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The most important church holidays begin with fasting. Many people understand how to become healthy during the Nativity fast and how to eat correctly and follow strict dietary restrictions. Let's take a look at the detailed food calendar and sample menu for the week so that there are no more questions left.
The most important days in the church calendar precede Lent. The essence of the Christmas season is repentance through prayer to meet Jesus Christ who came into this world with a flawless body, heart and soul.
The Nativity fast is not only about cleansing the body, which consists of denying food of animal origin, but also about working with one’s own spirituality. During the forty-day period, a person who wants to achieve kindness, compassion and humanity will give up ordinary earthly needs. This is the only way to celebrate the birth of Christ with all our being.
Relaxations during Lent
In Orthodoxy there are significant relaxations in fasting for a certain group of people. This may be either a complete lack of abstinence from modest food, or a partial one.
Exempt from fasting:
- pregnant women or nursing mothers;
- military personnel and prisoners;
- sick people, in this case, must take into account the doctor’s instructions;
- children.
It is important to remember that the lack of physical fasting must be compensated, for example, by giving up entertainment, smoking, alcohol, intensifying prayer and helping others.
The appropriate abstinence goal will be determined for each individual. It is appropriate to approach a priest and consult. The most important thing is not to judge or insult your loved ones on these holy days. It is worth remembering that fasting is primarily a time of isolation for communication with God and cleansing from sins.
Pies
Pies with potatoes
Lenten dough is great for pies, for example, with potatoes. This recipe can be used not only during Lent, but also when there is no milk or eggs at home. Just choose the right potatoes so that they are tasty when boiled.
Quick additions: the pies don’t need them.
Pies with potatoes
Cabbage dough buns
The original recipe for these buns belongs to a Florentine restaurant. The cabbage used for them is called cavolo nero, that is, “black cabbage.” In fact, it is not black at all, but dark green and looks not like the usual head of cabbage, but like a bunch of long burdocks. In appearance and consistency, burdock leaves most closely resemble savoy cabbage leaves. Now such cabbage has begun to appear in Moscow markets and it’s great! But we prepare these buns with regular young white cabbage, and it also turns out great.
Quick additions: the buns don’t need them.
Cabbage buns
Pies with rice and green onions + spices
Rice pies are usually also topped with either fish or eggs. What if neither one nor the other is possible? Then add onions and spices, and lots of them!
Quick additions: the pies don’t need them.
Spiced rice cakes
Advent Calendar by day
Prohibited foods during the Nativity Fast
The main prohibited foods are meat, eggs, dairy products, and strong drinks. They cannot be eaten on any of the days of Philip's fast. Fish is allowed on Saturday and Sunday, as well as during Orthodox holidays, such as the Entry into the Temple of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
You must remember that the New Year, which is celebrated from December 31 to January 1, is not a holiday according to church rules. Therefore, believers observe fasting on this day as strictly as on ordinary days.
But simply avoiding foods of animal origin is not enough. The Orthodox calendar indicates the types of food needed for fasting each day. In particular, Wednesday and Friday are dry eating days. These days you can’t eat not only fish and wine, but even vegetable oil.
If major Orthodox holidays fall on Wednesday and Friday, you can add some wine to your diet. On Tuesday and Thursday the use of vegetable oil is allowed, and on Saturday and Sunday - fish dishes. If the holiday falls on Tuesday or Thursday, fish is allowed.
When does it start
The third autumn month has arrived, which means the time of the Nativity Fast is approaching. It is also called the Philip Fast, since it begins on the day following the day of remembrance of the Holy Apostle Philip. It starts on November 28. The fast will end on the 6th of the first month of 2021. A graceful period to look at your new self, throw away vanity, all everyday worries and troubles, and find time to communicate with the Creator.
They say that Lent, as the Nativity Fast is called in Orthodoxy, is capable of changing a person, purifying his soul and consciousness. Of course, if the person himself strives for this. If, while eating lean food, a person still harbors anger and envy, then there will be no renewal or spiritual cleansing.
What can you eat
On such days, it does not matter what plant foods are suitable for eating: vegetables, fruits, berries, herbs, legumes, nuts and seeds, various cereals, vegetable oil (if it is not a dry-eating day).
All these products are consumed during fasting, you just need to clearly monitor whether oil and fish are allowed on this day. The rest remains unchanged.
It doesn't matter what kind of plant foods you eat, you can eat plant foods either cooked or raw.
On some days it is not recommended to eat raw foods (this is indicated in the nutrition calendar a little lower). Any vegetables, fruits, herbs, nuts and seeds on this day should be boiled, stewed, baked or fried with or without oil.
Important! From the morning of January 2 to Christmas Eve (evening of January 6), fasting becomes more strict in accordance with its own rules: on these days only dry eating is allowed (days of “pre-festival”).
Dry eating means eating only plant foods (fish is 100 percent excluded!) and without adding vegetable oil at all (especially butter, it is not used at all in this post!).
Salads
Potatoes, pickled cucumbers, mushrooms + dressing of olive oil, lemon juice and mustard
Try to find the strongest mushrooms for this lean salad - then they will contrast nicely with the potatoes and delicate dressing. You can use mushrooms, but it is better to use forest mushrooms: boletus or white mushrooms.
A quick addition: smoked sausages, boiled tongue or beef, fried in a mixture of vegetable and butter.
Salad with mushrooms
Romaine lettuce, shrimp, lemon, French baguette + dressing with olive oil, garlic and herbs
An elegant Mediterranean-style salad with seafood. A baguette makes the salad more filling, but it can be replaced with any fresh country bread.
Quick additions : this salad doesn’t need them.
Shrimp salad and crostini
Olivier with squid + lean mayonnaise
Yes, New Year's holidays fall on fasting days. This does not mean that you need to give up your favorite Olivier!
Quick additions: classic mayonnaise and boiled/smoked chicken. If a group of fasting and non-fasting people has gathered at the table, it is better not to dress the salad. Place bowls with mayonnaise and let everyone season the Olivier with their favorite sauce.
Olivier with squid and lean mayonnaise
Buying store-bought “lenten” products
The Nativity fast from 2021 and the daily nutrition calendar for the laity provides for many dishes with the introduction of lean foods. Some of them are sold in stores with the inscriptions “Can be used for Lent”, “Lenten”. Such products do not always need to be taken and used to prepare truly lean meals.
Vegetable protein is placed in so-called “lean” mayonnaise instead of egg powder. He is of unknown origin. Mayonnaise itself is unhealthy, so it should not be consumed all the time, only on special days. It is better to prepare this sauce yourself.
Grocery stores recommend replacing butter with vegetable fat spread. But the composition contains hydrogenated fat, which is present in margarines. Such spreads also contain trans fats, which are dangerous to internal organs. They contribute to the development of malignant neoplasms, disrupt the integrity of blood vessels, and increase the risk of heart disease.
Palm oil is added to “lenten” cookies. This component contributes to the development of cancer, the formation of fecal stones in the intestines and other pathologies.
Many products containing soy, such as cottage cheese, milk, yogurt, are of unnatural origin, so they cannot be beneficial for the body. Soybeans are a genetically modified feed product that uses more chemical fertilizers. Consuming products with them is harmful.
During fasting, limiting the consumption of certain goods makes it possible to get rid of taste habits and get rid of the dominance of food in our lives. Abstinence allows you to open up spiritually. Flavor addictions cannot be overcome if you eat soy substitutes.
Additional recommendations
To follow the daily nutrition calendar during the Nativity Fast 2021, lay people are advised to go to the nearest monastery store or vegan store. Both are easy to find in almost any city, except that you have to go to the city center to go to a vegan store. To diversify the menu, you can buy the following in the monastery shops:
- lean marshmallow;
- cutlets from different types of high-protein cereals and legumes (buckwheat, peas, spelt, chickpeas, lentils);
- Lenten sweets;
- nutritious multigrain porridges, including instant ones;
- healthy jelly, which can replace fruit drinks during the period of dry eating;
- nutritious bread with raisins, bran and other additives that increase nutrition.
The monastery stores also sell Cahors, which is recommended to replace regular wine during the Christmas period. In turn, vegan and vegetarian stores can offer:
- vegetable cream;
- soy milk;
- cheese made from vegetable fats;
- soy condensed milk, chocolate spread, cream and other sweets and dairy substitutes;
- Soy meat;
- sausages and semi-finished products from plant fibers.
Important!
Many products from relevant stores may be more expensive than analogues of animal origin (with the possible exception of meat). During the fasting period, one of the main rules is to spend less on food than usual, or at least the same amount. Therefore, you should not completely switch to store-bought vegan products; it is enough to replace 20-30% of your diet with them.
For those who want to diversify the nutrition calendar for the laity during the Nativity Fast 2021, special cookbooks are being published. They contain the best plant-based food recipes: quick to prepare, inexpensive and tasty.
Main hot dishes
Salmon with almonds, hazelnuts and sesame + mushrooms and shallots
For this dish, you can choose any fish from the salmon family: salmon, trout, pink salmon. Fish goes well with crispy ingredients, which means salmon with nuts and mushrooms will be a success.
Quick additions: Serve each serving of hot salmon with a pat of butter or melted butter.
Salmon with mushroom vinaigrette
Risotto with vegetables and mushrooms
To prepare risotto with vegetables, artichokes, asparagus, leeks, peas, zucchini, zucchini, pumpkin, eggplant, broccoli, cauliflower, corn and green beans are suitable. Chanterelles, honey mushrooms, and porcini mushrooms are good for risotto with mushrooms, but shiitake and champignons are also good, especially if you enhance their aroma with ground dry wild mushrooms.
Quick additions: serve hot risotto with a piece of butter and grated hard aged cheese.
Risotto with porcini mushrooms
Salmon in parchment
Thanks to parchment envelopes. The salmon turns out wonderful because the paper will retain all the flavors of the dish. Serve it on the table directly in envelopes so that all guests can enjoy them.
Frugal Additives: This fish does not require any additives.
Salmon with couscous in parchment
Dessert and sweet pastries
Log of almonds and walnuts + dried apricots and grapes
This delicious marzipan dessert can be prepared with any fruit and berries. Try layering marzipan with apples, pears or oranges. Don't forget to sprinkle the fruit with 1-2 tbsp. l. starch, otherwise they will give juice and the dessert will be “wet”.
Marzipan log
Steamed apple pie
What to cook for the holiday for a person who observes fasting and loves apple pies? We found a way out of the situation and are sharing our knowledge with you.
Lenten spicy steamed apple pie
