with a dressing of lemon juice with crushed pine nuts, salt, pepper and a little cinnamon. Mmm…
- What about mushrooms 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 play a fairly important role in our lean diet.
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 (perfect for this snack walnuts, but you can use any, be guided by 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: blend everything in a blender with adding water to the desired paste-like consistency.
- You can do the same with seeds - prepare a paste, and every morning spread a thin layer on 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 fried in a dry frying pan, with fried seeds it turns out much more fragrant) + honey + cinnamon + salt.
This is such an awesome thing, friends! To say that 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 to do this, and buckwheat soup will become your “favorite” for the 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 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!
photo@aedrozda
Abstinence in food is not an end in itself, but only a tool with which a person fights his passions and sins. The main thing is to refrain from bad thoughts, feelings, and actions. A body not burdened by excesses in food gives freedom to the soul. Now she will have the difficulty of being freed from sins and passing any tests.
During Lent, you cannot eat foods of living origin: meat, eggs, milk.
Fish is allowed only on certain days - on the feasts of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary (but this year it falls on Holy Week, so fish is prohibited) and the Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem (Palm Sunday), and fish roe is allowed on Lazarus Saturday.
During the first and last weeks of Lent, a particularly strict fast is observed - complete abstinence from food or dry eating (to the best of the ability of the fasting person and with the blessing of the spiritual mentor).
During the remaining weeks, on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, food should be eaten cold and without vegetable oil. These are days of dry eating, on which you are allowed to eat once a day at 15.00 or much later.
Products consumed during fasting
Now they adhere to 2 options for dry eating:
1) The option is very strict: raw or dried vegetables and fruits, bread. Boiled vegetables, decoctions, even hot tea or coffee are prohibited. All foods must be unprocessed (except bread). Vegetable oil and wine are strictly prohibited these days!
Allowed:
- Bread;
- Water;
- Nuts;
- Dried fruits;
- Some preparations (sauerkraut, pickled mushrooms, vegetables) without oil;
- Fruits vegetables.
2) The option is not very strict: baked vegetables are allowed. You can also pour boiling water over cereal or cereal flakes and let it brew. You can drink tea.
On Tuesdays and Fridays, hot food without oil is allowed.
On Saturdays and Sundays, you can add vegetable oil to hot dishes several times a day - after the Divine Liturgy (lunch around noon) and after supper. To strengthen your strength, you can drink a small cup of diluted warm water 1:3 grape wine (except Saturday of Holy Week).
Despite the restrictions, you should still eat a varied and balanced diet.
Products allowed during fasting
Main permitted foods during Lent.
- Black bread, cereal crispbreads, cereals, legumes.
- Salted, pickled, soaked and pickled fruits, berries, vegetables, mushrooms.
- Jam from berries and fruits.
- Dried fruits, nuts, honey.
- Seasonal vegetables and fruits.
On days when it is allowed to eat vegetable oil, seafood (shrimp, squid, mussels) is allowed.
Orthodox believers, observing Lent, seem to walk the entire path with Christ, nevertheless, they only need to abstain from food and not exhaust themselves. You must soberly assess your strength and health. If you are fasting for the first time, it is advisable to talk with the priest and ask for a blessing to observe the fast.
If possible, attend all Lenten services. Simply refusing to eat without praying will not benefit the soul.
What foods can you eat during fasting so as not to harm the body?
Avoiding some foods and increasing consumption of others can cause an imbalance. To prevent this from happening, plant sources can make up for the lack of protein.
- Legumes (lentils, chickpeas, beans, peas).
- Cereals (black, brown rice, buckwheat, barley, oats).
- Pumpkin seeds and nuts (almonds, hazelnuts, cashews, Brazil nuts or walnuts) are an excellent alternative to animal protein.
It is important to adhere to a balanced diet so that the body receives all the necessary substances - proteins, carbohydrates, fats, fiber, vitamins and minerals. Everything must be supplied in sufficient quantities and proportions.
Plant foods during fasting should be selected so that they contain not only carbohydrates, but also proteins and fats, because fats in pure form(even vegetable oil) and animal protein (seafood and fish) are limited during fasting.
To cleanse the body you need fiber. Most people do not consume even 15 g of dietary fiber per day, although the norm is 25-30 g.
Fiber is found in fruits, berries, vegetables, whole grain bread, legumes, dried fruits, nuts, but most of all - in bran.
Add as many fruits as possible to your Lenten diet and eat vegetables at every meal. They will strengthen the immune system, give vigor and protect against spring vitamin deficiency.
If you don’t have the strength, don’t ignore your weakness, take your vitamins. Many fasting people choose only one type of food, either vegetables or porridge. Such a meager diet worsens mood and well-being, leading to loss of strength.
Try to diversify your diet with fresh vegetables and fruits. This will make fasting easier, since monotonous food and hunger make you constantly think about food.
Lent is a time of cleansing of the soul and body, which requires a person to be attentive to his emotional and physical state. People who have decided that they are ready for strict restrictions should also know the rules that will help them fast without harm to their health and help cleanse and heal the body.
A too sudden transition from a normal diet to strict prohibitions can be a shock to the body and lead to a deterioration in well-being. If on Maslenitsa you ate pancakes and had a grand feast, and from the first day of fasting you decided to strictly limit yourself, then the functioning of the digestive system may be disrupted.
Sudden changes in diet will lead to fatigue and at the end of the fast you will have no strength at all. Therefore, it is better to prepare in advance and introduce restrictions gradually.
Don't go hungry, instead eat up to 5 small meals a day and try to listen to your body. If possible, eat more fruits and vegetables raw, this will help lift your mood due to fast carbohydrates, and a large amount of fiber will improve digestion, the body will be replenished with vitamins, minerals, and plant enzymes.
Most of the biologically active substances are destroyed during prolonged heat treatment, and dead food is of no use. If only the weight increases due to the predominance of carbohydrates in the body...
Remember that health comes first!
Doctor's advice
Before giving up your usual diet, you need to make sure that there are no contraindications. After all, not everyone can benefit from fasting. People who suffer from metabolic disorders or have digestive problems, as well as whose body acutely regulates the lack of protein, need to be especially careful.
- small children;
- lactating and pregnant women;
- people whose lifestyle is associated with serious physical activity and long trips.
To ensure that restrictions do not harm and are beneficial, before excluding foods during fasting, first consult a doctor to protect yourself and your health.
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 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 and quarrels are prohibited. 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 Lent, you can only eat raw herbal products and drink water.
Such a fast should only be maintained by trained people who do not have health problems and whose body can tolerate abstinence from an abundance of food without harmful consequences.
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 enough 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 made 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 fasts with a 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 a set daily menu that 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 fasting, 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.
You must make a decision whether to fast or not, taking 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.
