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When I was grocery shopping over the weekend I noticed that there were only a few jars of peanut butter left on the shelves (I got the last jar of creamy low-fat Jif!). This could have been because people were preparing for the Fast but, of course, it could be that they were just stocking up for another snowstorm. It got me to thinking how the different ethnic groups eat during the Great Fast, and how they keep the spirit of the Fast while getting enough protein and nutrients for their daily activities.

I invite our participants to use this thread to share their ideas and recipes for healthy eating during the Fast.

Oh yeuch - to me Jif is a kitchen/bathroom cleaner :p

Sorry about that folks but I could not resist the comment

However since I have decided to make the Fast this year - I'm going to need all the help I can get with my domestic carnivore in residence - he won't eat fish [ OK I know it's basically off the menu anyway] or most vegetables and says he would eat nuts if he was a monkey but is not - so for me it's going to be a case of trying to find meals that I can make and add meat to at the end for him and leave it out for me.

Tonight it will be risotto [ no wine for cooking ] with lots of veg for me and cooked chicken at the serving time for him . Tha's OK but I can't do it for the next 6 weeks.

Heeeeeeeeeeeeelp pullease

Anhelyna

Soy and vegetables become my staple during Lent. I don't usually eat breakfast anyway. So that isn't a problem. For lunch I will usually have a salad or a soy burger; although I wonder if that is really fasting since I prefer those to the real thing anyway

Dinner is usually pizza or perhaps fish-n-chips.

Throw in a granola bar sometime throughout the day and I'm feeling pretty good.

Columcille

Dear Lady's Slave...
Well, tonight and Great and Holy Friday, we will unfortunately, be eating very unhealthy. Fried shrimp (I thought fish was okay?), french fries, bread with jelly, and salad. It's hard to find something to serve my carnivores, especially the one that doesn't attend church anyway, but is willing to follow the abstinence rules as long as its done with fried stuff! The other Fridays we do more fried shrimp or pizza, as dairy is allowed on those days. I don't push the abstinence on Wednesdays, but try to follow it myself. I better have my cholesterol checked BEFORE we get too far into Lent!
denise

Be *VERY* careful what you're eating during the Great Fast, especially as regards fried foods. For the past few years, my "bad" cholesterol level has risen considerably during the Great Lent, and my doctor has asked me what I'm eating. "Only fasting foods, doctor, no meat or dairy products, occasional fried fish, fried shrimp, fried bay scallops, french fries, deep-fried green beans [MMMmmm!!!], salads with my favorite dressings, nuts and fruit."

My doctor told me in no uncertain terms that this "diet" was unhealthy for me, to cut out the fried foods as much as possible, and to add some small amounts of dairy to my diet for the health of my old bones. If you're getting older, check with both your spiritual *and* physical physicians to ensure that your fasting habits are what is best for you in your circumstances.

OrthodoxEast

If we stick to the oil rules during the Great Fast then fried food won't be a problem.

Spasi Khristos -
Mark, monk and sinner.

Dont' worry, on the other days will I will behave regarding the diet. I can always do just salad at lunch on Friday's, so my dinner doesn't wreak complete havoc with my lipids!.
denise

Greeks are allowed to eat shellfish but not whitefish. Shellfish is a common food and a daily staple so it was not thought to be something to fast from. Slavs didn�t have such easy access to seafood so it never became something they fasted from.

--

The Great Fast is just as much about healthy eating as it is about abstinence from certain types of food. Fried foods should not be a staple in one�s diet. A McDonald�s Extra Value Fish Meal meets the letter of the law but ignores the spirit of the law. Fish sticks, french fries, potato puffs, potato chips, pretzels, popcorn, and jello are not staples. Use them carefully. It is my opinion that someone who forgoes meat and dairy to live on such foods should forget all ideas of fasting from meat and dairy and instead should concentrate on eating healthily. There is nothing unholy about simply limiting the amount of meat and dairy he or she consumes, especially if one has not done the traditional fast before.

I encourage everyone who is considering fasting from meat and dairy for the Holy Forty Days Fast to make sure they first seek the guidance of their spiritual director. It is unhealthy to go it alone.

Does anyone have a good recipe for vegetable soup that does not rely on beans? I make a nice cabbage and tomato soup but a few different recipes would be very helpful.

The fast is the most productive time of the year for me and the most creative time in the kitchen.

I try to keep to the models, but obviously fail frequently. No meat or dairy at all, but fish very joyously when allowed (Annunciation, Palm Sunday). Wine on the weekends and beer during the week. I don't even try the "dry fasting" except on strict fast days, such as Great Friday.

I don't keep to the "no olive oil" stipulation, holding with those that contend that this restriction was put in place when olive oil was kept in animal skins.

I find that the hardest part of the fast is "not eating" but only drinking fluids until 2:00 or 3:00 PM. This works in a Latin American or Mediterranean context, but is more difficult in North America and Northern Europe. My current employer has fixed hours for eating and allows no food outside of the cafeteria. I'm forced to hide dried nuts and fruits in my desk. Don't tell!

As a good source of energy and proteins, my wife and I tend to eat mollusks (octopus, squid, or cuttlefish) or shellfish (clams, mussels, or scallops) over pasta, especially on weekends with a nice glass of a dry white wine such as Frascati or the Cataluyna from Spain. Add parsley or cilantro for flavor and digestion.

Fresh olives, having been soaked in water for a week to remove the salt and then immersed in olive oil, are the perfect way to break the fast along with bread and some beer at the end of a long workday.

Roasted potatoes, cut into little cubes or tetrahedrons, with a little olive oil and rosemary and salt are super in the evening. Turn on the broiler just at the end to turn the tops brown. If on a Saturday or Sunday, eat with a glass of red wine, such as Sangiovese or Montepulciano.

Bean soups of all sorts are important proteins. Because preparation time is so long and because we both work away from home, we've stocked up on some excellent canned lentils, minestrone, and others. Add oil and vinegar or lemon to liven up the soup. Add caraway or fennel during the cooking/heating process to reduce resultant intestinal gases.

Parsley and cilantro help the digestion in general.

I recommend that folks take a multi-vitamin to compensate for any nutritional deficiency in their particular diet. If one is constantly weak, one should ease up a little bit. The point of the fast is to make us stronger, not weaker.

May God give us great strength and spiritual growth during this fast!

With love in Christ.

Andrew,

If you are looking for an extra sacrifice to make during the Fast you are welcome to come to my house and cook!

Admin

Veggie soup coming your way as soon as I can do it - very tasty too
Anhelyna

Dear Admin,

You find me some fresh oysters from the Chesapeake Bay and I'll be right over.


In Christ.

Gonna be an extra challenge this year as soy is a milk supply killer in some lactating mamas because of the phytoestrogens.

Rehash of the salient point of the annual rant - Beans + corn or beans + rice = complete protein. So vegetarian Mexican & Asian stuff is GREAT.

Tonight's dinner will be based on the #10 can of garbanzos my Dearly Beloved picked up the other day. If he manages to pick up some lemon juice and my daughter get some garlic peeled, we'll have hummus - which my family would eat by the shovelful any time of the year (aaah, asceticism ). Said potential hummus will use half the #10 can. The remainder will be stirred into a lovely fire-breathin' Masaman curry, probably served over/with rice. (I'm out of wild, basmati, & all the yummy Lundberg dark blends, so it's a matter of whether I can convince the family to eat brown rice or if it'll be good ol' American long-grain white.)

As for a non-bean based soup, here's a REALLY boneheadedly easy one. During carnivorous seasons a bit of sausage (turkey or pig) adds flavor, but it's nice without, too. Hokay, if you are of the onion or garlic persuasion, you can start by sauteeing some, but I don't usually bother - I usually fling in some garlic later though. Into le Big Pot throw three cans of Hunt's Tomato Sauce (you can use puree or crushed tomatos, but at our house nobody eats stuff with tomato "floaters"). Add one can of pumpkin. If you use big tomato sauce cans, use a big can of pumpkin. If you use little tomato sauce cans, use a little can of pumpkin. The thing is to keep to a 3:1 ratio of tomato:pumpkin. Stir it together. (A whisk is nice.) It usually needs just a bit of salt. If you are being exceedingly lazy, throw in a bag of frozen mixed veggies. If you are being virtuous, chop up fresh veggies of your own & throw in - but I always try to have some corn in it (that's me). Cook up some pasta (I like macaroni, small shells, radiatore or spirals) & throw it in. Add water as needed. If you're adventurous you can cook the pasta in the soup (you need more water in the soup), but I get better results (and have to scrub burnt stuff off fewer pots) if I cook it separately. Season as you'd like - I think tarragon & basil go nicely in it, but I like tarragon & basil. Eat.

Yum.

Happy "fast food" season

Sharon

Oh - and Andrew,

If you are fond of bean soups, consider obtaining a pressure cooker. Cuts cooking time WAAAAAAAY down - especially if you are together enough (Not ME!!!) to plan your meals a day in advance & presoak the beans. Since I am of the clueless sort, the pressure cooker is a necessity when I serve beans - unless I want to eat after midnight...

Cheers,

Sharon