What can you cook and eat in the first week of Lent?

On March 11, 2021, Great Lent begins, which lasts 7 weeks.

One of the conditions for abstinence at this time is a strict restriction in food of animal origin.

You can go this route if you know the rules of food restrictions. You need to start with preparation by learning how to fast during the first week of fasting.

Meals during the first week of Lent should be planned out day by day so that abstinence in food does not turn into a regular hunger strike or diet.

What is the meaning of Lent

The main purpose of fasting is spiritual growth, during which Orthodox people try to get as close as possible to the Creator and be filled with His power of love.

During Lent, pacifying and cleansing their flesh, believers spend time remembering the great sacrifice of Christ, who gave His earthly life to cleanse humanity from sins and illnesses.

This is a blessed time when Orthodox Christians can spiritually focus on the great mission of Christ, given to humanity the grace of salvation through faith in Jesus.

The Savior said that those who believe in Him are the temple of the Living God (1 Cor. 3:17). Cleansing our body is a preparation for the celebration of Easter, when a miracle of miracles happened, Christ rose again after physical death, giving us hope for eternal Life.

Important. Throughout the 48-day abstinence period, it is not recommended to eat animal products. The use of vegetable oils is limited.

On certain days, fish and seafood products are allowed:

• crayfish;
• lobsters;
• squid;
• shrimps;
• mussels and others.

The first week's nutrition consists of dry eating, the list of products is as limited as possible, but with a properly composed menu you can live with dignity in abstinence for 7 days.

About other weeks of Lent:

• What can you eat during the second week of Lent?
• Nutrition in the fourth week
• Sixth week

How to leave a post?

What people eat during Lent is not the only question that requires clarification. To avoid complications, special attention should be paid to breaking the fast. The process of leaving the post should be gradual. This is due to the fact that over the past seven weeks the body has adapted to light plant foods. Therefore, during Easter week you should gradually dilute the menu with food of animal origin. This will allow you to produce enzymes that help you process a heavy meal.

Lent is a time of hope and humility, which is achieved through spiritual closeness to God and physical cleansing. But you should not resort to fasting if you have health problems.

The first week of abstinence - basic rules

The nutrition of the first week of Great Lent is limited to minimalism. Compliance with the strict rules of the first 7 days is only possible for Orthodox Christians who have walked this path more than once.

According to the strict canons of the Church, in the first week it is recommended to eat only in the evenings, once a day, and twice on weekends. Particularly steadfast Christians can withstand this regime of abstinence.

Orthodox Christians who have decided to perform the feat of abstinence for the first time should draw up a menu to determine for themselves how to fast in the first week of fasting.

Products for the first and second days of Lent are selected taking into account the fact that this is a time of dry eating - eating food without heat treatment.

For the first week of fasting, you should prepare fresh, dried and pickled vegetables, fruits, honey, crackers, mushrooms, and berries.

Monday

Eating on the first day of fasting is limited to a minimum. If the strength of faith and health allows, then no food is prepared during the day; dry eating is established on this day.

In preparation for fasting, Orthodox Christians dry crackers and fruits in advance, and prepare juices and infusions.

Small meals every 3-4 hours will help you maintain strict abstinence on the first day so that you don’t feel hungry.

Avocado sandwich

During this time of grace, a person should concentrate on spiritual food, and not on the stomach.

• You can start the day with a cracker with honey and a cup of fruit drink.
• For second breakfast, a cabbage salad with carrots, onions and a small bread sandwich with avocado, sprinkled with sesame seeds, are suitable.
• A snack before lunch with nuts and a few prunes and dried apricots will give you strength to get through the day.
• At lunch, you can satisfy your hunger with a salad of cucumbers and tomatoes, mixed with avocado pieces, seasoned with soy sauce and ground flax.
• Before dinner, you can eat a banana, which will give you a feeling of fullness.
• The daily diet is completed by taking juice, infusion with several crackers or bread with honey.

Who should not observe strict fasting?

Not all people can strictly adhere to fasting for health reasons, so some relaxations are allowed.

If a person suffers from serious illnesses, then refusing any product may worsen his condition. Such diseases include: all forms of oncology, diabetes, diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, upper and lower respiratory tract, tuberculosis, anemia, the period after surgery or severe injury.

You cannot fast: pregnant women and women during lactation, elderly people, military personnel in hot spots. And also for people on the road or engaged in hard work. Strict fasting does not apply to children.

Tuesday

The second day of the great fast in the first week of abstinence before Easter is also under great prohibition.

Orthodox Christians who fast regularly continue to consume bread, kvass or water only in the evenings.

For those who are not confident in their abilities, but are very keen to go through the path of cleansing, a menu is drawn up for Tuesday.

Dried fruit candies

The church allows people who are starting to fast to brew tea and coffee to start their Tuesday. A piece of bread with honey is added to the drinks.

• Nuts and apples make a great second breakfast.
• Nuts and dried fruits satisfy hunger quickly and for a long time.
• During your lunch break, you can prepare a nutritious salad of turnips, apples, carrots with the addition of cranberries.
• A small sandwich with cucumber and tomato sprinkled with sesame seeds will be a great snack before dinner.
• Ground dried fruits in the form of dried apricots, prunes, raisins, poured with any unsweetened juice, will be a wonderful addition to an evening drink.

Important! Having finished your daily meal, do not forget:

• before going to bed, thank the Savior for the gift of food;
• ask for forgiveness for obvious and implicit sins committed during the day;
• pray for blessings on the coming sleep.

How to create a Lenten menu for the week

A properly composed Lenten menu for every day can be not only tasty, but also no different from regular nutrition.

The main thing to remember is that this is a great time for slow carbs. It should be noted that nutritious food is useful in the morning; protein is easier to digest in the evening.

Meat dishes are more difficult to replace; fish is allowed twice. There is no special prohibition on seafood; you can eat it without restrictions.

Wednesday

Many believers are concerned about the question: how many times a day can you eat in the first week of fasting?

For steadfast Orthodox Christians, monks and clergy, the first week is one of the “hungry” weeks, when food is taken once in the evening in the form of bread and water.

Sauerkraut with cranberries

Other people should not immediately burden their bodies with such restrictions. The menu below will help you live Wednesday in worship of God and dry eating.

• For breakfast on the third day of the first week of Lent, we recommend preparing a drink in the form of an infusion or fruit drink with bread flavored with honey.
• Carrots, grated and mixed with raisins, will help you get through the day until lunch.
• Sauerkraut with fresh cranberries and bread sandwiches with champignons will fill you up at lunch.
• A handful of nuts mixed with orange slices is a hearty afternoon snack while abstaining from fast food.
• Crispbread spread with ground banana, honey and poppy seeds will help with abstinence on the third day of fasting.

Thursday

To support the immune system, greens are introduced into the diet of the first week of fasting in the form of green onions and fresh herbs, which can first be grown on a windowsill or bought in a store.

Dry eating continues on the fourth day of Lent, when food cannot be cooked:

• not cooked;
• does not fry;
• does not bake;
• doesn't care.

Candied dates

The main foods for food during fasting remain vegetables, fruits and bread products without the addition of butter and eggs.

• After reading morning prayers, you can start the fourth day of abstinence before Easter with carrot salad, seasoned with orange juice, with the addition of ground flax. You can use water or fruit drink as a drink.
• A few walnuts, chopped with honey, can be recommended for second breakfast.
• Juicy turnips, spicy radishes, grated carrots, pieces of sour apples with the addition of pumpkin seeds and sesame seeds are quite suitable for lunch, which can be varied with a piece of bread sprinkled with flax.
• A few pieces of candied dates with a cup of herbal infusion will help you not to go hungry until the evening meal.
• A banana mashed to a pulp, wrapped in a sheet of lavash, turns into savory rolls, which, when cut into pieces, you get a lean dinner that meets the requirements of dry eating.

More about cuisine in Orthodoxy:

• Lenten Oatmeal Cookie Recipes
• Russian Orthodox cuisine
• Lenten pancake recipes

Buckwheat porridge cutlets with potatoes

1. Peel the potatoes, wash them and grate them on a fine grater.
2. Add buckwheat porridge, salt, pepper. To stir thoroughly. You should get a viscous mass. If the buckwheat porridge is crumbly and the mass is not viscous after mixing, add water and mix again.

3. Cut the finished minced meat into cutlets. To prevent the cutlets from falling apart in the frying pan, the cutlet mass must be thoroughly compacted, transferring from hand to hand and crushing.

4. Heat vegetable oil in a frying pan. Place cutlets in hot oil. Fry buckwheat porridge cutlets over medium-high heat until golden brown (2 minutes). Then turn over and fry for 1-1.5 minutes on the other side. Then add oil and fry the next portion in the same way.

5. When all the cutlets are ready, place them in a frying pan, cover with a lid and steam the cutlets over low heat (5-10 minutes).

Detailed step-by-step
cutlet

Friday

The fifth day of the first week of Lent refers to a strict restriction of all products.

Friday is the day of Christ's crucifixion.

On this day, food intake should be limited to a minimum; in case of acute hunger, snack on bread with cabbage salad or other vegetables, avoiding fruits and berries.

Important! Lay people with chronic illnesses, children under 12 years of age, pregnant women and the elderly are exempt from the severity of the first week.

This issue should be discussed with your confessor.

Fasting and health

Those who are just getting acquainted with the sacrament of fasting often ask questions: is fasting useful and what diseases can it prevent? Currently, the issue of the relationship between health and nutrition is quite relevant. Many diseases arise from an unbalanced diet. Various ailments progress.

Observing Lent in 2021 is an opportunity to take charge of your health. With the right approach to nutrition, the body receives vitamins, proteins, fats, carbohydrates, as well as macro and microelements. In addition, fasting for many people is a cleansing of the body from toxins and waste. Indeed, these days animal products are replaced by vegetables, fruits, and cereals.

• This diet helps improve metabolism and normalize the functioning of internal organs.
• During fasting, the gastrointestinal tract is unloaded and cleansed due to the intake of large amounts of fiber.
• Cholesterol levels are reduced and the condition of blood vessels is improved by consuming plant foods.
• Excluding sweets, fatty foods, alcohol, carbonated drinks and any other chemicals from the diet gives the body the opportunity to cleanse itself and restore its functions.

Saturday

Having passed the first week of fasting with dignity in strict abstinence, on Saturday morning you can prepare a smoothie from berries, possibly frozen.

• To prepare a vitamin cocktail, just mix 250 g of any berries and 2 tbsp in a blender. water. A fruit smoothie will give you a good boost for the whole day.
• The second breakfast will complement the vitamin supply of the morning dish with a salad of pear and orange, seasoned with honey and nuts.
• A bright fresh pumpkin salad with ingredients will decorate the dinner table.

Berry smoothie

To prepare a vegetable salad, you should prepare the following vegetables, chopped to the state of Korean strips: carrots, turnips, pumpkin in a weight ratio of 1: 3: 2.

For taste, add salt, black pepper, lemon juice, and a lot of herbs. After thoroughly mixing the prepared mixture, you can start lunch with a piece of bread or cracker.

• Avocado ice cream will be a worthy reward for a week spent in shit.

To prepare this delicacy for dinner you should prepare:

• 70 - 80 ml lemon juice, lime;
• lime peel - 2 tsp.
• 250 - 300g thick, soft avocado, cut into pieces;
• a cup of 200 ml honey;
• vanilla sugar.

Beat all ingredients in a blender, place in molds and place in the refrigerator to freeze.

After a while, when the mass hardens to the state of ice cream, place it in balls on a saucer and garnish with a sprig of mint.