What to eat during fasting. What to eat and what not to eat

AT christian church There are four posts great post, Petrov, Assumption and Rozhdestvensky. Each of them prescribes a ban on the consumption of animal products. However, there are certain rules that allow you to introduce dishes such as fish into the diet of a fasting person.

People who start fasting first may have legitimate questions. For example, what vegetable oil is preferable to eat in fasting, are there any days prohibiting the use of such oil? What drinks are preferred on fasting days? We will try to answer these and other questions to those who are interested right now.

Food in post

Of course, it must be lean food. That is, foods containing animal fats are excluded from the diet. On such days there is a complete ban on the use of meat products, eggs, milk, sour cream and other dairy products. Preferred dishes from cereals, fruits, vegetables, with berries, with herbs. You can eat nuts, seeds, honey, dried fruits, mushrooms, that is, any plant food. Products, of course, must be fresh. Preferably cooked not for future use and eaten immediately after cooking. Instead of frying foods, you should resort to baking them, boiling them in water or steaming them, or stewing them.

When can you eat fish in fasting

is a rare product. Sometimes the church treats Orthodox Christians condescendingly and allows you to taste dishes from it on certain days of fasting. Fish dishes also include seafood. Such products and dishes from them are allowed to be consumed during Great Lent on the Annunciation, on Palm Sunday, on Lazarus Saturday before Palm Sunday. On other days of Orthodox fasting, the consumption of certain foods should be compared with the days of the fasting calendar, which is currently observed by a Christian.

Oil in the post

You need to understand that each fast contains days of "dry eating". That is, when allowed to eat, cooked without water or other liquids.

On days when it is allowed to “eat oil”, that is, eat with vegetable oil, baking, frying food, and adding oil to salads, main dishes, and soups are allowed. This is usually the weekend of posts. However, those who fast must strictly compare these days with the calendar of the next fast, so that they do not coincide, for example, with Holy Week, when the fast is especially strict.

Drinks in the post

Alcoholic drinks under strict ban on fasting days! However, the church allows on weekends, when fish and seafood are allowed, low-alcohol drinks in moderation, such as wine, beer, mead.

Drinks that do not contain alcohol are acceptable for food in any quantities. It is preferable that these be drinks that saturate the body with vitamins, such as vegetables and fruits, compotes, boils, homemade lemonade, green tea, chicory drink, mineral water.

After graduation Shrovetide comes great post- a time of strict abstinence and prayer. Great Lent is designed to prepare believers for the main Christian holiday - Happy Easter.

When does Lent begin and end in 2018?

great post starts on Monday, February 19 and lasts until Saturday, April 7, inclusive. Easter,Holy Resurrection of Christ- comes April 8.

Meaning of Lent

Lent is not a diet. The main meaning of fasting is the purification of the soul through the imposition of restrictions on oneself. At the beginning of Great Lent, the great penitential canon saint Andrew of Crete, which speaks of sin and God's forgiveness, which cleanses the soul and body of a person.

Great Lent Rules

In Great Lent, believers not only limit themselves to food, but also try not to be distracted by vain things, including various entertainments. It is appropriate to give up idle entertainment - watching entertainment TV programs, computer games, going to the movies for comedies, noisy gatherings in the company, etc.

At this time, meat and everything is banned. meat products, milk and dairy products, as well as eggs and dishes from them.

Limiting himself in food and entertainment, a true Christian should not be proud of this either in front of himself or - especially - in front of others, otherwise it makes fasting meaningless.

Who can't fast

If you are going to observe all the strictures (considerable) of Great Lent, it is better to first consult with a doctor and a priest. You should not be too zealous in fasting if you have chronic diseases - the gastrointestinal tract, hematopoietic organs, oncological, etc. Pregnancy, weight loss, anemia - conditions in which you also need to be careful, limiting yourself in food.

In no case should children be forced to give up dairy products - this can be dangerous, especially in spring. It is better to ask the child, for example, to voluntarily give up sweets. As for meat products for children, this issue can be left to the discretion of the parents - a temporary rejection of meat is not dangerous for health.

The Church officially gives relief in fasting to the sick, hard working, traveling - for them there is a permit for milk, and for some diseases even for meat or meat broths. For such permission, you can contact the priest.

Calendar of Great Lent in 2018

We offer the so-called monastic diet during Great Lent - it is the most strict and not mandatory for the laity. In fasting, you should eat more vegetables and fruits, legumes, potatoes, etc. It is also worth paying attention to porridge, lean soups, dried fruits, nuts, honey, kissels and fruit drinks, etc.

First Week of Great Lent February 19 - 25

Second Week of Great Lent February 26 - March 4

Third Week of Great Lent March 5 - 11

Fourth Week of Great Lent March 12 - 18

Fifth Week of Great Lent March 19 - 25

Sixth Week of Great Lent March 26 - April 1

March 31, 2018, Saturday - Lazarus Saturday. Hot food with vegetable oil, fish caviar, wine are allowed.

April 1, 2018, Sunday - Palm Sunday. Hot food with vegetable oil, fish and seafood, wine are allowed.

Holy Week April 2 - 8

April 8, 2018, Sunday - Easter, Holy Resurrection of Christ. End of Lent. Any food is allowed.

Lent food implies special, certain foods should be absent from the diet. This time is intended for good deeds, prayers, the search for measures to become better, a comprehensive cleansing of the soul and body. The beginning of Lent is a chance for spiritual improvement and rest from animal food.

The right way to post

We celebrate Great Lent in 2019 with joy and special inspiration. This is a good chance to improve your spiritual life and learn how to eat right. This will help the menu by day with recommendations, it is given below. From March 11 to April 27 - these are the days when there will be Lent. Some dietary restrictions should not be taken as a priority. The spiritual part of fasting is mainly aimed at working on oneself, taking care of loved ones, refraining from condemnation, anger, lies, envy and evil deeds, and the food component is insignificant.

You should not limit yourself to food, practice diets and fasts if you are unhealthy, travel a lot, are weak, work hard, live in an unfavorable or cold geographical area, breastfeed a child, or are pregnant. You are allowed to eat everything according to the recommendations of doctors and your needs. Children also cannot be forced to fast food, they can abstain from some kind of food only if they themselves strive for this and are fully aware of the meaning of fasting. As an option, you can try to plan a children's fast before Easter so that the food is free of desserts, sweets and unhealthy foods, it contains less junk food. This is also a good way to cleanse.

You also need to say about how long Great Lent lasts, the total number of days in it is 48. Correct preparation is to smoothly lighten your diet, learn to analyze your inner world more deeply and learn more about Orthodox culture. Let's try to implement this ancient tradition into our life. Despite the fact that the essence of fasting is not a diet, the issue of proper and varied nutrition is still relevant. Every person who accepts Orthodoxy as his worldview and way of life, undergoes the rite of baptism consciously should understand the topic of fasting. One of the best nutrition calendars is presented in this article especially for your convenience.

Monastic lenten menu for every day

What foods can be eaten in fasting according to the charter of most Orthodox monasteries:

  • different types of vegetables (including pickled and salted vegetables, sauerkraut);
  • seasonal fruits;
  • mushrooms;
  • the whole range of dried fruits;
  • porridge from cereals cooked in water;
  • different varieties of nuts;
  • compote based on dried fruits;
  • natural kvass;
  • homemade jelly.

What not to eat in fasting:

  • meat products;
  • milk products;
  • eggs;
  • bakery;
  • all alcoholic drinks;
  • candies;
  • fish;
  • mayonnaise;
  • White bread.

Food in fasting by day of the week:

  • Monday - the day of dry eating (vegetable and fruit dishes, water, bread, compote);
  • Tuesday - hot dishes without oils (stewed vegetable dishes, porridge on the water, first courses, for example, pickle soup);
  • Wednesday - the day of dry eating (vegetable and fruit dishes, water, bread, compote);
  • Thursday - hot dishes without oils (stewed vegetable dishes, porridge on the water, first courses, for example, pickle soup);
  • Friday - dry eating (vegetable and fruit dishes, water, bread, compote);
  • Saturday - dishes seasoned with oil (vegetable salads, stewed vegetable dishes, first courses);
  • Sunday - products with oils (stewed vegetable dishes, vegetable salads and soups).

There are special days in Great Lent:

  • Clean Monday (in the first week) - fasting;
  • 2, 3, 4, 5 (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday) days of fasting - food with bread and water;
  • Environment - the use of natural wines;
  • day 40 Holy martyrs - meals with vegetable oil and wine;
  • Palm Sunday Feast - fish dishes, caviar, wine, vegetable oil.

Meals for Holy Week (the final week):

  • Maundy Monday, Maundy Tuesday, Maundy Wednesday - a ban on processed food, raw food days;
  • Maundy Thursday - dishes with vegetable oil, wine;
  • Good Friday - fasting;
  • Great Saturday - fasting or minimal nutrition with olives, bread, dried fruits;
  • Easter holiday - on this day, all Lenten restrictions are removed, you can eat any food.

It should be noted that monastics do not eat meat even outside of fasting, but nevertheless it is provided in monasteries good food and their diet is rich in nutrients.

Now you have an idea about what foods you can eat in fasting and when you should starve. In fact, there is nothing complicated in planning a diet; for daily nutrition control, you can buy a special calendar, where there are many monastic recipes. We urge you to take the food of Great Lent seriously and be sure to combine it with spiritual perfection, otherwise you do not need to fast.

List of Nutritious Lenten Foods for the Laity

Here are the best foods that fit into the framework of Great Lent and supply the body with many valuable substances for maintenance, health, vigor and good mood:

  • different types of table vinegars;
  • edible algae;
  • lean bread (lavash or other bread products with a neutral composition);
  • tomato paste and ketchup;
  • lean mayonnaise;
  • adjika and many other sauces;
  • all kinds of nuts;
  • all kinds of seeds;
  • pasta and flour products without unnecessary ingredients;
  • dried fruits;
  • all types of cereals (a good option is cereals with dried fruits);
  • mushrooms;
  • legumes (eg lentils, peas, beans);
  • fish and caviar (as well as shrimp, squid, all this is possible on certain days according to the calendar);
  • seasonal and Exotic fruits(the more variety of fruits, the better);
  • seasonal vegetables (from vegetables you can cook a mass healthy meals, use them pickled, salted, for example, cabbage, beets, carrots, celery);
  • homemade sweets (fruit and berry jam, jam);
  • lean chocolate;
  • milk (coconut, soy and other types);
  • drinks (decoctions and infusions of herbs, teas, coffee, jelly, compote, juices, fruit drinks);
  • soy yogurt and cheese;
  • lean marshmallows;
  • marmalade;
  • berries;
  • Turkish Delight;
  • halva and gozinaki;
  • sugar and lollipops;
  • Korean cuisine (salads).

When Great Orthodox Lent begins, there is no need to drastically change the diet and starve for a long time. As you already understood, by abstaining from all meat and dairy foods, the laity does not need to torture themselves and severely limit themselves during fasting. On the contrary, in home kitchen Great Lent should reign diversity and lightness. Severe restrictions are intended for highly spiritual persons carrying a feat.

this time is intended for good deeds, prayers, finding ways to become better, comprehensive cleansing of the soul and body, taking light meals, resting from animal products

How to keep an Orthodox fast?

Fasting in the monastery and in the world

We figured out what you can eat in fasting, and what to abstain from, and how to properly distribute your diet over the days. You understand that monastic food differs significantly from worldly food, since the monastery has a special charter and the most serious restrictions on food. We are ordinary people, a strict fast is not for us, we can observe fasting days at our discretion, because everyone has different opportunities. Thus, by eating right, you will be able to maintain and increase your health.

Leaving a post

It is important not only to start Great Lent correctly, but also to complete it with dignity. Everyone asks when you can eat after fasting. Usually, all Orthodox begin to eat normally when Easter comes. Ideally, a rich meal is arranged after the Liturgy. It is important not to overeat, but to switch to the usual diet gradually. After completing your post, you need to go to the Easter service. Before communion, the Orthodox experience special religious feelings, and after this sacrament they are overwhelmed with great inexpressible joy, compensating for all the efforts made earlier.

You will be interested meatless recipes, we will describe them below.

Recipes for meatless dishes without animal ingredients

Lenten first course - tomato soup

Components:

  • water - liter;
  • chopped tomatoes - 450 grams and tomato paste - 4 tablespoons;
  • canned white beans - 420 grams;
  • onions - 1-2 pieces;
  • olive oil - 2 large spoons;
  • chili pepper - a quarter of a small spoon;
  • garlic - 2 cloves;
  • wine vinegar - 1-2 large spoons;
  • Provence herbs - 2 small spoons;
  • sugar - 1-2 large spoons, as much pepper and salt as you like;
  • for croutons - ciabatta or baguette, salt, garlic - 3 cloves, olive oil - 3 large spoons.

In the oil heated at the bottom of the pan, saute the onion for about 5 minutes, add pepper, garlic, fry for a couple of minutes, put the tomato paste, fry for another minute. Next, put the herbs and tomatoes, then pour water and wait for it to boil. Add the beans, draining the water from it, after cooking for a quarter of an hour, add black pepper, salt, sugar, vinegar. Cook under the lid for 10 minutes. Cook garlic croutons in the oven - fry the bread in oil with garlic.

Lenten second dish - stewed cabbage and mushrooms

Components:

  • cabbage - up to 1 kg;
  • champignons - 400 grams;
  • vegetable oil - about 3 large spoons;
  • salt, pepper, lemon juice - 2 small spoons.

Randomly cut the cabbage and mushrooms, heat the oil in a frying pan. Mushrooms are fried first, then cabbage is added to them. After pouring a small amount of water, simmer the dish under the lid until the food softens. If necessary, add water. The cooking time for mature white cabbage is about an hour, if it is Beijing or young cabbage, 20 minutes is enough. Season the finished dish with pepper, salt, lemon juice, leave on fire without a lid for 3 minutes to evaporate moisture.

The main dishes for fasting can be prepared quickly and tasty on those days when it is necessary, and with the right selection of products, the impression of an inferior diet will not be created.

lean salad

Components:

  • carrots - 2 pieces;
  • tomatoes - 2 pieces;
  • cucumber - 1 piece;
  • apple - 1 piece;
  • onion - 1 piece;
  • lemon - half;
  • vegetable oil - a large spoon;
  • herbs, salt, sugar.

Grate carrots with a Korean or simple grater. We cut onions, tomatoes, cucumbers. Grind the greens, cut the apple, removing the skin. Oil, salt with sugar, lemon juice squeezed out of a lemon - make dressing from these products, mix everything.

Lenten cookies

Components:

  • water - 200 ml;
  • flour - up to 400 grams;
  • baking powder - half a small spoon;
  • salt, sugar, nuts, dried fruits basil or other herbs;
  • vegetable oil - 70 ml.

Pour oil into water. Mix flour, salt, baking powder, gradually combine the liquid with the dry component. Keep the resulting dough for 30 minutes in the refrigerator. From a layer of dough, with a thickness of 2 to 4 mm, make any shape - round, diamond-shaped, square, triangular. To make cookies sweet, dip them in sugar with chopped dried fruits and nuts. For salty cookies, use basil with salt. Bake cookies pierced with a fork in the oven for 15 to 25 minutes at a temperature of 200 degrees.

Oatmeal cutlets

Components:

  • oatmeal - a glass;
  • onion - 1 piece;
  • potatoes - 1 piece;
  • carrot - 1 piece;
  • spices, garlic and herbs.

Lean cutlets are easy to prepare. Soak for about 20 minutes the flakes in hot water. Grate onions, potatoes, carrots, crush the garlic with a garlic press, chop the greens. Mix vegetables, garlic gruel and herbs with oatmeal, add salt and pepper (you can add any spices). Using a spoon, fry the cutlets on both sides. In this recipe, we also recommend including mushrooms and eggs on non-fast days.

Lenten nutrition is unthinkable without potato dishes, mashed soups. For lunch, you can cook hearty cabbage soup, for dinner, serve pancakes, pilaf, pancakes without animal ingredients. To make the dishes more interesting, you can make lean mayonnaise or various sauces. For a holiday feeling on ordinary days The best decision- Lenten cake or lean pizza.

So, we talked about all the generally accepted features of the diet and the preparation of lean dishes. Let there always be light, healthy, tasty lean food on your tables. Do not forget to attend church services, come to the temple not only with your troubles and problems, but at any free time. It is not difficult to observe the Great Lent of Christians, the main thing is to tune in to it correctly.

The most important component of fasting is a special nutrition 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-conceived fasting in fasting can significantly reduce the intake of essential vitamins and minerals into the body, as well as adversely affect metabolism. You can avoid such problems only with the help of a well-balanced lean diet ...

Nutrition during fasting provides for the rejection of the use 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 the time when Christians are allowed to eat certain foods. For example, on the day of the Annunciation Holy Mother of God and Palm Sunday, the lenten menu is complemented by fish and seafood.

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

On days when you can eat seafood, include shrimp or squid in your diet. They are distinguished by high nutritional value and well absorbed by the body.

While fasting, keep track of the calorie content of your meals. It is important that the food consumed provides the body with the necessary amount of energy. Supplement boiled and raw vegetables with cereals, which contain a large amount of healthy carbohydrates. An important source of energy in fasting is sugar, but sweets should not be abused.

Do not start fasting without prior preparation: a sharp change in your usual diet can be detrimental to health. Prepare the body for a new diet in advance (at least 2 weeks before fasting). It is also impossible to quickly return to modest dishes after the lifting of church prohibitions. Introduce animal products to the menu gradually and in small portions.

In order for fasting in fasting to be beneficial, enter proper nutrition into a habit: avoid fried and smoked foods, limit the consumption of alcohol, sweets and salt, try to eat in small portions, etc. Only under these conditions will the dietary restriction be effective, and fasting will not become a difficult test for the body.

Lenten Recipes for Lent 2013


Lenten table- not only considered good for health, lean foods: vegetables, cereals - the most refined culinary products, often requiring special cooking skills and giving the most amazing results ...

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

Salads

Cooking salads in a strict fast can greatly diversify the table. In Great Lent, of course, fresh vegetables are less available than in summer fasts, but preparations can be widely used: frozen, dried, pickled vegetables and fruits, tofu, add boiled rice or other cereals.

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

Salad from different vegetables

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

Peeled boiled young kohlrabi, carrots cut into thin slices. Rinse prunes, pour hot water for swelling, remove the bones from it and cut into slices. Also cut pitted plums.

Cut the tomatoes into 5-6 parts, fresh sweet pepper, removing the stalk along with the grains, cut into strips. Peel the apples, remove the seed boxes from them 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, pepper and season with mayonnaise when serving. Sugar (powdered sugar is better) and lemon juice can be added 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 the sauerkraut, cut into large pieces.

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

Lean seaweed salad

Dried seaweed is 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

A lot of Korean salads have lean ingredients and therefore are quite suitable for a Lenten meal. You can buy them ready-made or make your own. To prepare salads, you need a special grater (only an experienced hand can cut as thinly as necessary).

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

Unscented sunflower oil is heated in a frying pan. At this time, vegetables are seasoned with vinegar, red pepper, ajinomoto, coriander. Finely chop the garlic and place a slide on the vegetables, pour the heated oil directly on the garlic, mix everything. Let stand, cool.

Salad of cabbage, carrots, apples and sweet peppers

washed white cabbage cut into strips, grind with a small amount of salt, drain the juice, mix with peeled chopped apples, carrots, sweet peppers, season 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 onion 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 fresh cabbage, grate carrots on a coarse grater. Mix everything and salt. Add green peas (canned). Pour vinegar, vegetable oil, sprinkle with black pepper and herbs. You can add fresh cucumbers and green onions.

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

Salad “Summer”

Put the tomatoes in a colander, pour over boiling water, and then immediately - cold water. Remove skin. Cut 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 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 mixed vegetables

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

5 small tomatoes, 1 carrot, 1 apple, 2 pickles, 100 g green canned peas, 2 tbsp vegetable oil, 1/3 tsp salt, dill.

rice salad

Boil rice in salted water. Chop vegetables, mix with chilled rice, salt, sprinkle with 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 (four stalks are needed), fry in margarine with garlic and thyme. Add the white part of the stems. Pour all this white wine in half with vegetable broth, before placing the container in the oven, cover with food paper, put in the oven and leave for 30 minutes.

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

Buckwheat crumbly with mushrooms and onions

3 cups of water, 1.5 cups of unground buckwheat, 2 onions, some dry porcini mushrooms. Fill the core with water, cover with chopped mushrooms and put on a strong fire, closing the lid.

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

Mushroom pilaf

For pilaf, thick-walled dishes are preferable, evenly warming up and slowly giving off heat. The ratio of the main components: rice \ carrot \ mushrooms (frozen, fresh or soaked dry) is equal, i.e. for a pound of rice, exactly the same number of carrots and mushrooms.

It is possible to partially or completely replace mushrooms with soy meat, however, it should be remembered that soy meat itself does not have the same taste qualities as mushrooms, and when using it, you should finish the dish with seasonings and spices.


We heat the cauldron and the oil in it (do not spare the oil for pilaf: its taste improves significantly), fry the mushrooms and carrots, add salt and spices, cover from above, without stirring, with a layer of washed rice and pour gently with water (1.5 volumes from rice), so that rice is obtained covered with water with a margin of not 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 a few small cloves. They are placed directly in a cap of rice (rice has already swollen absorbed all the water above it) whole and lightly pressed down, immersed in rice, after which the cauldron is already turned off, but the pilaf continues to cook due to residual heat.

After ten or fifteen minutes, you can mix everything up and serve it to the table. Homemade pickles or tomatoes or sauerkraut serve as a good addition to pilaf.

Sweet barley porridge with poppy seeds

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

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

Millet porridge with pumpkin

Boil small pieces of pumpkin in water for 10-15 minutes. Rinse the millet thoroughly and add it there, lightly salt, sweeten. Stirring, cook until thickened (min. 15-20). You can put "walk" for a short time in the oven. The proportions between pumpkin and millet are chosen 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 kharcho soup

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

After a short time, add half a glass of tomato paste (in more classic version: tkemali plums, which are not found in our country, 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 by adding fresh herbs and chopped garlic, let it brew. In a variant even more adapted to the Russian environment, you can put potatoes 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 soup pot). Boil it lightly. In boiling water with barley, lay the potatoes cut into cubes. Separately, fry the onion, add the carrots to the rice and potatoes.


Later, close to the readiness of the potatoes, lay the chopped pickles and season with brine (it’s good to stew these cucumbers in 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 such a soup, you need to have a special soy seasoning: tai. It has a very thick consistency, dark brown color, specific taste and smell. The Japanese have its analogue, it is called “mizo”.

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

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

Lentil Chowder

Soak lentils for a couple of hours, put to boil, peel and cut potatoes, carrots and onions fried in oil. Successful additives and spices for this soup: coriander, thyme, garlic, herbs. It goes well with soy meat (fried together with onions and carrots), tomato, olives (the brine from them is added directly to the soup) and soy mayonnaise when serving.

Vegetable soup

Fry chopped onion, parsley and celery in vegetable oil, add water, put chopped carrots, turnips and shredded cabbage and cook over low heat for 20-30 minutes. Approximately in the middle of cooking, add crushed garlic, seasonings; put applesauce or grated apple at the very end. Serving on the table, 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 swede, 1 cup of finely shredded cabbage (150 g), garlic clove, 1 bay leaf, 1/2 teaspoon of cumin , 1 apple or 2 tablespoons of applesauce, salt, herbs.

Pea soup with pearl barley

Soak the peas overnight in cold water and, adding the washed barley, put in the same water to boil. Cut carrots, onions and parsley into small cubes, fry in oil and combine with peas when it is half ready. Salt and sprinkle with herbs.

1 liter of water, 1 glass of peas, 1 tbsp of pearl barley, 1/2 carrots, 1/2 onion, 1/2 parsley root, 1 tbsp of vegetable oil, herbs, salt.


Lean pea soup

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

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

Boil the swollen peas, without draining the water, 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, onion frying oil - 10 g, parsley, salt, pepper to taste.

Russian lean soup

Boil pearl barley, add fresh cabbage, cut into small squares, potatoes and roots, cut into cubes, into the broth, and cook until tender. In summer, you can add fresh tomatoes, cut into slices, which are laid at the same time as the potatoes.
Sprinkle with parsley or dill when serving.
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 are rubbed 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 everything is boiled together for 10 minutes. Greens are put in the soup before serving. If tomato puree is added, then it is stewed together with mushrooms.
200 g fresh or 30 g dried porcini mushrooms, 1 tbsp vegetable oil, 1 onion, some celery or parsley, 2 small beets (400 g), 4 potatoes, salt, 1-2 liters of water, 1 teaspoon flour, 2 -3 tbsp greens, 1 tbsp tomato puree, vinegar.

SECOND DISHES

Peppers, eggplant, stuffed zucchini

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

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

Tikhvin porridge

Rinse the peas, boil them in water without adding salt, and when the water is boiled down by 1/3 and the peas are almost ready, add the prodel and cook until tender. Then season with finely chopped onion, fried in butter, and soda.
1/2 cup peas, 1.5 liters of water, 1 cup of buckwheat, 2 onions, 4 cm. tablespoons 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 a crust forms, fold the still half-baked potatoes into clay pot, cover with finely chopped herbs, onions, salt, add boiling water, close the lid and put in the oven for 1 minute. Ready stew is eaten with cucumbers (fresh or salted), sauerkraut.
1 kg potatoes, 1/2 cup vegetable oil, 1 tbsp dill, I cm. parsley spoon, 1 onion, 1/2 cup water, salt.

Braised cabbage

Finely chop the onion, put in a pan with vegetable oil and fry until golden brown. Then add finely chopped cabbage and fry until half cooked. For 10 min. before the end, add salt, tomato paste, red or black ground pepper, sweet peas and bay leaf. 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, leeks, 2-3 peas allspice, 1 bay leaf, 1/2 cup tomato paste, thinned with water.

Potatoes in garlic sauce

Rinse the peeled potatoes and dry with a towel. Cut each potato in half. Heat most of the vegetable oil in a frying pan and fry the potatoes until golden brown. Then cook garlic Sause. To do this, rub the garlic with salt, add 2 tablespoons of sunflower oil and stir. Drizzle fried potatoes with garlic sauce.

10 small potatoes, half a glass of sunflower oil, 6 slices of garlic, 2 teaspoons of salt.

Rice-oatmeal porridge crumbly

Rinse 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 hold 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 onion fried in oil and finely chopped garlic and dill. Heat in a frying pan over low heat for 3-4 minutes.

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

pusher

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

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

Potato cutlets with prunes

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

Let stand for about twenty minutes so that the flour swells, at this time prepare the prunes - peel it from the stones, pour boiling water over it. Roll out the dough, cut into mugs with a glass, put prunes in the middle of each, form cutlets, pinching the dough in the form of pies, 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, salt and add the onion finely chopped and fried in vegetable oil. Mix the whole potato mass, 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 potatoes), 3 tablespoons of flour, 0.5 teaspoons of soda.

Rice with vegetables

Heat oil in a frying pan, fry onion, carrot, sweet pepper in it. Then add lightly boiled rice, salt, pepper, a little water and simmer for another 15 minutes. Bring to readiness, 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 l 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, put them in boiling water. Boil pears and apples for 35-40 minutes, other fruits - 15-20 minutes. At the end, add sugar.
200 g of dry fruits, 5 tablespoons of sugar, 1.5 liters of water.

Rhubarb compote

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

Cowberry compote with apples

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

mushroom vinaigrette

Mushrooms and onions are chopped, boiled carrots, beets, potatoes and cucumbers are cut into cubes, mixed. The oil is seasoned with vinegar and seasonings, they are poured over the salad. Sprinkle with herbs on top.
150 g pickled or salted mushrooms, 1 onion, 1 carrot, 1 small beetroot, 2-3 potatoes, 1 pickle, 3 tbsp vegetable oil, 2 cm. tablespoons 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 onion, lightly fried in vegetable oil. The mixture is seasoned, sprinkled with finely chopped green onions on top.
400 g fresh, 200 g salted or 500 g dried mushrooms, 1 onion, 2 tbsp vegetable oil, salt, pepper, vinegar or lemon juice, green onion.

stewed mushrooms

The oil is heated, put into it thinly sliced ​​mushrooms and chopped onions. Broth is added to boiled mushrooms, fresh mushrooms are stewed in their own juice for 15-20 minutes. By the end of the stew, salt and herbs are added. Boiled potatoes and a salad of raw vegetables are served as a side dish.
500 g fresh or 300 g boiled (salted) mushrooms, 2 tbsp vegetable oil, 1 onion, salt, 1/2 cup mushroom broth, parsley and dill.

PIES

Lean dough for pies

Knead a dough of 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 to it and beat the dough until it stops sticking to your hands.

Then put the dough in the same pan where the dough was prepared and let it rise again.
After that, 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, black mashed bread - 1 cup (I took 2 cups, it seemed to me that a glass was not enough), vegetable oil - 20 g, zest of 0.5 lemons, orange peels - 20 g. Peel apples, cut into slices, remove grains , put 2 tablespoons of sugar, add cinnamon, crushed nuts, orange peels, white wine.


Buckwheat porridge shangi

Roll out cakes from lean dough, put buckwheat porridge cooked with onions and mushrooms in the middle of each, bend the edges of the cake.

After laying the finished shangi on a greased form, 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 cups of buckwheat flour in the evening with three cups of boiling water, stir well and leave for an hour. If you do not 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 becomes slightly warm, 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 density of sour cream, put it in a warm place and bake in a pan when the dough rises again.
These pancakes are especially good with onion fritters.

Pancakes with spices (with mushrooms, onions)

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

When the dough comes up, pour another glass of warm water, two tablespoons of vegetable oil, salt, sugar, the rest of the flour into it 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 or onion, cut into rings. After spreading the pastries in a pan, fill them with dough, fry like ordinary pancakes.

Pea pancakes

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

Pies with pea filling

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

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

Fresh dough products

What are the features of unleavened dough prepared in fasting? We cannot put an egg in it to strengthen it. Our actions because of this are more dependent 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 add salt - adding salt also strengthens the dough a little), then 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, there is no male power in the wings. Then you can pour more water (1:2.5), but be prepared for the fact that the dough “floats” during the cooking process, dumplings or other products will be slippery, falling apart. Prayerfully and patiently treat this and with humility (it is always useful) eat.

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

Both of these methods require a softer dough. Interesting options Tests are obtained by replacing water with brine or another liquid. There are methods that use hot water, while the dough turns out to have a special taste, with a little sweetness, and more water is needed for such a dough.

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

flat cakes

We prepare the usual unleavened dough, let it rest for about twenty minutes, roll it into small thin circles and fry them on both sides. Serve on the table, where various fillings are prepared: bean paste, fresh vegetable salad, stewed vegetables, and maybe jam, fruit salad. We spread the filling directly on the cakes and eat immediately along with the “plate”.

dumplings

Unleavened dough, kneaded in water, roll out into a cake 1 cm thick, cut into strips 2-3 cm wide, pinching off small pieces from each strip, throw into salted boiling water (or vegetable, 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 onion fry. Dumplings boiled in broth are eaten with liquid.

Vareniki with mushrooms

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

Lenten manti with pumpkin

To prepare manti, you need special utensils: a double boiler or a saucepan with a removable top, where grates with manti (kaskan, mantovarka) are inserted. Dough: for 1 kg of flour, half a liter of hot water, salt, knead well, let it lie down.

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. Minced meat is laid out in the middle, a tablespoon with a slide.

The dough is pinched from above: with a bag or figured. The grates are lubricated with vegetable oil. Put manti on them (not crowded, otherwise they will stick together), insert into a saucepan, where water is already boiling and steam for 45 minutes.

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

Vareniki with cherries

Make dough from flour on water, not very steep, roll into a thin cake. Peel cherries, sprinkle with sugar. The juice that drains is digested with sugar. Sculpt small dumplings, boil, strain into a colander, pour juice on a dish. Serve cold.

Vareniki 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, make dumplings from a not very thin dough and boil them. When serving, sprinkle dumplings with sugar or sprinkle with honey.

desserts

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

Lenten include many candies and jelly sweets, marshmallows (technologically it can be lean). Of the prepared desserts, we note kissels, jelly, fruit salads. The latter are either prepared from predominantly juicy fruits or seasoned with syrup prepared from canned fruits or prepared on their own. Baking, flour desserts will be considered 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 the usual compote of dried apricots, raisins or other pitted dried fruits. When the fruit is ready, semolina (or other small cereals) is poured in a thin stream with stirring evenly, in a small amount.

citrus jelly

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

fruit salad

Boil the pasta until tender, put it in a colander and pour over with cold water, season with grows. oil and mix. 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 fruit with cinnamon sugar, sprinkle with lemon juice. Finely chop the figs and dates, chop the nuts.

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

Jellied pumpkin


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

Top it all with a pumpkin. Do not pour out the juice remaining from cooking the pumpkin, but use it instead of water to make jelly (see the instructions on the bags with gelatin). Pour the workpiece with ready-made warm jelly, then put in the refrigerator, serve cold.

Fasting is a special time when a believer must observe abstinence in food, pray and change his life in order to become closer to God. If you have been in the Church for a long time, you have probably already managed to create a Lenten menu. It is more difficult if you have only recently crossed the threshold of the temple. We recommend that you seek guidance from a priest, but this is not always possible. Therefore, we will try to reveal the essence of Orthodox traditions that relate to fasting.

The essence of fasting is not only bodily abstinence, but Orthodox believers still have many questions. How to fast according to the prescriptions of the church charter? Can I read and play sports? Read about what you can eat in fasting and whether it is possible to get married and plan children at this time in our material.

What can you eat in a post?

What can you fast, can you afford, for example, something sweet? The essence of the post is limitation. If, for health reasons, a person cannot fast according to all the canons, it is better to ask the confessor's blessing to ease the fast than to seriously harm one's health. Pregnant and lactating women should also fast according to their strength, because in such cases we are talking about a child.

In Great Lent, it is allowed to eat food of plant origin. Under the ban are dairy, meat products, eggs and other food of animal origin. But there are exceptions: on the holidays of the Annunciation and Palm Sunday, eating fish is allowed. If a patronal feast falls on Great Lent, the charter of the Church allows the eating of fish.

If a person, due to circumstances, is not in control of his diet, for example, is in a hospital or in places of deprivation of liberty, he should not starve, in such cases the Church allows a relaxation of fasting. Such issues are resolved individually, with the participation of the confessor. The purpose of fasting is not to harm ourselves, on the contrary, fasting is an important spiritual exercise, and it is designed to help us grow in love for God, in the ability to pray and to refuse earthly things in favor of Heaven.

If during the fast you came to visit and the hospitable hosts treat you to non-lenten food, it is better to politely refuse as possible and explain that you are eating fast these days. But it is also important not to offend people in fasting who treat you because they wish you well. If the invitees simply did not know how to observe the fast correctly, it is better to allow the fast to be relaxed than to create resentment in the hearts of loved ones these days. If you are sure that the relationship will not deteriorate, you can talk about the rules of fasting and apologize for not treating yourself to some dishes. Remember also that the Apostle Paul said, "If food offends my brother, I will never eat meat, lest I offend my brother." Try not to eat forbidden foods in front of those who are fasting strictly, if relief is allowed for you for health reasons or with the blessing of a confessor.

What can you drink in fasting?

During fasting, the use of plant foods is allowed, this also applies to drinks. Dairy products are prohibited, so coffee with milk or cream will have to be abandoned. You should not indulge yourself if drinking milk is not an urgent need associated with the disease, but a habit, because many people drink coffee with milk in the morning. You can drink tea from the second to the sixth week of Great Lent, even with lean pastries. After all, tea is of plant origin.

But, if you are determined to observe a strict fast, it’s better not to eat what is a “delicacy” for you, because it’s better to limit fasting rather than indulge yourself.

Of course, you can drink water during fasting.

What can not be eaten in the post?

In Lent, you can not eat food of animal origin, eggs and dairy products.

Can I drink wine during fasting?

What can be in fasting from alcoholic beverages and is it possible to drink a little wine in fasting? Alcoholic drinks are prohibited during fasting, except for a small amount of natural wine, without alcohol and sugar, on certain days. But still it is better to completely refrain from alcohol. The use of such drinks does not at all correspond to the mood of fasting. Indeed, during Great Lent, Holy Week awaits us, when we remember the suffering and death of Christ.

Moderation in wine drinking should also be observed outside of fasting.

Is it possible to baptize a child in fasting?

But you can baptize a child in fasting. The only difficulty may arise due to the fact that the churches are overcrowded these days, services during fasting last a long time, so it will be difficult to choose the time to baptize a child or an adult. There is no ban on the Sacrament of Baptism during Lent.

Wedding in post, wedding: is it possible?

Orthodox believers know that a wedding should not be planned during Lent. The Church does not crown during the fasts: Great - 7 weeks before Easter, Peter's, Assumption, and Christmas.

Fasting also involves renunciation intimate life spouses.

Is it possible to fast fish, seafood?

On certain days of fasting, eating fish and seafood is allowed. So, during Lent, you can eat fish on the holidays of the Annunciation and Palm Sunday. Before eating something non-vegetarian, it is better to check the fasting calendar. You can weaken the fast if your health does not allow you to completely abandon fish on those days when, according to church rules, it is forbidden to eat it.

Is it possible to eat shrimp, squid in fasting?

It is believed that on days when fasting allows eating fish, other seafood can be eaten, this will not be a violation of the tradition of fasting. If you still have doubts, you can take a blessing from the confessor. Great Lent does not involve lavish banquets with exotic dishes, but a certain austerity. And, if self-restraint is in no way combined for you with eating shrimp and squid, you should give up these dishes.

Can you read the post?

During Great Lent, it is recommended to read spiritual literature and Orthodox authors. First of all, you should turn to the Holy Scriptures. But many works of fiction can be attributed to spiritual reading, which does not harm the soul in any way.

It is important to act as an internal censor for oneself. Entertainment is limited to fasting, this is a time of reflection, communication with God. If reading this or that book is entertaining, it is better to postpone it to another time, outside the post.

Is it possible for spouses to live an intimate life in fasting?

Physical abstinence is encouraged during fasting. Priests say that fasting should be within our power. For many young couples, prolonged abstinence is a risk of falling into temptation. Then (if you are ready to discuss this issue with the confessor, as agreed), you can allow the fasting to be relaxed in terms of marital relations. And yet, it is not welcome.

In Scripture, there are the words of the Apostle Paul about this: “Do not deviate from one another, except by agreement, for a while, for exercise in fasting and prayer, and then be together again, so that Satan does not tempt you with your intemperance” (1 Cor. 7: 5)"

You should assess your condition, talk with your spouse and decide together how not to abuse the assumption of having an intimate life during fasting, but also not to fall into temptation or jeopardize the relationship with your spouse due to refusal to live an intimate life. This prohibition can be a serious test if one of the spouses is not a believer, but what if you were unable to live an intimate life for health reasons? Or would there be a temporary separation? Try to discuss this with your spouse.

Is it possible to get married, get married, sign a post?

The sacrament of the wedding is not held during fasting, which means that you should not get married and sign in the registry office either. This is a pious tradition, and a marriage registered in the registry office is recognized by the Church. Such events should be postponed to the days after fasting. In addition, marital intimacy during fasting is limited, since fasting involves bodily abstinence.

Is it possible to read an akathist in a post?

Thinking about what is possible in fasting, believers often ask themselves the question, is it possible to read an akathist during fasting? Reading an akathist these days is not welcomed by the Church. Akathist does not correspond to the mood and tone of the post. The chorus of the akathist “rejoice”, this is a joyful and laudatory song, in the days of fasting, especially on the Holy Week of Great Lent, we should think about self-denial and deep repentance. Akathist is not read at this time.

Is it possible to eat honey in fasting?

Everyone determines the measure of fasting for himself, after consulting with the confessor. Responsibility for observance or non-observance of fasting is before the Lord. Based on this, it is worth considering whether honey can be eaten. The church charter does not prohibit this product during fasting.

Is it possible to confess and receive communion during fasting?

Confession and communion during Lent is not only possible, but necessary.

Is it possible to post oil?

Butter is a dairy product, so butter is not allowed during fasting. But sunflower oil of vegetable origin, which means that you can eat it on fasting days.

Can you eat pasta in fasting?

You can eat pasta in fasting, but first it’s better to familiarize yourself with the composition, because it may contain products prohibited in fasting.

Post: what can you eat every day?

Weeks Food calendar
Great Lent 2019: meals in the first Week (March 11 - March 16)

11th of MarchClean Monday. Refrain from food.
March 12- Tuesday. Refrain from food.
For those who have health problems, as well as for the elderly, bread and kvass are allowed on Tuesday after Vespers. You can eat bread with salt and drink water or kvass (optional)
March 13 - Wednesday. Dry eating: bread, water, greens, raw, dried or soaked vegetables and fruits (one dish to choose from).
Infusion of dill or decoction of berries / fruits with honey.
Food is taken once a day, during the day.
March 14th- Thursday. Refrain from food.
March 15th- Friday. Baked or boiled hot food without oil once a day, in the afternoon.
March 16- Saturday. Baked or boiled food with vegetable oil twice a day. Olives and black olives are allowed. Grape wine without alcohol and sugar, diluted in hot water, is allowed in small quantities, but abstinence from wine is recommended.

Great Lent 2019: Meals for the Second Week (March 17 - March 23)

First week Great Lent (first Sunday of Lent). Triumph of Orthodoxy
On the week of the Triumph of Orthodoxy, the victory of Orthodoxy over the iconoclastic heresy is celebrated. Iconoclasts believed that the veneration of icons was idolatry. Thanks to the patronage of the emperors, the persecution of icons continued for almost a hundred years. The veneration of icons was finally restored in the 9th century by Empress Theodora on the first Sunday of Great Lent, on which the Triumph of Orthodoxy has been celebrated ever since.

18th of March- Monday.

March 19- Tuesday.

2 March 0- Wednesday.
Once a day, around 3:00 pm.
March 21- Thursday.

Hot food that has undergone heat treatment, i.e. boiled, baked, etc. With vegetable oil and wine (one bowl 200g). Once a day, around 3:00 pm. Pure grape wine without alcohol and sugar, mostly diluted with hot water. At the same time, abstinence from wine is highly commendable.
March 22- Friday.
Dry eating: bread, water, greens, raw, dried or soaked vegetables and fruits (for example: raisins, olives, nuts, figs - each time one of these). Once a day, around 3:00 pm.
March 23- Saturday.
Hot food that has undergone heat treatment, i.e. boiled, baked, etc. With vegetable oil and wine (one cup 200g) twice a day. Pure grape wine without alcohol and sugar, mostly diluted with hot water. At the same time, abstinence from wine is highly commendable.

Great Lent 2019: Meals for the Third Week (March 24 - March 30)

March 24- Sunday.
Second Sunday of Great Lent (Second Sunday of Lent). Memorial Day of St. Gregory Palamas.
St. Gregory Palamas lived in the 14th century. According to Orthodox faith he taught that for the feat of fasting and prayer, the Lord illuminates the faithful with His grace-filled light, which the Lord shone on Tabor. For the reason that St. Gregory revealed the doctrine of the power of fasting and prayer and it was established to celebrate his memory on the second Sunday of Great Lent.
March, 25- Monday.
Dry eating: bread, water, greens, raw, dried or soaked vegetables and fruits (for example: raisins, olives, nuts, figs - each time one of these). Once a day, around 3:00 pm.
26 March- Tuesday.
Hot food that has undergone heat treatment, i.e. boiled, baked, etc. Oil free. Once a day, around 3:00 pm.
March 27- Wednesday.
Dry eating: bread, water, greens, raw, dried or soaked vegetables and fruits (for example: raisins, olives, nuts, figs - each time one of these). Once a day, around 3:00 pm.
March 28- Thursday.
Hot food that has undergone heat treatment, i.e. boiled, baked, etc. Oil free. Once a day, around 3:00 pm.
March 29- Friday.
Dry eating: bread, water, greens, raw, dried or soaked vegetables and fruits (for example: raisins, olives, nuts, figs - each time one of these). Once a day, around 3:00 pm.
30th of March- Saturday.
Hot food that has undergone heat treatment, i.e. boiled, baked, etc. With vegetable oil and wine (one cup 200g) twice a day. Pure grape wine without alcohol and sugar, mostly diluted with hot water. At the same time, abstinence from wine is highly commendable.
On Saturday of the third week, during Matins, the Life-Giving Cross of the Lord is brought to the middle of the temple for veneration by believers, therefore the third week and the next, fourth, week are called the Adoration of the Cross.

Great Lent 2019: Meals for the Fourth Week (March 31 - April 6)

March 31- Sunday.
Third week Great Lent (third Sunday of Lent) - cross.
On this day, they read legends, consecrate prosphyra, do not work, visit temples to worship the cross, reflect on the concept of “carrying their cross”, fast (with eating brew with oil and wine).
April 1- Monday.
Dry eating: bread, water, greens, raw, dried or soaked vegetables and fruits (for example: raisins, olives, nuts, figs - each time one of these). Once a day, around 3:00 pm.
April 2- Tuesday.
Hot food that has undergone heat treatment, i.e. boiled, baked, etc. Oil free. Once a day, around 3:00 pm.
April 3- Wednesday.
Hot food that has undergone heat treatment, i.e. boiled, baked, etc. With wine (one cup 200g). One meal a day. Pure grape wine without alcohol and sugar, mostly diluted with hot water. At the same time, abstinence from wine is highly commendable.
April, 4- Thursday.
Hot food that has undergone heat treatment, i.e. boiled, baked, etc. Oil free. Once a day, around 3:00 pm.
April 5- Friday.
Dry eating: bread, water, greens, raw, dried or soaked vegetables and fruits (for example: raisins, olives, nuts, figs - each time one of these). Once a day, around 3:00 pm.
April 6- Saturday.

Great Lent 2019: Meals for the Fifth Week (April 7 - April 13)

April 7- Sunday.
Fourth week Great Lent (Fourth Sunday of Lent). Memorial Day of theologian John of the Ladder.
John of the Ladder was the abbot of the Sinai monastery, he wrote the famous "Ladder of Virtues", where he showed the steps of ascent to spiritual perfection. (“Ladder” from the old Slav. “Ladder”. Variants - Paradise Ladder, Spiritual Tablets). The image of the "Ladder" is borrowed from the Bible, which describes the vision of Jacob's Ladder, on which the angels ascend (Gen.28:12).
The calendar memory of John of the Ladder falls during Great Lent, it was moved to Sunday, and it was assigned to the 4th Sunday of Great Lent.
On the day of memory of John of the Ladder they baked "ladders".
Hot food that has undergone heat treatment, i.e. boiled, baked, etc. With vegetable oil and wine (one cup 200g) twice a day. Pure grape wine without alcohol and sugar, mostly diluted with hot water. At the same time, abstinence from wine is highly commendable.
April 8- Monday.
Dry eating: bread, water, greens, raw, dried or soaked vegetables and fruits (for example: raisins, olives, nuts, figs - each time one of these). Once a day, around 3:00 pm.
April 9- Tuesday.
Hot food that has undergone heat treatment, i.e. boiled, baked, etc. Oil free. Once a day, around 3:00 pm.
April 10th- Wednesday.
Dry eating: bread, water, greens, raw, dried or soaked vegetables and fruits (for example: raisins, olives, nuts, figs - each time one of these). Once a day, around 3:00 pm.
On Wednesday evening, a special service is performed in Orthodox churches - “Maria's Standing”. At this service, for the only time a year, the whole Great Canon of Andrew of Crete is read, which sounded in parts from Monday to Thursday of the first week of Great Lent, and the canon of St. Mary of Egypt.
April 11- Thursday. Standing Rev. Mary of Egypt.
On this day, according to ancient custom, the following of the Great Canon is sung. Saint Andrew composed it at the same time that Saint Sophronius, Patriarch of Jerusalem, wrote down the life of Mary of Egypt. Father Andrew first brought the great canon and the word about St. Mary to Constantinople when he was sent by Patriarch Theodore of Jerusalem to help at the Sixth Council.
On Standing Rev. Mary of Egypt - hot food that has undergone heat treatment, i.e. boiled, baked, etc. With vegetable oil and wine (200g). Once a day, around 3:00 pm. Some statutes allow only wine, and oil (oil) is not allowed.
12th of April- Friday.
Dry eating: bread, water, greens, raw, dried or soaked vegetables and fruits (for example: raisins, olives, nuts, figs - each time one of these). Once a day, around 3:00 pm.
Before the feast of the Praise of the Most Holy Theotokos, some charters allow wine. Pure grape wine without alcohol and sugar, mostly diluted with hot water. At the same time, abstinence from wine is highly commendable.
April 13- Saturday.
Hot food that has undergone heat treatment, i.e. boiled, baked, etc. With vegetable oil and wine (one cup 200g) twice a day. Pure grape wine without alcohol and sugar, mostly diluted with hot water. At the same time, abstinence from wine is highly commendable.

Great Lent 2019: Meals for the Sixth Week (April 14 - April 20)

14th of April- Sunday.
Fifth week of Great Lent (fifth Sunday of Lent). Remembrance Day Mary of Egypt
The Monk Mary was born in Egypt in the middle of the 5th century. At the age of 12, she left her parents and went to Alexandria, where she spent 17 years living in sin. Once Mary arrived in Jerusalem for the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross and tried to enter the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, but some kind of force held her back. Realizing her fall, she began to pray in front of the icon of the Mother of God, which was in the porch of the temple. After that, she was able to enter the temple. The next day, Mary crossed the Jordan and went into the wilderness, where she spent the rest of her life, 47 years, in fasting and repentance. The Church gives in the person of St. Mary of Egypt an example of true repentance and shows in her an example of the inexpressible mercy of God to penitent sinners. The calendar memory of Mary of Egypt falls during Great Lent, it was moved to Sunday, and it was assigned to the 5th Sunday of Great Lent.
Hot food that has undergone heat treatment, i.e. boiled, baked, etc. With vegetable oil and wine (one cup 200g) twice a day. Pure grape wine without alcohol and sugar, mostly diluted with hot water. At the same time, abstinence from wine is highly commendable.
April 15- Monday.
Dry eating: bread, water, greens, raw, dried or soaked vegetables and fruits (for example: raisins, olives, nuts, figs - each time one of these). Once a day, around 3:00 pm.
April 16- Tuesday.
Hot food that has undergone heat treatment, i.e. boiled, baked, etc. Oil free. Once a day, around 3:00 pm.
April 17- Wednesday.
Dry eating: bread, water, greens, raw, dried or soaked vegetables and fruits (for example: raisins, olives, nuts, figs - each time one of these). Once a day, around 3:00 pm.
April 18th- Thursday.
Hot food that has undergone heat treatment, i.e. boiled, baked, etc. Oil free. Once a day, around 3:00 pm.
April 19- Friday , Feast of the Annunciation.
The name of the holiday - the Annunciation - conveys the main meaning of the event associated with it: the announcement to the Virgin Mary of the good news about the conception and birth of the Divine Infant Christ by Her.
Hot food that has undergone heat treatment, i.e. boiled, baked, etc. With vegetable oil and wine. Fish are allowed. Once a day, around 3:00 pm.
20 April- Saturday. Lazarus Saturday.
On this day, Christians commemorate the miracle of the resurrection of the righteous Lazarus by Christ (John 11:1-45), which was performed to testify to the coming resurrection of all the dead. The celebration of Lazarus Saturday has been established since ancient times, it precedes the Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem
Fish caviar is allowed up to 100 gr. Hot food that has undergone heat treatment, i.e. boiled, baked, etc. With vegetable oil and wine (one cup 200g) twice a day. Pure grape wine without alcohol and sugar, mostly diluted with hot water. At the same time, abstinence from wine is highly commendable.

Great Lent 2019: Meals for the Seventh Week (April 21 - April 27)

April 21- Sunday. sixth week Great Lent (Sixth Sunday of Lent).
Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem (Palm Sunday). - (the arrival of Jesus in Jerusalem on a donkey, when the people greeted him, throwing palm branches onto the road - in Russia they were replaced by willow) - the last Sunday before Easter. Fish are allowed. Hot food that has undergone heat treatment, i.e. boiled, baked, etc. With vegetable oil and wine (one cup 200g) twice a day. Pure grape wine without alcohol and sugar, mostly diluted with hot water. At the same time, abstinence from wine is highly commendable.
April 22 - Maundy Monday
On Good Monday, the Old Testament Patriarch Joseph, sold by his brothers to Egypt, is remembered as a prototype of the suffering Jesus Christ, as well as the gospel story about Jesus cursing a barren fig tree, symbolizing a soul that does not bear spiritual fruit - true repentance, faith, prayer and good deeds. Mt 21:18-22
Dry eating: bread, water, greens, raw, dried or soaked vegetables and fruits (for example: raisins, olives, nuts, figs - each time one of these).



April 23 - Maundy Tuesday
On Maundy Tuesday, we remember the sermon of Jesus Christ in the Jerusalem Temple. On this day He told the disciples about the second coming Mt 24, the parable of the ten virgins, the parable of the talents Mt 25:1-30. The chief priests and elders tempted him with questions, wanted to arrest him, but were afraid to do it openly because of the people who considered Jesus a prophet and listened to him attentively.
Dry eating: bread, water, greens, raw, dried or soaked vegetables and fruits (for example: raisins, olives, nuts, figs - each time one of these).
From drinking: dill (hot infusion or decoction of herbs or berries, fruits) with honey.
Once a day, around 3:00 pm.
“Like in the 1st week of this holy Lent.”
April 24 - Great Wednesday
On Great Wednesday, the anointing of Jesus Christ with peace and the betrayal of Judas are remembered. Matthew 26:6-16
Dry eating: bread, water, greens, raw, dried or soaked vegetables and fruits (for example: raisins, olives, nuts, figs - each time one of these).
From drinking: dill (hot infusion or decoction of herbs or berries, fruits) with honey.
Once a day, around 3:00 pm.
“Like in the 1st week of this holy Lent.”
April 25 - Maundy Thursday. Last Supper
On Maundy Thursday, we remember the Last Supper and the establishment by Jesus Christ of the sacrament of the Eucharist (Communion). Matthew 26:17-35, Mark 14:12-31, Luke 22:7-39, John 13-18
According to the usual (Palestinian) order, one dish is laid, but boiled food with vegetable oil is allowed.
According to the Studian charter, one boiled dish is supposed, but supplemented with sochi (any porridge) and legumes; without oil.
According to the charter of the Holy Mount Athos, two boiled dishes with oil and wine are required. Pure grape wine without alcohol and sugar, mostly diluted with hot water. At the same time, abstinence from wine is highly commendable.
April 26 - Great Heel. Good Friday. crucifixion of christ
On Good Friday, Orthodox Christians remember the arrest of Jesus Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane, the trial of the high priests, the trial of Pilate, the way of the cross of Jesus, the crucifixion, death and the signs accompanying it, removal from the cross and burial.
They don't eat anything. For the elderly, bread and water are allowed after sunset.
April 27 - Great Saturday. The Descent of Christ into Hell
Great Saturday is dedicated to the remembrance of the presence of Jesus Christ in the tomb and His descent into hell to free the souls of the dead.
On Great Saturday, many believers also refuse food until Easter. For the rest - 200-250 g of bread, 6 pieces of figs or dates and a cup of wine, or kvass, or a honey drink. Or bread with vegetables. Once a day around 7pm.
End of Lent.

Is it possible to get pregnant, conceive a child in fasting?

Since fasting involves physical abstinence and restriction of intimate life, the conception of a child during fasting is not welcome. Orthodox believers do not plan to conceive a child these days.

There are many superstitions associated with the fact that a child who was conceived during fasting bears the sin of his parents, can get sick, and needs special repentance. This is not true and the Church does not blame the child for conception during fasting. Moreover, the Church allows relaxation in matters of intimate life between spouses, if abstinence becomes a greater temptation than married life during fasting.

Is it possible to fast soy milk and soy meat?

Soy products are allowed to eat during fasting because they are of plant origin. But it is worth thinking about whether we are deceiving ourselves that we are fasting if we have not limited ourselves in anything by consuming such milk and meat? After all, fasting is not just a very strict diet, but a spiritual feat. In the use of soy products in this case, there is a certain craftiness. During fasting, we forget about bodily food in favor of spiritual food. If by eating soy products you still restrict yourself in a certain way, the Church allows it. After all, not eating this or that food is not the main goal of fasting.

Is it possible to play sports during fasting?

What can be done in fasting from physical activity, is it possible to play sports during fasting? The Church recommends reducing physical exercise on fasting days, when especially strict food restrictions are observed, because this can harm human health. In fact, in fasting there is no strict ban on sports, each believer decides this issue individually.

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